No. 19 Utah 75, UNLV 64

2/22/2006 11:56 PM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Kim Smith scored 26 points and Shona Thorburn had nine assists, giving her a school career record 619, as No. 19 Utah beat UNLV 75-64 on Wednesday night.

With 10:04 remaining in the first half, Thorburn took advantage of a Rebels' turnover and found Morgan Warburton in transition for a lay-up that gave the Utes a 22-12 lead. The assist was No. 613 for Thorburn, surpassing the 612 Utah record set by Alli Bills in 1998.

Thorburn had six assists in the first half and Smith put up 16 points as the Utes (20-5, 11-3 Mountain West Conference) opened up a 39-24 lead at the break. But the Rebels (15-9, 7-6) wouldn't go away.

Sheena Moore scored four points in an 8-0 UNLV run that cut the deficit to 60-54 with less than five minutes remaining.

But Julie Larsen sank a driving lay-up and Heidi Carlsen made a 3-pointer to put the Utes up 65-56. Larsen added another big jumper just two minutes later as Utah maintained a comfortable lead.

Moore led UNLV with 19 points and Sherry McCracklin had 17.

Thorburn and Smith were honored in a post-game ceremony for their school records. On Saturday, Smith became the school's all-time leading scorer in a victory over Air Force. She now has 2,120 career points.