PROVO -- BYU stays perfect in two games at home this season with a 74-58 win over the Pac-10's Oregon at the Marriott Center, Wednesday. The Cougars have now won three out of four games on their schedule versus Pac-10 schools this season. The win improves BYU to 5-3 on the season while the loss drops Oregon to 5-4.
Junior Jennifer Leitner led the way for the Cougars dropping a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. She came out strong and hit two three-pointers in the first half including a 25-footer at the buzzer. The backcourt of Erin Thorn and Stacy Jensen chipped in 14 a piece, while having their hands full on defense.
"I give a lot of credit for this victory to seniors Stacy Jensen and Lisa Osguthorpe," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "They held Oregon's top two players (Edneisha Curry and Shaquala Williams) in check with great defense."
The bench played well with junior Melanie Pearson scoring 11 and freshman Danielle Cheesman chipping in eight points.
"This is our best 40-minute effort of the season," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "There was a great effort by a lot of key players"
For the game, the Cougars shot 43 percent from the field to 36 percent for the Ducks. BYU shot 44 percent from behind the arc making 11-25 attempts while Oregon only shot 2-15. Rebounds, assists, turnovers, and fouls were nearly even for both teams.
Up next for BYU is the Pioneer Classic in Denver where they will play Arkansas Pine-Bluff on Friday at 5 p.m. BYU will face host University of Denver on Saturday at 4 p.m. The next home game for the Cougars will be against in-state rival Southern Utah on December 29th with a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Three games are on the schedule this week, with a home game against Oregon, Wed. Dec. 12 and then two road games in Denver, Colorado at the Pioneer Classic hosted by the University of Denver, Dec. 14-15. The Cougars are 4-3 on the season while Oregon is 5-3.
Tip off: BYU (4-3) vs Oregon (5-3), 4:00 p.m. (MST) Arena: Marriott Center
Tip off: BYU (4-3)vs Arkansas Pine-Bluff @ Denver (5-3), 5:00 p.m. (MST) Arena: Magness Arena
Tip off: BYU (4-3) vs Denver (5-3), 4:00 p.m. (MST) Arena: Magness Arena
Women's Game vs Ducks On TV
Wednesday's women's game between the Cougars and Ducks will air live on BYU-TV nation-wide on the Dish Network 500 System, Direct TV and some AT&T cable carriers. It will air tape delay locally on KBYU-TV, Channel 11 at 11:30 p.m. Holly Rowe will call the action for the game.
BYU's Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 Jr 10.2 8.0
F 31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Sr 7.6 4.0
F 23 Chanell Rose 6-0 Jr 4.4 2.3
G 11 Erin Thorn 5-10 Jr 20.0 4.9
G 22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Sr 10.6 3.0
Cougar Players Off The Bench
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F/G 12 Melanie Pearson 6-1 Sr 9.6 2.4
F 51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Fr 8.3 3.0
F 45 Lisa Hansen 6-5 Jr 3.4 3.0
G 25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Fr 2.4 0.4
F 20 Brittany Larson 6-0 Jr 2.0 1.3
F 50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 So 1.7 1.0
G 05 Amy Lewis 5-6 Jr 0.5 0.0
Quickie BYU Stats
l Shooting from the field - .478 (197-412)
l Shooting from the free-throw line - .752 (88-117)
l Shooting from the three-point arc - .481 (61-135)
l Averaged 77.6 points per game
Last Game Recap
BYU's first road battle in December was in Dallas, Texas against SMU. The team had a strong performance breaking two Moody Coliseum records, but fell short in the victory column, losing to the Mustangs by nine, 83-92. In the game All-American Erin Thorn became the Cougars all-time leading scorer in three-pointers with her five in the game to give her a total of 205. Standout Kari Gallup held the record with 204. The team broke the Coliseum's three-point attempt record with their 31 attempts and also set a record with the 11 that they made. Thorn led the team in scoring with 17 points and seven rebounds and Danielle Cheesman came off the bench for her season and career high 16 points.
BYU Notes
All-American Erin Thorn continues to be the team's leading scorer with an average of 20.0 points a game. The team's leading rebounder is junior forward Jennifer Leitner who's averaging 8.0 boards a game. Senior guard Stacy Jensen leads in the assist category with an average of 4.3 per game. Jensen is one of two other Cougars' scoring in double digits, contributing 10.3 points a game with junior forward Leitner picking up 10.2 points a game.
2001-02 Season Highlights
TEAM
4 Points - 94 vs Washington State 11/24/01
4 Field Goals Made - 36 vs Washington State 11/24/01
4 3 PT Field Goals Made - 13 vs Washington State 11/24/01
4 Free Throws Made - 21 @ USC 11/29/01
4 Rebounds - 43 @ SMU 12/8/01
4 Assists - 32 vs Washington State 11/24/01
4 Steals - 14 @ Weber State 12/01/01
INDIVIDUAL
4 Points - Erin Thorn, (26) @ Texas 11/20/01
4 Field Goals Made - Erin Thorn, (10) @ Weber State 12/01/01
4 3 PT Field Goals Made - Erin Thorn, (6) @ Texas 11/20/01
4 Free Throws Made - Jennifer Leitner, (8) @ USC 11/29/01
4 Rebounds - Jennifer Leitner, (13) @ UCLA 11/27/01
4 Assists - Stacy Jensen, (8) vs Washington State 11/24/01
4 Steals - Erin Thorn, (5) vs Washington State 11/24/01
Scouting Oregon
The Ducks come to Provo with a 5-3 record after defeating the University of Utah in Salt Lake City 63-55 on Saturday. Oregon returns two starters and and eight letterwinners to the 2001-02 team. Junior guard Shaquala Williams leads her team in scoring with 16.5 points a game and an average of 3.5 rebounds. Another guard on the squad Edniesha Curry also contributes in double digits in scoring with an average of 11.8 points a game. Alyssa Frederck is the team's leading rebounder, grabbing 5.5 boards a game. As a team, the Oregon Ducks are shooting 45 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free throw line. They are tallying 69.8 points a game and holding opponents to 64.9 points.
Series Record: 1-7 for Oregon. The two teams have not met since the 1998-99 season when the Cougars traveled to Eugene for a tournament there. BYU has only won one of the eight times, back in 1984 when the Cougars picked up the 98-67 win in Provo. Oregon has won the last seven straight.
Oregon Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 31 Alyssa Frederick 6-3 Sr 8.6 5.5
F 52 Ndidi Unaka 6-0 Sr 4.9 3.8
G 00 Edniesha Curry 5-6 Sr 11.8 3.9
G 03 Shaquala Williams 5-6 Jr 16.5 3.5
G 10 Jamie Craighead 5-9 Sr 8.9 2.4
Scouting Arkansas Pine-Bluff
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions are part of the Southwestern Athletic conference and return four starters and nine letterwinners.
Series Record: First meeting for both schools.
Scouting University of Denver
The University of Denver is hosting their annual Pioneer Classic Dec. 14 and 15. To date the Pioneers are 2-6 on the season and return three starters and 10 letterwinners from last season's team that went 24-7 and 14-2 in the Sun Belt conference. Four players are scoring in double digits for the Pioneers. Leading the way is senior guard Nikki Weddle with an average of 14.3 points a game. She's followed by junior center/forward Misty Staton who contributes 12.9 points and is the team's leading rebounder, grabbing an average of 5.0 boards a game. Melissa Garcia and Ashley Atkinson round out the top scoring for Denver with 11.8 and 10.5 points each respectively. The Pioneers are averaging 69.5 points a game and are shooting 39 percent from the field, 70 percent from the free throw line and just 33 percent from behind the arc.
Series Record: first meeting.
University of Denver Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
G 05 Nikki Weddle 5-4 Sr 14.3 3.8
G/F 55 Misty Staton 6-2 Jr 12.9 5.0
G 22 Melissa Garcia 5-7 Sr 11.8 2.4
G 35 Ashley Atkinson 5-10 Jr 10.5 4.5
F 30 Stephanie Hart 6-0 So 4.3 4.4
Head Coach Jeff Judkins
Jeff Judkins, an assistant during the 2000-01 season is this year's head coach for the Cougar women. Judkins, a longtime University of Utah coach and player takes over the BYU program with a proven record of success dating back to his high school days at Highland HS in Salt Lake City. An all-state selection in basketball, football and baseball, Judkins went on to play for Utah from 1974-78. While playing for the Utes, he helped the team win one conference championship and two berths in the NCAA Tournament. He was a second-team academic All-American and three-time first-team District VII academic selection. Judkins earned three first-team All-WAC honors and was a member of the 1977 United States World Games team that captured the gold medal.
He played five years in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Portland Trailblazers, Detroit Pistons and the Utah Jazz. He was a second-round pick by the Celtics in 1978, the same year the Celtics selected Larry Bird with the sixth pick overall.
After his NBA career, he returned to the the University of Utah in 1989, and was an integral part of the program's success during his 10 year tenure.
Judkins, a Salt Lake City native, graduated from Utah in 1978 with a degree in health and physical education. He is a member of the Utah Sports Hall of Fame and the Crimson Club Hall of Fame.
He and his wife Mary Kay, are the parents of five children: Jessica (20), Jordan (18), Jenna (16), Jaime (13) and Jaxson (10).
Up Next
After Wednesday's game with Oregon, BYU will travel to Denver, Colorado for the Pioneer Classic where they play Arkansas Pine-Bluff and the University of Denver on Dec. 14-15.
