Provo, UT (Jan. 31) -- BYU's women's basketball team (12-6, 4-2) jumped to a 26-point victory over San Diego State (9-10, 1-5) Thursday night in front of a Marriott Center crowd of 1,403, winning the game 67-41.
The Cougars took a 2-0 lead on a shot by All-American Erin Thorn in the first minute and never looked back on their way to their second straight conference victory.
Although San Diego State tried to give BYU a lesson in defense, holding the Cougars to 36 percent shooting on the night, the Aztecs left the Marriott Center with a lesson of their own, shooting only 25 percent for the night.
"We played hard tonight," said coach Jeff Judkins. "I've told the girls all week, 'If we defend, we can win against anyone.'"
BYU took Judkins' advice to heart, hustling up and down the court all game long. Despite shooting 11-28 in the first period, the Cougars finished the first half strong on an 11-4 run.
Jennifer Leitner set the tone for the Cougars in the second half by opening with a long three-pointer from the corner less than 20 seconds in. Leitner led the Cougars on the boards with 12 rebounds and in scoring tied with Thorn's 11 points.
BYU had a 12-rebound advantage over SDSU garnering a season best 53 boards on the night.
The Cougars received a balanced effort with four players reaching double figures. Danielle Cheesman and Melanie Pearson both gave 10 points to the Cougars' 67-41 win.
Coach Judkins received another gift from his bench as they added 30 points to the BYU victory.
BYU returns to action at the Marriott Center Saturday afternoon, Feb. 2, against UNLV who beat Utah 79-71 Thursday night. Tip off will be at 4 p.m.
Official Basketball Box ScoreSan Diego ST Aztecs vs BYU Cougars
01/31/02 7:00 PM at MARRIOTT CENTER BYU PROVO UT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: San Diego ST Aztecs 9-10; 1-5
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
10 WILLIAMS, Ashonda... * 1-7 1-3 1-2 0 3 3 1 4 1 1 1 1 25
12 SWINBANK, Claire.... * 6-15 0-3 0-0 2 5 7 4 12 1 2 0 0 31
20 COX, Jamey.......... * 0-8 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 35
34 HOWARD, Valencia.... * 0-1 0-0 0-2 1 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 13
55 OTII, Atim.......... * 5-11 0-0 2-4 5 3 8 4 12 0 4 2 3 33
14 WOLF, Heather....... 0-2 0-1 2-2 2 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 10
24 McCARTNY, Nicolette. 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 5 6 4 1 0 3 0 1 15
25 SCHOMAKER, Missy.... 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 17
33 SAULS, Maggie....... 0-2 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 2
40 KNIGHT, Tanisha..... 3-7 0-0 2-4 5 1 6 3 8 1 5 0 2 15
50 VARGAS, Morgan...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 15-59 1-9 10-18 17 24 41 20 41 3 19 3 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-25 36.0% 2nd Half: 6-34 17.6% Game: 25.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 0-5 0.0% Game: 11.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 8-14 57.1% Game: 55.6% 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 13-6; 4-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
31 Osguthorpe, Lisa.... f 1-2 0-0 0-1 1 3 4 1 2 2 2 1 1 22
51 Cheesman, Danielle.. f 4-10 0-0 2-2 3 4 7 3 10 0 2 0 1 18
21 LEITNER, Jennifer... c 4-8 1-3 2-4 4 8 12 2 11 1 1 0 0 25
11 Thorn, Erin......... g 3-7 0-3 5-6 0 4 4 2 11 5 2 0 1 26
22 Jensen, Stacy....... g 1-7 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 23
05 Lewis, Amy.......... 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 0 3 0 2 0 0 6
12 Pearson, Melanie.... 3-11 1-4 3-4 2 2 4 1 10 2 2 0 2 23
20 Larson, Brittany.... 1-3 0-1 4-5 3 1 4 3 6 0 3 0 0 10
23 Rose, Chanell....... 2-4 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 2 12
25 Taylor, Kali........ 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 12
30 BROWN, MELISSA...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
32 CASPER, Aspen....... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 7
45 Hansen, Lisa........ 0-1 0-0 3-4 3 1 4 3 3 0 3 1 0 13
TEAM................ 3 7 10
Totals.............. 21-58 3-14 22-30 19 34 53 17 67 14 17 2 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-28 39.3% 2nd Half: 10-30 33.3% Game: 36.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 1-8 12.5% Game: 21.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 8-14 57.1% 2nd Half: 14-16 87.5% Game: 73.3% 2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: RICK MORRIS, LES WILLIAMS, RANDY CAMPBELL
Technical fouls: San Diego ST Aztecs-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 1403
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
San Diego ST Aztecs........... 21 20 - 41
BYU Cougars................... 32 35 - 67
The BYU's women's basketball team improved to 3-2 in conference action after their impressive 12-point victory over Utah on Saturday in Salt Lake City. This Week the Cougar women are at home hosting MWC foes SDSU and UNLV on Thurs. Jan. 31, 7 p.m. and Sat. Feb. 2., 4 p.m.
Tip off: BYU (12-6, 3-2) vs SDSU (9-9, 1-4), 7:00 p.m.(MST) Arena: Marriott Ctr
Tip off: BYU (12-6, 3-2) vs UNLV (16-3, 4-2), 4:00 p.m.(MST)Arena: Marriott Ctr
Both Games Live on BYU-TV
Thursday night's game against SDSU and Saturday afternoon's game against UNLV will both air live on BYU-TV through the Dish Network, 500 System, Direct TV and some AT&T cable outlets. The games will also air on KBYU-TV, Channel 11, locally on Jan. 31 at 10:30 p.m., and on Feb. 2 live at 4 p.m.
BYU's Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 Jr 11.4 8.1
F 31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Sr 5.6 3.6
F 51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Fr 7.5 3.2
G 11 Erin Thorn 5-10 Jr 17.8 4.4
G 22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Sr 10.3 3.1
Cougar Players Off The Bench
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F/G 12 Melanie Pearson 6-1 Sr 10.3 3.1
F 23 Chanell Rose 6-0 Jr 3.7 2.6
F 45 Lisa Hansen 6-5 Jr 3.3 2.6
G 25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Fr 1.5 0.4
F 20 Brittany Larson 6-0 Jr 1.9 0.9
G 05 Amy Lewis 5-6 Jr 0.8 0.6
Quickie BYU Stats
l Shooting from the field - .465 (483-1039)
l Shooting from the free-throw line - .728 (221-304)
l Shooting from the three-point arc - .452 (165-365)
l Averaged 75.1 points per game
Last Game Recap
Playing Utah at the Huntsman Center has not been kind to the Cougar women over the years, but last Saturday afternoon it proved very kind with BYU picking up the 77-65 win over instate rival Utah. The win improves BYU's record to 12-6 and 3-2 in the conference. Melanie Pearson came off the bench for one of her best performances of the year, scoring 28 points in 20 minutes. That's a season record for her and is just two shy of her career record while playing at UCLA. All-American Erin Thorn scored 15 points and had five assists and five rebounds in the game. The Cougars shot 49 percent from the field and 59 percent from behind the arc.
BYU Notes
The 2001-02 team returns four starters and eight letterwinners from last season.
After five games into conference play, the team has tallied a 3-2 record prior to this week's home games. All-American Erin Thorn continues to be the team's leading scorer with an average of 17.8 points a game. The team's leading rebounder is junior forward Jennifer Leitner who's averaging 8.1 boards a game. She's also averaging 11.4 points a game. Senior guard Stacy Jensen leads in the assist category tallying 81 to date for an average of 4.5 per game. Jensen is also scoring in double digits, contributing 10.2 points a game. Senior transfer Melanie Pearson comes off the bench to score in double digits as well. She's picking up 10.3 points a game and is averaging 3.1 rebounds a game.
Injury Update
Sophomore forward Heather Cheesman was hit in the head during practice on Jan. 24. She suffered a bruised spinal chord and remains in the hospital at Utah Valley Regional Medial Center in Provo.
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 - 20 vs Arkansas Pine-Bluff 12/14/01
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, (29) vs Arkansas Pine-Bluff 12/14/01
4 Field Goals Made - Erin Thorn, (10) @ Weber State 12/01/01
4 3 PT Field Goals Made - Erin Thorn, (9) vs Arkansas PB 12/14/01
4 Free Throws Made - Melanie Pearson, (9) @ Utah, 1/26/02
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
MWC Standings - As Of Jan. 28
School Conference Games All Games
Colorado St. 5-0 16-3
UNLV 4-2 16-3
New Mexico 4-2 15-5
BYU 3-2 12-6
Utah 2-3 9-8
Wyoming 2-3 9-8
San Diego St. 1-4 9-9
Air Force 0-5 4-14
Cougars In MWC Stats (Conf. Games Only)
Top Three Finishes - TEAM
2 1st - Scoring Offense (355 pts, 71.0)
21st - Field Goal Percentage (.454, 122-269)
21st - 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (.451, 46-102)
21st - Blocked Shots (20, 4.0 avg)
21st - Assists (83, 16.60 avg)
21st - 3-Point Field Goals Made (46, 9.20 avg)
21st - Assist/Turnover Ratio (83 Asst, 16.6 avg/82 Turn, 16.4 avg, Ratio - 1.01)
22nd - Free Throw Percentage (.765, 65-85)
Top Ten Finishes - INDIVIDUALS
2 1st - Erin Thorn - Assists (21, 4.20 avg)
2 1st - Erin Thorn - 3-PT Field Goals Made (18, 3.60)
2 2nd - Erin Thorn - Asst/Turn Ratio (21 asst, 4.2 avg/ 13 turn, 2.6 avg, 1.62 ratio)
2 4th - Erin Thorn - 3-PT Field Goal Percentage (.462, 18-39)
2 4th - Erin Thorn - Scoring (77 pts., 15.4 avg)
2 10th - Erin Thorn - Steals (8, 1.60)
2 2nd - Melanie Pearson - 3-PT Field Goal Percentage (.538, 7-13)
2 5th - Melanie Pearson - Field Goal Percentage (.533, 16-30)
2 9th - Melanie Pearson - 3-PT Field Goals Made (7, 1.40)
2 4th - Danielle Cheesman - Field Goal Percentage (.536, 15-28)
2 6th - Danielle Cheesman - Blocked Shots (4, .80)
2 3rd - Jennifer Leitner - Blocked Shots (6, 1.50)
2 4th - Jennifer Leitner - Rebounding (31, 7.8 avg)
2 3rd - Stacy Jensen - Asst/Turn Ratio (15 asst, 3.0 avg/ 10 turn, 2.0 avg, 1.50 ratio)
2 7th - Stacy Jensen - 3-PT Field Goal Percentage (.438, 7-16)
2 8th - Stacy Jensen - Assists (15, 3.00)
2 9th - Stacy Jensen - 3-PT Field Goals Made (7, 1.40)
2 4th - Lisa Osguthorpe - Assists (17, 3.40)
2 1st - Lisa Osguthorpe - Asst/Turn Ratio (17 asst, 3.4 avg/6 turn, 1.2 avg, 2.83 ratio) 2 1st - Heather Cheesman - 3-PT Field Goal Percentage (.900, 9-10)
2 5th - Heather Cheesman - 3-PT Field Goals Made (9, 2.25)
2 9th - Lisa Hansen - Blocked Shots (3, .60)
Scouting San Diego State
San Diego State comes to Provo with an 9-9, 1-4 record with their lone conference win against Air Force. Claire Swinbank is the Aztecs leading scorer with an average of 12.1 points and 3.7 rebounds a game. Atim Otti is also scoring in double figures, contributing 10.7 points and she's leading the team in rebounds grabbing an average of 6.2 boards per game. SDSU is shooting 41 percent from the field and 67 percent at the free throw line. The team scores 61.5 points a game and they hold opponents to 60.1 points a game.
SDSU Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 10 Ashonda Williams 6-0 Jr 8.3 4.2
F 34 Valencia Howard 6-1 Jr 4.7 5.0
F 55 Atim Otii 6-0 Sr 10.7 6.2
G 12 Claire Swinbank 5-8 Sr 12.1 3.7
G 20 Jamey Cox 5-7 Jr 9.6 2.0
Series Record: 12-9 favoring BYU. The MWC teams met twice during last year's league schedule with each team winning on their home courts. At Cox Arena the final score was 63-61 on Jan. 11 and at the Marriott Center ti was 76-53 on Feb. 10.
Scouting UNLV
The Rebels come to Provo after playing Utah on Thursday night. They currently have a 16-3, 4-2 record and are in second place in the most updated MWC standings. Senior forward and All-American Linda Frohlick leads UNLV with an impressive 22.1 points and a team high 11.1 rebounds a game. Constance Jinks is the other team player scoring in double digits. She's contributing 17.1 points and 4.6 boards a game. As a team, the Rebels are shooting 46 percent from the field, 64 percent from the free throw line and 33 percent from behind the arc. UNLV is scoring 75.7 points a game and are holding opponents to just 57.2 points a game.
UNLV Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 13 Linda Frohlick 6-2 Sr 22.1 11.1
F 15 Petra Glaser 6-6 So 9.7 4.4
F 03 Kinesha Davis 5-9 Sr 5.3 2.9
G 11 Julia Gray 5-6 Jr 4.1 1.6
G 23 Constance Jinks 5-7 Jr 17.1 4.6
Series Record: 10-5 in favor of the Cougars. During last year's MWC regular season schedule, each team won on its own home court. At the Thomas & Mack Center, the final was 50-61 on Jan. 13 and at the Marriott Center it was 89-83 on Feb. 8. Then the two teams met again on the first day of the MWC Championships with BYU winning that game 62-54. That game sent the Cougars into one of two semifinal games and then onto the final game against CSU.
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 U of U in 1989, and remained with the men's program for 10 years. 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 (19), Jenna (16), Jaime (13), Jaxson (10).
Coach Judkins Quotes
(On Cougars) We played one of our better, more complete games against Utah last Saturday. We had really good bench play and I was happy with the intensity level we had for the entire game. I thought that our motion looked as good as it has looked for a long time. And, I'm pleased with our confidence. The team knew we had our backs against the wall in the conference and we knew we had to win at Utah. They played with a lot of confidence and proved they had confidence in each other and as a team.
(On SDSU and UNLV) Thursday's game against SDSU is another game we have to win. It's critical that we win at home. And we need to beat UNLV on Saturday as well. They are a team that has proven they can win on the road and I know they'll be up to the challenge.
BYU Practice Schedule At Home
The BYU team practices daily at the Marriott Center from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Coach Judkins' and or player interviews can be done prior to or after practice. No interviews are done 24-hours prior to a game. All interviews must be scheduled in advance through the Media Relations Office. The women's basketball SID is Norma Collett. She can be contacted by phone: 801-378-4908 during regular business hours or by e-mail norma_collett@byu.edu
Up Next
After the two home conference games, the Cougars take to the road for games at Wyoming and at Colorado State on Feb. 7 and 9. BYU is at home again on Feb. 14 and 16 hosting Air Force and New Mexico.
2001-02 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - NUMERICAL ROSTER (Tentative)
No. Name Ht. Cl. Pos. Exp. Hometown/School
11 Erin Thorn 5-10 Jr. G 2V Orem, UT/Mountain View H.S.
12 Melanie Pearson 6-1 Sr. G 3V Irvine, CA/Woodbridge HS/UCLA
20 Brittany Larson 6-0 Jr. F 2V Chicago, IL/New Trier HS
21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 Jr. F 2V Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley HS
22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Sr. G 3V West Jordan, UT/West Jordan HS
23 Chanell Rose 6-0 Jr. F 2V Orem, UT/UVSC
25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Fr. G HS Lyman, UT/Wayne HS
31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Sr. F 3V Orem, UT/Mountain View HS
45 Lisa Hansen 6-5 Jr. C 2V/RS Bakersfield, CA/Centennial HS/UCSB
50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 So. F 1V Orem, UT/Mountain View HS
51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Fr. F HS Orem, UT/Mountain View HS
HEAD COACH: Jeff Judkins (1st Year)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Alli Bills, Trent Shippen
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Jonas Chatterton
ATHLETIC TRAINER: Carolyn Billings
2001-02 Walk-On Players:
05 Amy Lewis 5-6 Jr. G Jefferson City, Montana/Jefferson City HS
24 Shauna Tuft 6-0 So. F 1V Mesa, Arizona/Highland HS
30 Melissa Brown 5-8 So. G 1V University Place, WA/Curtis HS
32 Aspen Casper 6-0 Jr. F 1V Central Point, Oregon/S. Medford HS
