Imagine what she could do if her knees weren't killing her. Hanchett recently had her right knee drained from fluid that had built up during the Mountain West Conference tournament.

"Her knees are really holding her back," Utah coach Elaine Elliott said. "But on the upside, she is a great raw talent, and she's getting better each day."

Getting Hanchett to Utah was a bit of a surprise for Elliott and her staff. Prior to her junior year in high school, Hanchett moved to Salt Lake City to live with her mother in Sandy.

She starred at Alta High, earning all-state honors her freshman year and an MVP honor last year when she averaged 18 points and 13 rebounds.

However, most thought she would go to Brigham Young, where her father went to school. She went north instead, and now is headed to her first NCAA Tournament experience, knees willing.

"She has a physicalness about her," Elliott said. "It's impressive that she can grab the rim and slap a ball off a backboard. She has an athleticism you don't see a lot of times."

By planes, trains . . .

Fresno is only a short flight away for the Utes, but getting to the host city is turning out to be a little more problematic for the Cyclones, who still didn't have their travel plans finalized Tuesday.

"We took Monday off and we'll practice today and Wednesday, we still don't know about Thursday," Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly said. "As of right now, we're still in Ames, but we're working on it."

On the mend

Iowa State guard Anne O'Neil leads her team averaging 16.6 points despite getting limited practice time. O'Neil has a "stress reaction," which can lead to a stress fracture, in her leg. She hasn't practiced in six days, with rest being more important for her than on the court work.

"I tease her that her body is getting old," Fennelly said.

Familiar stomping grounds

Fennelly was an assistant coach at Fresno State for five years and his oldest son, Billy, was born in Fresno and serves as a student manager for the Cyclones.

"It has been about 19 years since I've been back there," Fennelly said. "But I've gotten about 15 or 20 e-mails from people there."

Smith, Thorburn finalists

Utah's Kim Smith and Shona Thorburn have been named finalists for the 2005 Kodak/WBCA All-America Basketball Team. The juniors were named Co-Mountain West Conference Players of the Year. Smith is a two-time Kodak/WBCA Honorable Mention All-America selection.