Honolulu, HI -- Jennifer Leitner's season and career high 21 points and 10 rebounds was not quite enough as the Cougar women fell four points short 74-79 to Hawai`i in overtime in a hard fought hoops battle in this year's WNIT, Monday.

The visiting BYU women came out playing solid before a partisan crowd of 3,279 at the Stan Sheriff Center, leading by as many as eight points and forcing 11 Hawai`i turnovers in the first half. The Rainbow Wahine cut the lead to just one-point, 29-28, at the break at the free-throw line from a lopsided 11 fouls against the cougars to five for Hawai`i.

In the second half, it was more competitive basketball where there were at least five ties with no one team enjoying more than a five-point lead. Down the stretch it was a Leitner basket and one of two free-throws from Lisa Osguthorpe with under a minute to play that gave BYU a 58-54 lead. A three-pointer from Hawai`i's Janka Gabrielova, and the Cougar lead is down to one, 58-57 with 40 seconds left in the game. Then a foul charged to BYU's Caroline Beus, her fifth of the night, sent the Rainbow Wahine's Christin Roper to the line for two. Roper makes both and gives Hawai`i a one-point, 59-58 lead as the clock shows four seconds remaining. After a couple of time outs and a foul from Julie Whetten and Hawai`i goes to the line once again where Crystal lee extends her team's lead to three 61-58 with two seconds on the clock. Whetten, the MWC's Newcomer of the Year, takes the ball down the court, stops just behind the three-point arc, shoots the ball and makes the three-pointer as the buzzer sounds, sending the game into overtime tied at 61-61.

Hawai`i got off to a quick start in the overtime period, scoring the first six points for a 67-61 lead with just under three minutes left. They extended the lead to 71-65 with 43 seconds showing on the clock when BYU's Stacy Jensen puts up a three-pointer puts up a three-pointer to cut the lead to 71-68. Four more points from the free-throw line and Hawai`i is up 75-70 with 19 seconds left. All-American Erin Thorn puts in her second three-pointer of the game and the lead is cut to tow, 75-73 with seven seconds to go. Osguthorpe fouls out sending Hawai`i's Gabrielova to the line, giving her team the 77-73 win.

"I was really proud of our kids, they kept hanging in there even when a lot of calls didn't go our way," said Cougar Coach Trent Shippen. "We gave ourselves plenty of chances to win and that's all you can ask as a coach. Our kids kept bouncing back, being resilient."

In the game, thorn scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds with Osguthorpe picking up 12 points and seven rebounds. The Cougars shot 37 percent from the field and 53 percent at the free-throw line.

For Hawai`i, four players scored in double digits with Gabrielova leading the way with 24 points. Roper followed with 15 points and seven boards. Dainora Puida had a double-double from 13 points and a team high 11 rebounds. Hawai`i shot 49 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free throw line. The Cougars outrebounded the Rainbow Wahine 45 to 35.

BYU's run in the WNIT comes to a close with a final record of 19-13, 8-6. Hawai`i improves to 24-7, 12-4 and will host Oklahoma State on Wednesday night in the round of eight.

With an impressive 15-point win over Oregon State and a first win in post-season play under Head Coach Trent Shippen, BYU's women's basketball team continues its strong showing in the 2001 WNIT, traveling to Honolulu to play former WAC foe Hawai'i in a Monday night Mar. 19 game.

Tip off: BYU (19-12, 8-6) vs Hawai'i (24-7, 12-4) , 7:00 p.m. Arena: Stan Sheriff Center

Cougars vs Hawai'i On The Web

Monday night's game between BYU and Hawai'i can be heard on their website at www.kccn1420am.com/

or www.uhathletics.hawaii.edu/

BYU's Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Jr 6.4 4.4

F 23 Chanell Rose 6-0 So 6.1 3.2

C 44 Caroline Beus 6-1 Sr 9.0 5.9

G 11 Erin Thorn 5-10 So 15.5 4.5

G 22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Jr 9.9 2.8

Hawaii Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 03 Kylie Galloway 6-0 Sr 15.2 4.9

F 23 Crystal Lee 5-11 Sr 16.1 5.9

C 24 Dainora Puida 6-4 Sr 11.2 8.3

G 12 Janka Gabrielova 5-6 Jr 8.4 2.9

G 31 April Atuia 5-10 Fr 6.3 4.6

BYU In Post Season

This will be the fifth year the Cougar program have participated in a post season tournament, and the third straight under Head Coach Trent Shippen. BYU has made three appearances to the NCAA championships and has a 0-3 record. They were part of last year's tournament losing to Oklahoma 81-86 in W. Lafayette in first round action. They were one of 16 teams to compete in the East Regional

The WNIT - History

Year Record WNIT Tourney

1998-99 16-13, 9-5 0-1, lost @ Colorado 53-70

1981-82 24-13, 7-3 2-1, beat DePaul 72-69, lost to Florida State 71-75, beat Illinois State 78-73

Quickie BYU Stats

l Shooting from the field - .430 (747-1736)

l Shooting from the free-throw line - .721 (395-548)

l Shooting from the three-point arc - .403 (218-541)

l Averaged 68.0 points per game

Cougar Players Off the Bench

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 Fr 7.3 3.4

F 21 Jennifer Leitner 6-0 So 5.7 5.2

G 14 Julie Whetten 5-8 Fr 5.3 1.7

G 04 Kaly G. Shippen 5-6 Sr 3.4 0.5

F 20 Brittany Larson 6-0 So 1.7 1.1

F 15 Jorja Cox 5-11 Sr 1.6 1.4

Season Highlights To Date

TEAM

l Most points scored - 90 @ Washington State on 11/30/00; 89 vs UNLV on 02/08/01

l Most field goals made - 32 @ Washington State on 11/30/00; 30 @ Wyoming on 2/17/01

l Most free-throws made - 26 vs Colorado State 01/20/01; 24 vs UNLV on 02/08/01

l Most three-pointers made - 12 vs UNM on 02/03/01; 12 vs SMU on 12/30/00 ; 11 vs OSU on 03/16/01

l Most rebounds made - 49 vs SMU on 12/30/00; 46 vs SDSU on 02/10/01

l Most assists made - 24 vs UNLV on 02/08/01; 22 vs SMU on 02/10/01

l Most blocks made - 7 vs Air Force on 03/03/01 and 7 vs SDSU on 02/10/01

INDIVIDUAL

l Most points - Erin Thorn (36) @ Arizona 11/18/00; Erin Thorn (31) @ UNM on 02/03/01

l Most field goals made - Erin Thorn (12) @ Arizona 11/18/00; Erin Thorn (10) @ UNM on 02/03/01

l Most three-pointers made - Erin Thorn (8) @ Arizona 11/18/00

l Most free-throws made - Heather Cheesman (9) @ Gonzaga 12/02/00; Erin Thorn (8) vs UNLV on 02/08/01

l Most rebounds made - Caroline Beus (11) three times; vs CSU on 03/10/01, vs UNLV on 03/07/01, vs UNM on 02/03/01 ; Lisa Osguthorpe (10) vs SDSU on 02/10/01

l Most assists made - Stacy Jensen (11) vs UNM on 03/01/01; Julie Whetten (8) vs Air Force on 03/03/01

l Most steals made - Stacy Jensen (6) @ Idaho State on 12/28/00

l Most blocked shots - Lisa Osguthorpe (4) @ CSU on 02/15/01; Julie Whetten (3) vs Air Force on 03/03/01

BYU Players Receive Conference and Tournament Honors

Erin Thorn was named to the 2000-01 All-Mountain West Conference First Team

Stacy Jensen was named to the 2000-01 All-Mountain West Conference Second Team

Julie Whetten was named Newcomer of the Year

Lisa Osguthorpe, Caroline Beus and Erin Thorn were all named to the All-Tournament Team in this year's 2001 EAS MWC Women's Basketball Championships

Scouting Hawai'i

Hawai'i will host a second round game against the Cougars on Monday night. The Rainbow Wahine have compiled a 24-7, 12-4 record to date that includes a 73-57 win over Santa Clara in first round action in this year's WNIT. Hawai'i finished second in the WAC tournament last week losing to TCU in the championship game 58-66. The University of Hawai'i has three players scoring in double digits led by Crystal Lee's 16.1 points and 5.9 rebounds. Kylie Galloway, a 6-0 senior forward follows with 15.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. Dainora Puida tops the team in the rebound category with 8.3 boards a game and she contributes 11.2 points. The Rainbow Wahinee are scoring 70.2 points a game to opponents 58.7. They shoot 43 percent from the field and 74 percent at the free-throw line and can shoot 36 percent from behind the three-point arc.

Series Record: 4-5 favoring the University of Hawai'i. Both of these teams played a home and home series while the two were in the Western Athletic Conference. The Cougars are 2-4 in Honolulu. In the team's last dual series during the 1998-99 season, each team won on its home floor. The score at Stan Sheriff Center was 59-55 and at the Marriott Center it was 75-54.

Record Against Common Opponents In 2000-01 Basketball Season

Opponent H/A BYU Score Hawai'i Score H/A

Arkansas x L 73-93 L 73-76 x

SMU x W 72-58 W 74-56; W62-48; W97-88 x/x

Shippen Quotes

On BYU team: We had a great win over Oregon State in our first game in the WNIT, and it was my first win as a head coach at BYU since taking over the program four years ago. We had an outstanding game against OSU, we shot the ball well and played great defense against a quality opponent. I was very proud of our team. It's nice for our team to pick up a win in the post-season tournament especially for our seniors.

On Hawai'i team: They are a very good team who have outstanding players and they are a team that's very tough to play on their home floor. Hawai'i is a very good rebounding team as well. We'll have little time to prepare for them.

Head Coach Trent Shippen

Trent Shippen enters his fourth season at the helm of BYU's women's basketball program. The 22 wins last year are a first for the Cougar program since the 1992-93 season when BYU finished with a 24-5, 13-1 record and made its last NCAA Championships appearance.

This is Shippen's first Division I coaching assignment. Shippen came to BYU after a three year stint as head coach at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. While at Ricks, he led his 1995 team to a fifth place finish in the NJCAA Tournament, and was voted Region 18 Coach of the Year. He was also the recipient of the Alberta Lee Cox Sportsmanship Award at the 1995 NJCAA Tournament. He played college hoops at Ricks College and at Colorado State University. At Ricks, Shippen earned All-Region 18 honors as a sophomore and was a member of the 1983-84 Viking team that placed sixth at the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.

During his career at CSU he helped the Rams place third in the NIT Tournament in 1988, where Shippen set the Madison Square Garden single-game record with six three-pointers. The following year he helped CSU win the league title, advance

to the second round of the NCAA tournament, was selected Academic All-WAC, and averaged 7.6 points and 2.9 assists.

SHIPPEN FILE

BYU

2000-01 19-12 Ricks College

1999-00 22-8 1994-95 33-3

1998-99 16-13 1995-96 19-11

1997-98 15-14 1996-97 19-12

Totals 72-47 (.605) Totals 71-26 (.739)

Did You Know....Cougar Family Connections

Kaly Gillette Shippen (#04) is coach Shippen's sister-in-law. She married his younger brother Ty Shippen who walked on to this year's men's basketball team.

Chanell Rose (#23) is BYU's men's assistant basketball coach Dave Rose's daughter. She transferred from playing one year at neighboring Utah Valley State College.

Since Dec. 16, Utah transfer Trent Whiting became eligible to play on BYU's men's team. His wife Amber who is a transfer from Weber State is part of the women's team. She's redshirting this season.

Travel Itinerary

The BYU team leaves Portland on Delta flight # 1256 at 1:06 p.m., on Sat. Mar. 17, arriving in Salt Lake City at 3:48 p.m., then leaves on Delta flight #1265 at 4:25 p.m., arriving in Los Angeles at 5:15 p.m. From Los Angeles the team departs for Honolulu on Delta flight #341 at 8:10 p.m., arriving in Honolulu at 11:59 p.m. The Cougars return schedule is not yet determined. The team will stay at the Ala Moana Hotel on 410 Atkinson Drive, 808-955-4811.

Cougars Practice

BYU's practice is scheduled for Monday, Mar. 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawai'i campus. BYU will have regular practices at the Marriott Center this Tuesday and Wednesday from 1-3:30 p.m. On Thursday, Mar. 15 they are scheduled to practice at Gill Coliseum from 6-8 p.m. Friday's shoot around is set for 12-1 p.m.

2001 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - NUMERICAL ROSTER*

No. Name Ht. Cl. Pos. Exp. Hometown/School

4 Kali Gillette Shippen 5-6 Sr. G 3V Paul, ID/Minico HS/Ricks/SDSU

11 Erin Thorn 5-10 So. G 1V Orem, UT/Mountain View H.S.

14 Julie Whetten 5-8 Fr. G HS Silver City, NM/Silver City HS

15 Jorja Cox 5-11 Sr. G 2V Othello, WA/Kamiakin/Col.Basin CC

20 Brittany Larson 6-0 So. F 1V Chicago, IL/New Trier HS

21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 So. F 1V Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley HS

22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Jr. G 2V West Jordan, UT/West Jordan HS

23 Chanell Rose 6-0 So. F 1V Orem, UT/UVSC

31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Jr. F 2V Orem, UT/Mountain View HS

44 Caroline Beus 6-1 Sr. C/F 3V Kuna, ID/Melba HS/Ricks College

50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 Fr. F RS Orem, UT/Mountain View HS

HEAD COACH: Trent Shippen (4th year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Cindy Lawrence (4th year)

Tom Gneiting (4th year)

Jeff Judkins (1st year)

NICKNAME: COUGARS

COLORS: BLUE AND WHITE

* Please add the following players who are walk-ons.

#24 Shauna Tuft - 6-0 Fr, Forward, Mesa, Arizona/Highland HS

#00 Katie Wilson - 6-0 Fr, Forward, Woodinville, WA/Woodingville HS

#45 Aspen Grant Casper - 6-0 Jr, Forward, Central Point, Oregon/South Medford HS

#32 Melissa Brown - 5-8 Fr, Forward, University Place, WA/Curtis HS