Utah 73, DePaul 64

RALEIGH, N.C., March 23 (UPI) -- Freshman sensation Kim Smith scored 35 points Sunday to lead eighth-seeded Utah to a 73-64 victory over No. 9 DePaul in an opening-round game of the NCAA Women's Tournament.

Smith, the first player to earn Mountain West Conference Player and Newcomer of the Year honors in the same season, scored 23 points in the first half as Utah took a 45-27 lead into the half. The forward scored 13 points and Shona Thorburn added eight as Utah closed the first half on a 25-8 run.

For the game, Smith shot 11 of 16 from the floor and 10 of 12 from the foul line. She sank three three-pointers and added six rebounds. She is now the all-time freshman scoring leader for Utah with 520 points.

Thorburn scored 20 points and had team-highs with 10 rebounds and six assists for the Utes, who shot 50 percent from the floor and outrebounded DePaul by a 39-28 margin.

Freshman Khara Smith, the first DePaul player to claim Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors, scored 24 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. The Blue Demons were making their first NCAA Tourney appearance since 1997.

Charlene Smith scored 13 points and Jenni Dant added 11 for DePaul. Smith scored on a layup with 4:30 left in the game to close a 9-0 run that brought DePaul to within 59-54.

Utah will play Duke in the second round of the Midwest Region Tuesday night.