The University of Utah's women's basketball team, ranked No. 21 in the country, wasn't particularly sharp on Saturday afternoon in the Huntsman Center against Washington State.
But the Utes had a pretty good reason for being a bit out of it, however.
"It was a tough week — taking exams and staying up late studying," said Ute sophomore guard Shona Thorburn.
Ute coach Elaine Elliott put it this way: "We needed Savannah State instead of Washington State."
While the U. women certainly didn't get to play as big a patsy at the end of finals week as their male counterparts, they were strong enough to earn a 61-51 victory over a Pac-10 opponent.
Utah's two sophomore stars from Canada led the way, as usual — with each one taking over the game at different times. Kim Smith finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Thorburn had 16 points, seven boards and six assists.
Smith did the majority of her damage in the first half. The Utes trailed 10-6 early, but Smith scored nine straight points for Utah to give it a 15-12 lead with 7:30 to play in the first half. The Utes would never trail again.
But Utah, now 6-2 overall and 6-0 against unranked opponents, could never quite completely shake the pesky Cougars. Thorburn tried to turn the game into a rout early in the second half— scoring eight points during a 10-2 run that gave the Utes a 46-31 lead with 11:17 to play. But the Cougars, 4-3 on the year, didn't give up.
"We had the game in hand," said Elliott, "but we couldn't put it away."
Washington State appears much improved after residing in the Pac-10's basement the past two years. The Cougars already have as many wins this season as their previous two combined (2-27 in 2001-02 and 2-26 in 2002-03). A year ago the Ute drubbed the Cougars 85-50 in Pullman, Wash.
"I want to give them credit," said Thorburn. "They are much improved over last year. But we were sluggish today."
Ute center Carley Marshall finished with 10 points and six boards. Washington State was led by guard Jessica Perry's 16 points.
Utah will next be in action Tuesday night against another Pac-10 foe, Oregon State — only this time the Utes will be on the road. Utah's next home game will be Saturday against instate rival Weber State.