With some help from north of the border, Utah is a force again in the Mountain West Conference.

A traditional power in the West, Utah slumped last season and failed to make the NCAA Tournament for only the second time in eight years, finishing 15-12 overall and 8-6 in the Mountain West.

But Canadians Kim Smith and Shona Thorburn have led the Utes back to the top of the conference this season. Even after losing for the first time in league play Thursday night, 56-44 at Colorado State, Utah had a two-game lead in the conference race and was 17-4 overall.

Smith, a 6-foot-1 freshman from British Columbia, leads the Utes in scoring (17.1) and rebounding (7.3). Thorburn, a 5-foot-10 sophomore who is from Ontario and sat out last season, averages 15.1 points and leads the team in assists (3.3).

"They've obviously brought talent enough to be successful at the Division I level,'' Utah coach Elaine Elliott said. "Beyond that, there's the intangibles that a lot of players don't have.

"These kids have that leadership, the confidence -- they're heady players, they understand the game. Those are the kind of things that make them better than just their shooting ability.''

Both played in the Canadian National Team system and have benefited from international competition. Elliott said that exposed them to the intensity level they would see in college.

"They weren't overwhelmed when they got here,'' she said. "They were ready for it.''

Elliott, who has no seniors, said Smith and Thorburn readily accepted their roles as the team's go-to players and that has helped everyone else.

"Our junior class is playing their best ball,'' Elliott said. "The reason for that is they aren't asked to be the primary focus, they aren't receiving the primary focus of the other teams. They've been allowed to be more successful because of Kim and Shona.''

Cyclone watch
Bruce Wilson couldn't stand the thought of his daughter's senior season passing by at Iowa State without catching every minute of the action.

So Wilson drove 2,000 miles from his home in Seattle to Ames, rented a studio apartment and took up residence there for the season.

By the time he returns to Seattle in April, Wilson figures he will have driven 17,000 miles to watch his daughter, Lindsey, the Cyclones' leading scorer.

His travels have included trips to Colorado, Baylor and Texas Tech. After Iowa State's game at Texas Tech last Sunday, Wilson drove from Lubbock to Columbia, Mo., for Wednesday's game with Missouri.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience,'' he said. "I'll never, ever have a chance to do something like this again. In truth, I see her more here than I do at home. At home, she's out training all the time.''

Lindsey Wilson, who is averaging 18.4 points and 5.3 assists, likes having her dad around. So do her teammates. Mary Fox calls him "Mr. Wilson'' in a "Dennis the Menace'' tone.

"My dad is one of those people you just gravitate toward,'' Lindsey Wilson said. "As a kid, I was embarrassed because my dad was so loud. Now, Dad is hilarious.''

No more padding
Ohio State coach Jim Foster is all for boosting attendance -- but not if the school has to pad numbers to do it.

The athletic department now counts only the people who walk through the gates in attendance figures. Officials used to add in prepaid seats from empty luxury boxes and personal seat license holders who received free tickets, plus season ticket holders who did not show.

The change has made a big difference in the attendance numbers printed on boxscores. Through 12 home games, the women's team is averaging 3,179 fans, down from last season's reported average of 6,745.

Foster, in his first season at Ohio State, applauds the move.

"I'm not one for putting things out there that aren't factual,'' he said. "I just think it gives us an opportunity to have real good seats available for our home games and to have people in them. And that's a refreshing change.''