| OCR Text |
Show THE DAILY CHRONICL UTAH MenProaress With -- W. , . . - --J.. E S? ' " i Jry ft-" Victory Over ERIC WALDEN Chronicle Sports Editor well-balanc- ed One month. That's about how long it took for the Utah men's basketball team to transform from a directionless, disjointed collection of individuals into a lcthally efficient team. That's how long it took the Utes to to conference mutate from also-raleaders. 5 With Saturday's victory over Huntsman BYU at the Center, the U's metamorphosis was made complete with the egalitarian roster now being well-hone- rather than perceived as leaderless, and its postseason ambitions within reach instead of buried under a haze of mediocrity. Back on Jan. 29. the Utes were soundly defeated in Provo, dropping their third straight conference game and looking more lost than the city of Atlantis. Less than one month later, though, the Utes are finally looking like the MWC champions everyone anticipated they would be. They got it done on both ends of the floor, extending their hot offensive streak by shooting 57 percent from the field for the game, while also suffocating two key Cougs with the tough defense holding BYU's top two scorers on the year, Mekeli Wesley and Terrell Lyday, to a combined shooting performance. Acting coach Dick Hunsaker is excited to see his team's season-lon- g maturation process finally yield some positive results. "Putting a team together takes time with getting players settled into their roles, and the leadership constantly evolving," he said. "It took awhile for us to get there, but it's certainly been gratifying.1" What makes it even more gratifying is that the win not only gave the Utes some measure of revenge for last month's debacle in Provo, it also gave them a 3 MWC record putting them one-ha- lf game ahead of and full a game in front of Wyoming theY. d, ns 82-7- 69-6- 1, 9-- Chris Burgess scored 14 points if his first sns SQainsi BYU. see MEM'S HOOPS, page 10 Kristina Andersen and the Utes won their 12th straight MWC game Friday against U Women Clinch MWC Title RANDALL HARRINGTON Chronicle Sports Writer "In games like this, it is all about heart You can prepare all you want to, but you've just got to play hard. Whoever plays the toughest wins at the end of the game," said Sutak. 13 points and held BYU's Amy Ewert scored a team-hig- h top scorer, Erin. Thorn, to 4 points as the No. 13 University of Utah women's basketbalf team cemented its second straight Mountain West Conference regular-seaso- n championship and won its 12th straight game 5 over BYU Friday night "We are the champions," said coach Elaine Elliott. "We e lead with two left, and nothing can change have a Utah found itself in unfamiliar territory in the Marriott Center, trailing by as many as 8 points in the first half and behind by 6 points with just over 13 minutes to play in the game. "Sometimes our team has to figure out how hard somebody's going to play them before they respond," said Elliott "BYU just came at us. They were more aggressive; they beat us on the boards. I was like, 'Listen, what are you waiting 67-5- four-gam- that" Sophomore guard Whitney Sutak came off the bench and sparked Utah with 12 points in 18 minutes. Grl see WOMEN'S HOOPS, page 10 masts Rally to Keep e Win Streak Alive meets. Freshman Melissa Vituj fell on RORY BRUNNER Chronicle Asst. Sports Editor her vault landing, becoming the last Ute to do so. The fall was her first in When in a rut, let your best player take over and come to the rescue. The Utah gymnastics team did just that on Friday night, and Theresa Kulikowski delivered. Kulio turned in two perfect routines although only one garnered a 10.0 score as she led the No. 3 Utes to a highly contested victory over Olympian Elise Ray and No. 7 Michigan, 197.425 to 196.675. The Wolverines became just the third team in the last 15 years to come within one point of the Utes in the Huntsman Center. After one rotation, the Utes found their regular season home streak threatened, as they winning fell behind 49.250 to 49,225. Bridget Knaeble and Ray each scored in the 22-ye- ar Oeidra Graham was Utah's top ail-arcu- BYU. 9.9s for the Wolverines. Utah's Veronique LeClerc vaulted to a solid 9.900 score, but was off the winning pace for the first time in six finisher at Friday's meet against Ko. 7 Michigan. routines this year. Then, after five solid but unspectacular routines on the bars, the Utes got the breakout performance they for. Kulikowski were looking achieved perfection for the third time this year (her second on bars), and inspired a frenzied eruption of cheers at the Huntsman Center. The run put Utah ahead by just 0.025 aftcr two events. The final two events would not be as close, however, as Michigan blunders on the beam and floor plagued the team. Michigan coach Beverly Plocki attributed the effort to sickness. "Half of my team to of my team including my sports information director and one of my assistant coaches all have really bad head colds," said Plocki, who had to 21 three-quarte- rs see GYMNASTICS, page 11 EHTOOH TRACK SKHNG BASEBALL SOFTBALL MEN'S TEHHIS WOMEN'S TEH&1S Utah's indoor track and field athletes completed their season over the weekend, taking part in the MWC Championships held in Fort Collins, Colo. With trie regular season over, the Uies turned their attention to the Western States Invitational, where they attempted to qualify a full roster to NCAAs. Boasting its first winning record of the season, the U baseball team looked to continue the trend on a visit to Tucson, Ariz., in a battle against the Wildcats. After starting off the year with in tournaments Phoenix and Las Vegas, the Utes moved on to Santa Barbara, Calif., for yet another scries of games. With the most crucial part of the season upcoming, the Utes waged weekend war with a pair of teams from Idaho. As it turned out, they held their own. The slumping U team hoped to break its losing streak, but found itself CHRONICLE SPORTS EDITOR ERIC "WALLY" WALDEN EWALDENCHRONICLE.UTAH.EDU matched up with yet anoth- er ranked opponent this time, No. 17 Washington. 581 - 7041 |
