Utah rallies in opener

The fifth-seeded Utes rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Middle Tennessee.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Shona Thorburn brought Utah back from the brink of a first-round upset in the NCAA tournament.
The senior guard scored eight of her 21 points in the final 4 1/2 minutes and the fifth-seeded Utes rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit Saturday to beat No. 12 seed Middle Tennessee 76-71 in the first round of the Albuquerque Regional.
Kim Smith struggled most of the game but scored five as Utah outscored the Blue Raiders 15-4 over the final 4:13.
Jessica Perry scored 13 of her season-high 14 points in the first half for Utah. Smith and Heidi Carlsen added 13 points apiece. Chrissy Givens had 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds but missed three of four free throws in the final 4 minutes. Johnna Abney, a 5-foot-4 freshman, scored 15 on 5-of-9 3-pointers. Krystle Horton and Tia Stovall added 10 points apiece.
The Utes were 19-for-21 free throws, 8-for-8 by Thorburn, compared with 3-for-8 by Middle Tennessee.
Thorburn made two free throws to boost the lead to 72-68 with 32.2 seconds left. Julie Larsen's two free throws with 12.4 seconds put Utah ahead 74-68. Abney's 3 cut it to 74-71 with 4.3 seconds to go, but the Utes threw the length of the court to Smith for a layup to seal the victory.
Arizona St. 80,Stephen F. Austin 61
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Arizona State was too big and too deep for Stephen F. Austin.
Playing on the home court of arch-rival Arizona, the fourth-seeded Sun Devils routed the Ladyjacks to advance to a matchup against fifth-seeded Utah in the second round Monday.
Kristen Kovesdy scored 22 points on 8-for-12 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Her backup, freshman Kirsten Thompson, added 12 points. Aubree Johnson was the only other Arizona State player in double figures with 10. Eleven players scored for the Sun Devils (25-6), all in the first half.
LaToya Mills had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Stephen F. Austin (23-8). Anitria Mosley added 16 points for the Southland Conference regular season and tournament champions, making their 18th NCAA tournament appearance but first since 2002.
Arizona State, ranked 15th nationally, never trailed in winning for the 11th time in its last 12 games.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.