PROVO -- For the second consecutive game, the BYU women's basketball team battled back from a second-half deficit, but the Cougars could not pull out a win against Montana, losing 70-67, Saturday night at the Marriott Center.

A three-pointer by Montana guard Cheryl Keller put the Lady Grizzlies up 69-67 with 19 seconds remaining, but sophomore All-American Erin Thorn missed a jumper with six seconds remaining that would have tied the game. BYU fouled Montana guard Brooklynn Lorenzo who made one of two free throws to increase the lead to 70-67. A last second desperation heave by Thorn fell short as did the Cougars.

Down by nine points at the 14:08 mark of the second half, BYU chipped into Montana's margin and eventually took its first lead since 8-7, with 3:44 remaining in the game. The teams battled back and forth the rest of the way. Thorn hit a clutch three-point basket with 2:22 remaining to put BYU up 67-64, but Keller hit the eventual game-winning shot to seal the victory.

"Montana played really well tonight and they hit some big shots," said BYU head coach Trent Shippen. "Our biggest problem is that we start off slow. We knew what they (Montana) were going to do, but we need to come out ready to play."

Thorn led a balanced BYU scoring attack with 15 points while freshman Julie Whetten scored a season and career high 12 points, with Stacy Jensen chipping in 10 points and five rebounds.

BYU shot only 39 percent from the field while Montana hit on 50 percent of its field goal attempts. The Cougars made 7-of-19 three pointers while the Lady Grizzlies made 8-of-16 from behind the arc.

Linda Cummings led a balanced Montana attack, scoring 13 points while Lauren Cooper and Keller also scored 13. Center Laura Valley chipped in 10 points for the Lady Grizzlies.

The loss drops the Cougars to 5-3 on the season while Montana improves to 7-2. BYU will host Weber State, Friday at 7 p.m., in the Marriott Center.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS

MONTANA Grizzlies vs BYU Cougars

12-09-00 7:00 PM at BYU MARRIOTT CENTER PROVO UT

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VISITORS: MONTANA Grizzlies 7-2

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS

## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN

10 COOPER, LAUREN...... f 5-9 2-4 1-1 0 4 4 1 13 3 1 0 0 28

22 CUMMINGS, Linda..... f 5-12 1-2 2-2 0 7 7 2 13 3 1 0 0 32

32 VALLEY, Laura....... c 4-5 0-0 2-2 1 0 1 5 10 0 3 1 0 23

12 KELLER, Cheryl...... g 5-8 3-4 0-0 0 3 3 2 13 1 0 0 1 26

23 LORENZEN, Brooklyn.. g 3-5 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 1 7 3 0 0 2 20

03 PHILLIPS, Amy....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

15 FARISS, Jamie....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

24 MONTER, LeAnn....... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 6 2 0 0 20

33 NEIER, Leah......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

43 SCHILDT, Simarron... 2-7 1-4 2-2 2 5 7 1 7 0 1 0 1 25

55 DEMING, Julie....... 3-6 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 3 7 0 1 0 0 22

TEAM................ 1 4 5

Totals.............. 27-54 8-16 8-9 4 25 29 17 70 16 10 1 4 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-26 .538 2nd Half: 13-28 .464 Game: .500 DEADBALL

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-7 .571 2nd Half: 4-9 .444 Game: .500 REBOUNDS

F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 1.000 2nd Half: 6-7 .857 Game: .889 0

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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 5-3

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 1-6 0-1 1-1 4 0 4 3 3 4 3 0 1 24

50 CHEESMAN, Heather... f 3-9 0-0 0-0 1 6 7 2 6 0 0 0 0 31

44 BEUS, Caroline...... c 1-4 0-0 4-5 3 1 4 3 6 1 1 0 1 25

11 THORN, Erin......... g 6-14 3-8 0-0 0 5 5 0 15 4 1 1 0 35

22 JENSEN, Stacy....... g 4-11 1-4 1-2 2 3 5 2 10 2 5 0 0 35

04 SHIPPEN, Kaly G..... 2-4 1-3 2-3 1 0 1 2 7 0 0 0 0 10

14 WHETTEN, Julie...... 4-4 2-2 2-2 0 3 3 0 12 2 1 0 0 17

15 COX, Jorja.......... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3

20 LARSON, Brittany.... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4

23 ROSE, Chanell....... 2-5 0-0 4-4 0 3 3 1 8 0 0 1 1 16

TEAM................ 2 3 5

Totals.............. 23-59 7-19 14-17 14 24 38 14 67 13 12 2 3 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-29 .310 2nd Half: 14-30 .467 Game: .390 DEADBALL

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-9 .222 2nd Half: 5-10 .500 Game: .368 REBOUNDS

F Throw % 1st Half: 10-10 1.000 2nd Half: 4-7 .571 Game: .824 0

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Officials: AMANDA MYLES, MIKE PETTY, CAMERON INOUGE

Technical fouls: MONTANA Grizzlies-None. BYU Cougars-None.

Attendance: 506

Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total

MONTANA Grizzlies............. 34 36 - 70

BYU Cougars................... 30 37 - 67

Provo, Utah (Dec. 8, 2000) - Three basketball standouts have signed letters of intent to play for BYU's women's basketball team. Danielle Cheesman, from Orem, Ashleigh Chamberlain, from Kanab, and Ana Cosic, from Zagreb, Croatia will be part of the Cougar program next year.

Cheesman, is a 6-2 power forward from Mountain View High School where she averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds a game. "Danielle is no question the best player in the state. She was highly recruited throughout the country," said head coach Trent Shippen. "Danielle can score, rebound and defend, with the best players in the country. She is the complete package. We are very happy to welcome her to our team."

At Mountain View, Cheesman led her team to the state championship in 1999 and a second place finish last year. Other honors include being chosen to participate in the Nike All-America camp as a junior. The camp showcases the top 80 players in the country. She was also named to the Utah Tip-Off "Terrific Twelve" for 1999-00. She will be joining her sister Heather, who is currently starting for the BYU team as one of two forwards. Both girls are daughters of former men's basketball star, Jay Cheesman.

Shippen and his staff have had great success recruiting the top JC talent and this year is no exception. An All-State selection while at Kanab High School, 6-4 center Ashleigh Chamberlain will join the BYU team in the 2001-2002 season after playing two seasons at nearby UVSC. "Ashleigh will be a great player for us, she has great strength and size and has a soft touch on her shot. Her inside scoring and defensive ability will make a big impact on our program and she's just what we need to take us to the next level," added Coach Shippen.

Chamberlain was an All-State selection from Kanab High School and currently averages 11 points and seven rebounds in 11 minutes of play at UVSC.

The first foreign player signed by Shippen and his staff will play at the Marriott Center next season. Ana Cosic, a 6-1 forward from Zagreb, Croatia will done the Cougar blue, much like her father, former men's basketball star Kresmir Cosic.

"She has distinguished herself on the Croatian National Team, and has played in the European Championships," commented Shippen. "This is a tremendous commitment for Ana and her family, and we are honored that she has chosen to come to BYU."

Ana hopes to follow in her fathers' footsteps. She's currently playing on the Yougoslav national team where she averages 15 points and leads the team in rebounds. Cosic was the second leading scorer during the European Championships two years ago.

Head Coach Trent Shippen feels this is a very good crop of athletes. "This is our best inside recruiting class since coming to BYU. These three players will help us continue a great winning tradition and will take us to the next level."