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Show IHED AILY UTAH CHRONICLE SPORTS www.dailyutahchronicle.com 11 Thursday, December 8, 2005 Stumblin' Utes 11 Ml UTES 65, WILDCATS 38 UTAH NO. PLAYER MIN. M. Smith 31 __ ' 2-J1_ 2-8 24 45 Perry n10 FlUpe . 21 05 Llrsen Carlsen 13 XI BrotilHard ~" 7 15 Warburton 2-6 2T~-- o-'o 1-4 9 31 "io. 3-S 1-4 1-3 Oifl 24 33 53 Oakey :i-3_": ; ". Totals 5 200 1-2 0-0 2 0-0 23-63 7-i?r ' 12-18 WEBER STATE MIN. 05 Tuoml 39 . 3-11 10 " Griffins 21 1-5 Poner W. a ReieforiT; Hayden Rayback 32 54 1 -3 Totals HALFTIME ATTENDANCE 1 i-n 2-2 17 200 0-T "(To ~ 1-8 0-0 3 0 0 5: 11 W- i 2 5 t'PLi* 0_! 0 2 2 0 0 .01 ."Jfti-i L 0 3 4 rj;. 1 ' 0 :J? 0-0 0-0 3-7 7-23 14-46 0 1 31 1 T 0 4 0 0 0 0 0" PTS 9 3 7 ' iV 3 ~Z 14^%<&' 17 2 3 4 ' ,C ; 5 7 38 UTAH 25 WEBER STATE 19 1 129 U women come alive in second half, pound Wildcats Matt Patton Chronicle Writer The U women's basketball team overcame a slow first half start by exploding past Weber State 40-19 in the second period en route to a 65-38 victory Wednesday night. Seniors Shona Thorburn and Julie Larsen stepped in as Kim Smith had a tough night shooting. "We don't expect Kim to score 20 every night, although we like it when she does," Thorburn said. "Everyone has bad shooting nights, and when that happens other people need to step up around her." Joe Beatty 0 RBS PF AST BLK ST "? • " ' 2 0 3 5 1 4 3 0 0 3:9 nT 14 6 6 (TrT"••;|j!j;£| 0:P : u"" 715 r 1. JB*i."T." 29 ~ 0-0 3-6 id 0 . w_ _.w. ML FT-FTA 1-3 "35"" . Perdue. ", Warburton 04 FG-FGA 3PT-3PTA r o - T j r ••" "7a~yldf ~ -~> 14 ( 2 0-0 PLAYER 7 0-0 0-0 NO. 1 0-0 :z ' •-WJ1;.:..;, Waro*L „} Whitehead 0-0 o-jp.':y , ~o"i 0-0 0 , 0 ; PlvI .... r 8 1:2 4-6 Men's hoops get blown out at Colorado PTS PF AST BLK ST 2 _3_'. 1J..U 0 4 1 2 2 3 _ lii*. &.*-!« X* 0 0 6 2 15 "5" 7 0-1 0-2 i_?:23L' -5:7_ McKtniioR . .5-6 b3_ *-3-i : 1-1 . _ 1-3 5-8 > Thorburn RBS FT-FTA FG-FGA 3PT-3PTA Thorburn led all scorers with 15 points, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out six assists, while Larsen scored 13 points for the Utes. It was a back and forth contest in the first half that had 10 lead changes and five ties. Alhough Utah struggled to get their shots to fall in the first half—shooting just 27 percent (9-33)—strong defense and smart play helped them to a 2519 lead at the break. The Utes forced 10 Wildcats turnovers in the first half, while only turning it over four times themselves and pulling down 12 See W O M E N ' S Page 14 Chronicle Sports Editor Outside the Coors Events Center in Boulder, the temperature was below zero on Wednesday night. But that was downright tropical compared to the Utes' play inside, as Colorado blew out Utah 76-52, Sophomore star Richard Roby led the Buffaloes (5-1) with 19 points and hauled down 10 rebounds while nailing four 3-pointers. Also chipping in for Colorado was forward Chris Copeland, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. Bryant Markson led the Utes with 13 points, four below his season average. Senior center Chris Jackson was the only other big contributor, finishing with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. After hitting just eight field goals while shooting 33.3 percent in the first half, the Utes found themselves trailing 33-16. But at the beginning of the half, it looked like Utah finally started to come alive. Keyed by five points from Johnnie Bryant and four from Markson, the Utes started on a 15-5 run, cutting the Buffalo lead to 38-31 five minutes into the half. But the surge would not last. Colorado caught fire again, going on a 9-0 run and extending the lead to 16. The Utes could not recover as the Buffaloes pulled away to win their fifth game and exact some reSee MEN'S Page 14 Ute freshman Shaun Green's shot is contested by Colorado's Reggie Roby during the Buffaloes' rout of Utah on Wednesday in Boulder. Oh, the places you've gone! Volleyball year-in-review Joe Beatty Chronicle Sports Editor The 2005 Utah volleyball season turned out to be just what head coach Beth Launiere predicted at the outset: some early struggles as the young team gained confidence and chemistry, followed by a late surge. The freshman-laden Utes started slowly indeed, going 22, before eventually going on a big run to win the MWC tournament and to get to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Here is a look back at the season that was. Summer of 2005 The mood was good during the offseason, as Launiere's vaunted recruiting class got closer to donning Ute redSome team members competed in an international volleyball tournament held in West Valley, and super-recruit Airial Salvo went to Turkey for a junior-national team tournament The only negative heading into the season was a nagging rotator-cuff injury to 2004 MWC Libero of the Year Connie Dangerfield The non-conference slate The Utes began with fourstraight sweeps—two wins and two losses. The setbacks came in a tournament, where the Utes lost to No. 21 Missouri and No. 9 Tennessee. Apparently the three-game losses didn't sit well with Utah, as they were not swept for the rest of the season. When No. 17 Santa Clara came to town on Sept. 17, the Utes were holding a 6-3 record. In a back-and-forth match, the Utes managed to eke out a five-game victory, giving the team its first marquee win of the year. Following the Santa Clara win, Dangerfield, who had not yet taken the court all season, decided to redshirt, instead of playing an abbreviated year. Conference play It wasn't particularly amusing for the team at the time, but there is a certain degree of irony that the eventual MWC tournament champion started off its conference slate 1-2. The Utes began with a win at Air Force but proceeded to drop matches at New Mexico and BYU—both teams that Utah had dominated in recent years. But the losses would not pile up. The Utes reeled off 10 wins in their next 11 matches, highlighted by their rematch with BYU. The Utes handed the No. 12 Cougars their first loss of the season, dominating them 3-0 hi front of a record Crimson Court crowd. As good as things were going, the Utes ended the regular season on a little slide, dropping a home match to rival Colorado State and getting upset on the road by a San Diego State team that hit lights-out for the match. Heading to the MWC tournament, Utah was firmly on the NCAA bubble. MWC Tournament The Utes must have found a good Vegas buffet because they simply obliterated the tournament field. They swept Wyoming and Colorado State in successive matches, setting up a third date with BYU, which had finished the regular season with only two losses. But once again, the Cougars were no match for their red rivals, going down in four games. Shelly Sommerfeldt was named tournament MVP, and the Utes celebrated in Sin City. NCAA Tournament The Utes were happily surprised to learn that they would be a first- and second-round host for the NCAAs. Their first round draw was Loyola Marymount—but it might as well have been the local glee club. The Utes manhandled the Lions in three G0NZA6A AT UTAH (3-5) (4-1) Cup selection process is a head scratcher This week, U.S. tion has ranked in U senior Shelly Sommerfeldt goes up for a spike during the See V O L L E Y B A L L ' S Page 12 Utes' season-ending loss to Arizona on Saturday. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEN'S BASKETBALL SOUTHERN UTAH AT UTAH What is FIFA thinking? (1-6) (4-1) soccer found out the FIFA rankings that it is indeed during the last still viewed as a three years. This little tyke in the favors the United world of Futbol States, since the powerhouses. team currently When the eight ranks No. 8, has top seeds for this ranked as high summer's World as No. 6 and has Cup were anJoe Beatty stayed in the top nounced on Tues10 through most of day, the United States team found the last 1,000 days. itself on the outside looking in. 2. (This is the interesting one) The full field will be announced How the country has fared in Friday, when the FIFA brandy the last two World Cups. That's snifters announce the (suppos- right, your 2005 national team is edly) random pods. graded on how it fared in someTake a good look at the eight thing that happened eight years that did make it into the her- ago. alded pantheon: Germany, BraAs logic would have it, FIFA, zil, England, France, Argentina, weighs recent Cup results heaviItaly, Spain and Mexico. er, but the United States is still The first six make sense, but hurt by its last-place showing what about the last two? Spain— in France at the 1998 Cup. That albeit playing in the very tough team, which featured at most European qualifying tourna- two starters from the 2006 team, ment—had to beat San Marino in is hurting Landon Donovan, Deorder to fend off Bosnia-Herze- Marcus Beasley and the other govina for second place in group Nats who were in high school play. Then, it had to play Slovakia during the infamous '98 debacle. Mexico, on the other hand, in a tiebreaking home-and-home went to the second round in series to even reach the Cup. Mexico played well in CONC A- France, earning solid "historical CAF qualifying but still finished credentials." second...to the United States. How would that template look That second place included a if we applied it to other sports? 2-0 shellacking by the Yanks in USC football finished the reguColumbus in September, a ven- lar season 7-5 in 1998. Tennesgeance win for a tight 2-1 Mexico see finished 12-0. Therefore, usvictory at Azteca. ing FIFA's rules, Eric Ainge and So why was our NAFTA neigh- the 5-6 Vols should be rewarded bor chosen to don an "I'm #1" THIS YEAR for what Tee Marcap and the United States got tin accomplished eight years relegated to pray they avoid a ago, while the Trojans get their 2005 BCS rating dashed because "group of death?" Well, it's a funny thing really. freshman Carson Palmer had FIFA, being the omniscient gov- some growing pains. erning body that it is, has the Of course, being that FIFA discretion to be nebulous and governs 205 national teams that fluid in its processes. But the range from the big boys, like BraFIFA committee members have at least given a guideline for how zil, to little-known nations, such as Djibouti and Macau, the orgathey designate the one seeds. nization does deserve some leeThe two criterion are: See BEATTY Page 14 1. Where the country in ques- WOMEN'S BASKETBALL MEN'S BASKETBALL UTAH vs. N.C. STATE ARIZONA AT UTAH (5-1) (5-2) (2-3) (4-2) FOOTBALL UTAH vs. GEORGIA TECH (6-5) (7-4) DEC. 1 0 , 2 0 0 5 3 p.m. DEC.10, 2 0 0 5 7 p.m. DEC. 17,2005 1 p . m . DEC. 17,2005 2 p.m. DEC. 29, 2005 1:30 p.m. § HUNTSMAN CENTER & HUNTSMAN CENTER @ LAS VEGAS, NEV. & HUNTSMAN CENTER @ SAN FRANCISCO |