PROVO -- BYU took advantage of a cold-shooting Denver team to jump out to a 13-0 lead and then cruised to a 70-57 win over the Pioneers Saturday afternoon in Provo.
BYU's two starting forwards, senior Jennifer Leitner and sophomore Kali Taylor, combined to score the Cougars' first 13 points while Denver (6-8) went 0-8 from the floor. Defensively, the Cougars (8-4) did not allow Denver a field goal for the first seven minutes of the game, and then denied the Pioneers a second field goal for four more minutes.
With the halftime score at 43-16 in favor of the Cougars, BYU head coach Jeff Judkins went to the bench early and often.
"When you get ahead, you try to get some other players some opportunities," Judkins said. "I tried to play a lot of young kids, trying some different combinations."
Playing the majority of the second half against BYU's reserves, Denver was able to chip away at the Cougars' lead, pulling within 12 with just under two minutes remaining in the game. BYU turned the ball over 21 times in the second half, compared to nine first-half turnovers.
"Turnovers are killing us," Judkins said. "We have no respect for the ball, it's just mental toughness."
For the second-straight game, Leitner led BYU in scoring with 15 points, while Cougar All-American Erin Thorn notched her first career double-double in 28 minutes of play, scoring 10 points and pulling down 14 boards, a career high. Taylor finished the game with 11 points and center Danielle Cheesman added 10.
BYU heads to Idaho State for a 7 p.m. tilt with the Bengals on Tuesday, Jan. 7, its final preseason tune-up before beginning conference play at home against Colorado State on Jan. 16.
Official Basketball Box ScoreUniversity of Denver vs BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars
01/04/03 1:00 PM at Brigham Young University
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VISITORS: University of Denver 6-8
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 EASON, Nicky........ f 2-10 0-4 3-4 1 1 2 2 7 2 2 0 3 19
44 CARWELL, Kellie..... f 4-7 0-0 1-1 1 0 1 3 9 2 1 0 0 23
35 ATKINSON, Ashley.... c 5-10 2-6 0-0 1 1 2 0 12 1 1 0 3 24
10 DAVENPORT, Katie.... g 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 14
30 HART, Stephanie..... g 2-3 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 2 4 1 1 1 1 17
00 CYRAN, Sarah........ 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 5 6 4 0 1 2 1 1 22
02 NEBLETT, Ragan...... 3-6 0-1 4-4 1 4 5 3 10 0 0 1 1 19
12 JOHNSON, Amber...... 0-3 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 11
20 CARSLILE, Nakia..... 2-8 0-0 5-6 0 0 0 2 9 3 3 0 1 19
21 JONES, Tasha........ 2-12 0-4 0-0 2 3 5 3 4 0 4 0 0 24
24 LOWERY, Tyesha...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
25 ADAMS, Venice....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 2
55 STATON, Misty....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 5
TEAM................ 3 3
Totals.............. 20-65 2-18 15-17 10 21 31 21 57 14 18 3 13 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-36 16.7% 2nd Half: 14-29 48.3% Game: 30.8% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-11 9.1% 2nd Half: 1-7 14.3% Game: 11.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 12-13 92.3% Game: 88.2% 1
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HOME TEAM: BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars 9-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
21 LEITNER, Jennifer... f 5-8 1-2 4-7 2 4 6 0 15 5 1 0 2 24
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. c 3-7 0-1 4-4 2 2 4 0 10 0 3 0 0 18
11 THORN, Erin......... g 2-6 1-4 5-6 2 12 14 2 10 6 3 1 2 28
14 SULLIVAN, Julie..... g 0-3 0-1 3-3 0 3 3 0 3 3 1 1 0 16
25 TAYLOR, Kali........ g 5-6 0-1 1-1 0 1 1 1 11 1 2 0 0 18
01 SELJAAS, Nancy...... 1-4 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 10
04 NELSON, Kestlee..... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 1 3 2 3 1 1 16
05 LEWIS, Amy.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3
10 MILLER, Marianne.... 0-2 0-2 1-2 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 5
12 GATTEN, Angie....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3
15 OVERDIEK, Jen....... 0-0 0-0 3-4 0 2 2 2 3 2 2 0 0 12
20 LARSON, Brittany.... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 10
32 KOZLOWSKI, Kristen.. 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 9
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia.. 1-3 0-1 0-0 1 3 4 1 2 0 3 0 0 12
40 CHAMBERLAIN, A...... 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 4 0 2 1 0 10
45 HANSEN, Lisa........ 3-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 3 6 0 2 0 0 6
TEAM................ 4 4
Totals.............. 23-48 3-15 21-28 9 36 45 19 70 20 30 4 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-28 50.0% 2nd Half: 9-20 45.0% Game: 47.9% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-10 20.0% 2nd Half: 1-5 20.0% Game: 20.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 13-17 76.5% 2nd Half: 8-11 72.7% Game: 75.0% 2
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Officials: RICK MORRIS, ROB BRYSON, MICHELLE RUSSI
Technical fouls: University of Denver-None. BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars-None.
Attendance: 1014
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
University of Denver.......... 16 41 - 57
BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars......... 43 27 - 70
Colorado Springs, CO (Jan. 6, 2002) BYU forward Jennifer Leitner was named Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week, marking her second career award.
A 6-1 senior from Chico, Calif. (Pleasant Valley HS), Leitner guided the Cougars to a 2-1 record last week. In a victory vs. Montana State, Leitner posted a game-high 12 rebounds with six points and four assists. In a loss to No. 22 Santa Barbara, Leitner tallied her 15th career double-double with 18 points and 17 rebounds. She was 7-of-14 from the field, 3-of-3 from the free throw line and hit her only three-point attempt in the game. Leitner capped the week with 15 points, four rebounds and five assists in a win over Denver.
For the week, Leitner averaged 13 points, 11.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists, while shooting 57.7 percent from the field (15-26), 70 percent from the free throw line (7-10) and 66.7 percent from beyond the arc (2-3).
The Cougar women play at Idaho State on Tuesday night before opening MWC play at home hosting Colorado State on Jan. 16.
