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Show 6 Wednesday, March 4,2009 SPORTS Wednesday Women's Basketball New Mexico § Utah 7 P.M. MT, Huntsman Center www.dailyutahchronide.com Friday Thursday Baseball Baseball Softball Utah @ Sam Houston State Utah @ Texas A&M Utah @ Kent State 7 P.M. CTHuhtsville, Texas 6:30 P.M. CTCollege Station, Texas 72:75 P.M. CTCollege Station, Texas MEN'S BASKETBALL Utes have company at top after loss Marco Villano STAFF WRITER Luke Nevill scored 16 points in New Mexico Tuesday night despite he name with four minutes left. Utah lost 77-71. Men's Basketball Standings It was clear that title implications were Overall Conference on the line Tuesday night in The Pit. Win Loss Win Loss After a March Madness-caliber night in New Mexico, the Lobos are now tied 11 4 8 with the Utes atop the Mountain West Conference at 11-4 after a 77-71 win over 11 4 20 10 Utah. The Utes are now on a two-game skid, and BYU (10-4) could see them6 10 4 selves among the leaders if it gets a win against Wyoming tonight. 8 9 5 "You have to give New Mexico credit, they have a good team, but I have a good team too," said head coach Jim Boylen. 8 8 6 On Senior Night in The Pit, the Utes lost their cool with 10 minutes left and 7 7 18 10 couldn't regain it in time. The Lobos had already taken advantage of the 18,018 fans 5 10 14 15 on hand to celebrate the last game before the famed stadium goes under renova20 4 11 tions. The Lobos went on a 12-0 run that spanned nearly four minutes to take a 6018 0 14 47 lead with less than 10 minutes in the game. During that stretch, the Utes had eight turnovers and only three baskets. Utah chipped away at the lead in the blowing off the fact that Lawrence Borha, final five minutes of the half, with the one of the best defenders in the conferbrunt of the scoring coming from Tyler ence, was guarding him. Kepkay, who scored 17 of his 20 points Faris fed off of the crowd's energy and in the second half, including several that frustrated Luke Nevill into two fouls, came on layups with New Mexico hold- which sent him to the bench with just ing a comfortable lead. The closest the under four minutes left in the game. NevUtes came to catching the Lobos was 66- ill's i6-point, 10-rebound game was not 61 with two minutes left, after a Kepkay enough, particularly in the second half, layup and one. Kepkay missed a chance in which he only scored one field goal to cut it to four less than a minute later, and two free throws. and New Mexico ran away with the game Toppert kept New Mexico in the game from there. for the first half, taking the lead twice "I thought we battled very hard," with two 3-pointers. Late in the second, Boylen said. "They made some 3s down he knocked down clutch free throws, the stretch, but we beefed up our pres- helping extend the Lobos' lead, and finished the game with 12 points. sure on defense and had some success." In their final home games, seniors Nevill fouled out of the game for the Tony Dandridge, Daniel Faris and Chad first time this season after Faris pestered Toppert left it all out on the floor. They him all night. . fed the crowd, the crowd fed them and Wyoming could become Utah's greatthey were instrumental in the win. est ally down the stretch as it hosts BYU Dandridge was the Lobos1 main scoring ^threat, scoring a career-high 29 points, See BASKETBALL Page 7 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL Seniors' final game has title implications Quiiin Wilcox WRITER The U women's basketball team has an important farewell ceremony tonight in the Huntsman Center. The Utes hope to take a step closer to bringing home another banner as well. Morgan Warburton, Katie King and Deanne Stevenson will play the final home game of their collegiate career, and Utah will need to win to give itself breathing room. The game is crucial in the race for the Mountain West Conference title, with the Utes clinging to a one-game lead over secondplace San Diego State. If Utah loses to New Mexico, it will set up a potential must-win situation in Fort Worth, Texas, against TCU this weekend. San Diego split with TCU, meaning that Utah could still wrap up a No. 1 seed with a win Saturday. A Utah win Thursday would merely put the pressure on San Diego State to win its final two games against Colorado State and UNLV. Emotions figure to run high no matter what, especially for head coach Elaine Elliott. "I don't ever like to talk about this day," Elliott said. "You wish No. 4 New Mexico Lobos (19-8) . . they were pros and could just stick around. They're all amazing kids, and all three have made amazing contributions to our program. It's bittersweet." Warburton's career will go down as one of the best in the Utes' storied program. The AilAmerican senior, who is also a finalist for the Naismith Award, has led the conference in scoring this season at 18.9 points per game. She is sixth on the all-time Utah scoring chart with 1,720 career points and has helped Utah to a conference title. There isn't much she hasn't accomplished during her four years as a Ute. "Warburton's got the accolades that go with having the kind of talent she does," Elliott said. "She's been on successful teams, too. She's really done it all." With four successful years to draw on, Warburton had a hard time picking exact moments she will remember most about her time with the Utes and said that her entire career has just been a joy from start to finish. "I've enjoyed pretty much all of it," Warburton said. "Thinking back to my freshman year, and there were the tough games that we lost here that I will always remember. And this whole year's been really good, especially all the home games we've had." Women's Basketball Warburton will be tough for Utah to replace next year, but role players such as King will be missed as well next season. King has had a breakthrough year for the Utes, almost doubling her scoring average from 6.6 points a game to 11.1 points per game. She has also been one of Utah's more productive rebounders, averaging 7.2 a game. "This is a good way to go out," King said. "You always say going into your senior year that you want it to be one of the best seasons you've ever had. I can say that's probably true. Being with the team, and the team chemistry, I've really enjoyed every moment of it." The two senior starters will have a tough test awaiting them for their senior-day game. New Mexico gave the Utes all they could handle a.month ago at The Pit. Utah had to overcome a sixpoint deficit in under two minutes of play to defeat the Lobos, 53-50. Warburton figures that the intensity level of the team will be a huge factor as to the outcome of the game. See SENIORS Page 7 Ute notes: Utah, on the other hand, has had much more success against the Mountain West's top teams. Its only blemish against teams with a winning record in conference was when it played at San Diego State. That loss was the Utes first conference loss in 25 Mountain West games. 'f. Food for thought: Utah will wave goodbye to three seniors In Katie King, Deanne Stevenson and Morgan Warburton. Warburton has been a three-year starter for the Utes and has been named an A!l-American, among a huge list of Mountain West Conference accolades. Earlier In the year against New Mexico/Warburton - had 18 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the 53-50 victory. FlELDSTED T he Utah women's basketball team deserves more respect—end of story. If the number of successful seasons earns you respect in basketball, the Utah women are more than deserving of their own fans' respect. The team has had more than 20 win seasons and has played in the postseason in four of the past five seasons, including an Elite Eight appearance two years ago, and the Utes are well on their way to the big dance again this season. I'll admit I hadn't been to a women's basketball game all season until I was assigned to cover the BYU game last week. What I witnessed left me shocked and slightly angry at the lack of support the women's team gets. The Huntsman Center, which holds 15,000 fans, was less than a quarter of the way-full for the biggest game of the season. There were 3,345 in attendance, a third of the 9,000 the men drew for the Weber State game, which was the smallest crowd the Run6nin' Utes had all season. There is no MUSS section for women's games. In fact, the sole source of student support for the women is the band, which not only provides entertainment for the crowd but takes over the cheers and smack talk that would normally belong to the student section. Even the shoot-for-loot contestants earn less money at a women's game, as they are only able to make $100 compared to the $300 at a men's game. Everyone says men's basketball is more entertaining to watch, faster-paced and more exciting. I know, I know, I've heard it all before, but for there to be so little fan support at one of the biggest matchups of the season was disappointing. * < I'm not naive enough to think that the women will ever draw a crowd of more than the 14,000 the men did for their home game against BYU, but the women's basketball team deserves a lot more respect and support than they have been getting. Sure, there might not be any high-flying Carlon Brown-style dunks in the women's games, but this isn't high school girls basketball, where the most exciting thing happening is the cheerleaders dropping each other during stunts. This is Division-I ball and the Utah women play high-quality basketball. Senior Katie King put on a performance reminiscent of Luke Nevill as she scored 17 points and pulled down 16 boards in the BYU game Saturday. Morgan Warburton and Kalee Whipple put up numbers comparable to some of the top men in the country on a regular basis, as together the two average 36 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals a game. Men's basketball is a more fast-paced game, FOOTBALL Team to show off for fans, scouts at Monday's Pro Day , Wednesday, March 4 • Huntsman Center • 7 p.mi Lobos notes: PAIGE See FlELDSTED Page 7 No.l Utah Utes (19-8) Despite having a winning record in conference play, New Mexico has struggled when going up against the Mountain West's top teams. Against TCU, San Diego State and Utah, the Lobos have a combined record of 1-4. However, New Mexico has always played the top teams tough, as it has lost by an average of 5.5 points In those four contests. Women's team deserves support to match success LUCAS ISLEY/The Daily Utah Chtonltlt Morgan Warburton will play her final game at the Huntsman Center tonight when Utah faces New Mexico. Warburton ranks sixth in scoring at Utah with 1,720 points. March 9 will bring the best out of those associated with Utah football, including the players, coaches and fans. Monday's Utah Pro Day is an annual event that features Utes eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft who will perform workouts that include weight room, shuttle runs, sprints, agility tests and individual workouts. More than 20 NFL scouts are expected to attend the event. Sean Smith and Paul Kruger, both of whom participated in the recent NFL combine in Indianapolis, Ind., will attend and participate in the workouts. Both will run their second officially clocked 40-yard dash as well. While at the combine, Smith, the 6-foot-3~ inch, 214-lb. cornerback from Pasadena, Calif., ran a 4.47, while Kruger ran a 4.8 that he will certainly look to improve on Pro Day. Later Monday, the Utes will attend a meetand-greet at the University Campus Store from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The 2009 Sugar Bowl Champion team will be in attendance for fans to come and mingle with and receive autographs from. Christopher Kamrani |