Utes honored by WBCA.
March 19, 2008
SALT LAKE CITY - Senior guard Leilani Mitchell and University of Utah head coach Elaine Elliott were honored by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association this afternoon as Mitchell was named a regional finalist for the WBCA All-America team and Elliott was named the Region 7 Coach of the Year.
Mitchell has asserted herself as one of the top playmakers in the nation, dishing out a league-high 7.5 assists, and averaging 16.8 points per game. Mitchell also has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.29, which also led the league. All of those numbers rank among the nation's elite as her assists-per-game average ranks fifth in the country and her assist-to-turnover ratio is seventh. Mitchell's scoring average ranks 68th among Division I players.
In all, Mitchell has led the team in assists in all 31 games, in scoring 15 times, and in steals on 13 occasions.
Elliott enters the tournament on the heels of one of the most successful regular seasons in school history. Her team rattled off 22 consecutive wins en route to a 27-4 overall tally. The 22 straight victories were the longest in the nation at the time that it ended, and the 27 wins are tied for second-most in school annals. As a result, the Utes went 16-0 in conference, setting the school and league mark for conference victories. It is also only the second time in conference history that a team has gone through league play without a loss. Utah went 4-2 against the RPI top 50, and it was 10-3 against the RPI top 100.
This season, Elliott's Utes led the conference in eight statistical categories (scoring margin, free throw percentage, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, field goal percentage defense, three-point percentage defense, rebounding defense and rebounding margin). Her team is currently ranked third in the country in three-point percentage, seventh in field goal percentage defense, ninth in field goal percentage and 10th in scoring defense.
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Mitchell was also named the MWC Player and Newcomer of the Year while Elliott was tabbed the MWC Coach of the Year.
The winners of the WBCA National Coach of the Year for each division will be honored on Monday, April 7, 2008, at Noon (ET) during the RUSSELL ATHLETIC/WBCA National Coach of the Year Luncheon presented by AstraZeneca in the Marriott Waterside's Grand Ballroom. The luncheon is part of the 2008 WBCA National Convention, held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women's Final Four®.
In all, there were 52 regional finalists today for the 2008 State Farm Coaches' All-America Basketball Team. The State Farm Coaches' All-America Team selection committee will review these 52 candidates and cut the list to 40 finalists on Thursday, March 20. The 40 finalists will all be in the running for selection to the 10-member State Farm Coaches' All-America Team.
