Defense has been the hallmark of Utah basketball over the past decade. Anyone who's heard Rick Majerus utter a sentence after a game usually hears the word "defense" several times.

Yet these days when you mention defense at the U., you're probably talking about the Ute women's basketball team, which has quietly become the nation's top defensive team in women's basketball the past couple of seasons.

"We do put emphasis on it," said Utah coach Elaine Elliott about her team's outstanding defense, "but we don't talk about it as much."

Off to a 6-0 start, the Utes play Montana tonight (7 p.m.) at the Huntsman Center looking for No. 7 and trying to keep the Grizzlies' score in the 40s or perhaps the 30s.

The Utes have led the nation in scoring defense the past two years and probably are No. 1 again this year, holding opponents to eight fewer points per game than last year (the NCAA doesn't start compiling official statistics until after Christmas).

Last year when the Utes led the nation in scoring defense, they allowed just 52.2 points per game and were also fourth in the country in field goal percentage defense at 34.8 percent per game.

This year the Utes are doing even better, limiting their foes to only 44.5 points per game and a mere 31.2 percent from the field.

The Utes started the season by going on the road and holding both UCLA and Iowa to 42 points apiece in easy Ute wins (65-42 and 66-42). Then in their first two home games, the Utes held Montana Tech and Weber State each to 33 points.

So what is the secret to the Utes' outstanding defense? According to Elliott, it's nothing special, just a lot of hard work.

"We have a philosophy that people are not going to get any easy baskets on us," she said. "We are pretty basic in that we are not going to let certain things happen. We want (our opponents) to earn every point they get and make things more difficult for them than they want."

Elliott said her team never wants to give up a layup, to the point of sacrificing an offensive rebound if they have to.

Experience plays a part, not only with an experienced team of mostly juniors and seniors, but with Elliott, who has coached the Utes to 16 winning seasons in 17 years. "I think I'm a better coach than I was 18 years ago," she said.

Elliott and her assistants spend a lot of time figuring out the best way to play a certain team. Like Majerus, she is strictly a man-to-man (yes, the women call it that) coach and never plays a zone. "We have a zone defense, but I have yet to pull it out in a game," she said.

The key to the Utes' defense is the team concept of everyone working together, but one player stands out for Elliott in senior guard Amy Ewert.

"Amy is really the glue to just about everything we do," Elliott said. "She is the best defensive player not only in our league, but she can match up with anyone, anywhere."

Besides being the Utes' defensive stopper, the 6-foot Ewert is third on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg), third in rebounding (3.5 rpg), third in field goal shooting (51.2 percent) and first in assists (3.3) and steals (3.3).

Starting center Lauren Beckman has blocked 15 shots this year and leads the team in rebounding, while forward Kristina Anderson leads the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting. Senior Lori Red-Castagnetto and junior Lindsay Herbert share the small forward position, averaging 7.2 ppg and 5.0 ppg.

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The most pleasant surprise on this year's team has been freshman point guard Kelsy Stireman. The 5-7 sharpshooter from Bonneville High moved into the starting lineup in the second game and already is second on the team in scoring at 10.2 per game.

"She has just stepped up and played with a very un-freshmanlike presence," Elliott said. "I can't not start her."

After playing Montana tonight, the Utes meet Nevada Saturday afternoon at home.


E-MAIL: sor@desnews.com

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