Nov. 10, 2009

Friday, Nov. 13, 7:00 p.m. MT - Logan, Utah (Dee Glen Smith Spectrum)
Radio: KNRS 570 (Play-by-Play by Chris Tunis)
TV: CW30 (Tape Delay)
Live stats available at UtahUtes.com

Complete Release in PDF Format

Utes at a Glance
Led by senior returning starters Kalee Whipple and Halie Sawyer, a young roster will look to defend the Utes MWC titles in the 2009-10 season. Six freshmen and three sophomores grace the roster for Utah and several will need to step in early to provide minutes and depth for the team.

Utah was chosen to finish third in the preseason MWC poll, while Whipple was named to the preseason all-conference team. In addition, freshman Taryn Wicijowski was picked as the Preseason Freshman of the year.

Previewing Utah vs. Utah State
The Aggies return three starters and seven letterwinners from the 2008-09 team that went 16-15 and 9-7 in Western Athletic Conference action which tied for fifth. The nine WAC wins was the most won by Utah State since joining the league for the 2005-06 season. Utah State senior center Lydia Whitehead was named to the WAC preseason all-conference second-team, voted on by the league's coaches.

Four starters scored in double figures in the Aggies' 64-56 victory over Montana Tech, led by Amber White's 15 points.

The game will air on tape delay on CW30 at 12:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Although Utah and Utah State played each other regularly for many years in the 70's and 80's, they have only played once since 1987, a 70-38 Utah victory in 2007. Utah leads the series 27-0.

Last Time Out
Four players scored in double figures as the Utah women's basketball team defeated Division II Chadron State, 81-40, in exhibition on Friday, Nov. 6.

Kalee Whipple and Janita Badon each had 17 points to lead the Utes. Halie Sawyer had a double-double with 12 points and 19 rebounds. Freshman Taryn Wicijowski tallied 13 points with nine rebounds.

The Utes played all 12 players they had available. Players seeing their first collegiate action were Wicijowski, Iwalani Rodrigues, Rachel Messer, Chelsea Bridgewater, Rita Sitivi and Diana Rolniak.

"It's great to get started on another season," head coach Elaine Elliott said. "We played some new faces tonight and the more chances they have to play, the better they will be."

Whipple Moves Up in Record Books
Kalee Whipple is moving up in a number of areas in the Utah record book. She currently ranks 10th all-time in scoring with 1,389 career points. Whipple is also in the top ten in offensive rebounds (201, 7th), defensive rebounds (462, 8th), scoring average (14.2, tied for 7th), three-point field goals made (174, 6th), three-point field goal percentage (38.9, 5th) and three-point field goal attempts (447, 6th).