DENVER -- The No. 19 BYU women's basketball team opened up the Mountain West Conference Tournament Wednesday in fine fashion, defeating eighth-seeded Colorado State 65-45 to move into the semifinals. The league-champion Cougars will next take on the winner of the late game between TCU and Wyoming on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

"I've told everybody that we have four stages of a season," said MWC Coach of the Year Jeff Judkins. "This is number four -- the postseason. We've done well in the first three stages but we have to do well in number four to have a successful season. This game was a step in the right direction."

The 24-4 Cougars were led by MWC Co-Player of the Year Ambrosia Anderson, who recorded 20 points and nine rebounds, marking the 24th time she has paced BYU in scoring and the 14th time she has done so on the boards. All-MWC Second-Teamer Dani Kubik was the Cougars' only other double-digit scorer with 10 points while contributing six rebounds. Mallary Gillespie led BYU with four assists. With the win, the Cougars are now 20-1 when leading at the half this season and have recorded five wins of 20 points or more over conference opponents.

After a fruitless opening possession for the Cougars, the Rams struck first and jumped out to an early 4-0 lead. The advantage was short-lived, however, as BYU scored the next eight points in the game, including two buckets from three-point range. CSU battled right back with consecutive long-range makes of its own to retake the lead at 10-8.

Two free throws from Kubik tied the game at 10-10, but both teams went cold from the floor over the next two minutes, preserving the tie until Anderson drained her second three-pointer of the night at the 14:02 mark. Kubik's free throws proved to be a good omen for BYU as the Cougars once again scored eight straight to take a 16-10 lead.

The Rams battled back over the next five minutes, chipping away at the lead until a three-pointer from the CSU's Sara Hunter gave her team a 21-20 advantage. BYU's Jennie Keele took over from there, scoring the next four points of the game to spark a 9-1 run during which the Rams were scoreless from the field for over six minutes.

CSU recovered in the final 1:30 of the half to outscore BYU 4-0, but the Cougars still went into the locker room with a 29-26 lead despite shooting just 37 percent in the half compared to the Rams' 52.9 percentage.

The Cougars came out hot in the second half, making their first three shots to spark a 13-0 run and extend their lead to 42-26. The Rams scored their first points of the half at the 14:06 mark but BYU came right back with another 8-0 run, all from Anderson, to take a commanding 50-28 lead. The Cougars outscored the Rams 21-2 in the first nine minutes of the second half.

"We came out a little bit flat to start the game and kind of played back and forth," said Judkins. "I know that we're a good second half team. We really focus ourselves make adjustments and know what we're doing."

The tempo slowed down in the final 10 minutes of the game as BYU maintained its sizeable advantage. Solid free-throw shooting helped the Rams avoid the most lopsided half in MWC Tournament history but was not enough to get back in the game as the Cougars cruised to the 65-45 win.

The Rams made just five of their 25 attempts in the second half (.200) to post a 33.3 percent shooting mark for the game while recording 25 turnovers in the game to just nine assists. BYU shot 40.4 percent for the game while capitalizing on 15 steals.

"I think we did really well on defense tonight," said Kubik. "That was our big focus. We made sure they didn't have any open shots."

Friday's semifinal game can be seen live on CSTV as well as being heard on the BYU Radio Network. Live stats are also available on the schedule page of the women's basketball homepage at www.byucougars.com.

Official Basketball Box Score
Colorado State Women vs BYU Women
3-8-06 6:00 p.m. at Denver, Colo. (Pepsi Center)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Colorado State Women 9-20 (2-14 MWC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
32 DENNETT, Melissa.... f  2-9    0-0    2-2    4  6 10   1   6  1  4  2  0  32
45 THOMAS, Lindsay..... c  2-5    0-0    0-0    2  3  5   3   4  0  4  0  1  28
04 HUNTER, Sara........ g  3-9    2-5    2-2    0  5  5   2  10  1  7  0  3  36
05 ESPINOZA, Vanessa... g  4-11   0-2    7-8    0  2  2   0  15  3  5  0  2  39
20 NOHR, Molly......... g  1-2    1-1    0-0    0  1  1   4   3  0  1  1  1  25
12 SQUARE, Justine.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
15 KRAMER, Liz.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   4
30 SHEPHERD, Casie.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  1   2
31 SAMUELSON, Ashley...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
33 WILLHITE, Brianna...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
51 MOULTON, Marilyn....    2-6    0-0    3-4    2  7  9   3   7  0  1  1  1  30
   TEAM................                         1  1  2             1
   Totals..............   14-42   3-8   14-16   9 27 36  13  45  5 25  4  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-17 52.9%   2nd Half:  5-25 20.0%   Game: 33.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-4  75.0%   2nd Half:  0-4   0.0%   Game: 37.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-6  83.3%   2nd Half:  9-10 90.0%   Game: 87.5%    2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU Women 24-4 (13-3 MWC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia.. f  8-17   2-5    2-5    3  6  9   0  20  2  4  0  2  29
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f  1-4    1-4    0-0    0  1  1   2   3  0  0  0  4  28
45 KUBIK, Dani......... c  2-5    0-0    6-6    3  3  6   3  10  1  2  0  1  24
15 KEELE, Jennie....... g  3-5    0-2    0-0    0  1  1   2   6  1  4  0  0  18
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g  3-7    2-3    0-0    2  2  4   1   8  4  1  0  3  27
01 SELJAAS, Nancy......    1-5    1-4    0-0    1  0  1   1   3  1  0  0  1  12
10 STRATTON, Laura.....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  4  1  0  1  18
13 AINA, Rachel........    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
23 BROWN, Brit.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   1
24 HUTSON, Vanessa.....    2-3    2-3    2-2    0  0  0   1   8  1  1  0  1  12
32 SLADE, Shawnee......    0-3    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  1  0  0  1  15
41 FADDIS, Brittany....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
52 RILEY, Lauren.......    3-4    0-0    1-2    1  3  4   4   7  1  1  0  1  11
54 KING, Cassie........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   23-57   8-22  11-15  11 19 30  17  65 16 14  0 15 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-27 37.0%   2nd Half: 13-30 43.3%   Game: 40.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-10 40.0%   2nd Half:  4-12 33.3%   Game: 36.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-8  62.5%   2nd Half:  6-7  85.7%   Game: 73.3%    0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Connie Pardue, Mike Petty, Rick Morris
Technical fouls: Colorado State Women-None. BYU Women-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Colorado State Women..........   26   19  -   45
BYU Women.....................   29   36  -   65
ID-431208

With a 13-3 league record, the no. 16/18 BYU women's basketball team clinched the MWC regular season title after the 69-67 win at CSU on 3/2/206. As the top seeded team in the XBox Live 2006 Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Championships, the 23-4 Cougars await the winner of the game between the no. 8 seeded CSU Rams and the no. nine seeded SDSU Aztecs. BYU's first game is set to tip off at 6 p.m., on Wed. Mar. 8.

Teams: BYU (23-4, 13-3) vs. CSU (8-19, 2-14) or SDSU ( 3-23, 0-16) Date: 03/8/06

Time: 6 p.m. Arena: Pepsi Ctr.

XBox Live 2006 Mountain West Conference Women's Basketball Championships - Tuesday-Saturday, Mar. 7-11 @ Pepsi Center, Denver, Colo.

Games Schedule:

Play-in game Tues. Mar. 7 - #8 CSU vs. #9 SDSU (5 p.m.)

Quarterfinal Gm 1 -- Wed. Mar. 8 - #2 Utah vs. #7 Air Force (noon)

Quarterfinal Gm 2 -- Wed. Mar. 8 - #3 UNM vs. #6 UNLV (2:30 p.m.)

Quarterfinal Gm 3 -- Wed. Mar. 8 - #1 BYU vs. CSU or SDSU (6 p.m.)

Quarterfinal Gm 4 -- Wed. Mar. 8 - #4 TCU vs. WYO (8:30 p.m.)

Semifinal Gm 1 -- Fri. Mar. 10 - winners of gms. 1 & 2 (11 a.m.)

Semifinal Gm 2 -- Fri. Mar. 10 - winners of gms. 3 & 4 ( 1:30 p.m.)

Champ. Game - Sat. Mar. 11 - winners of semifinal games (4 p.m.)

Follow the women's basketball action on BYU Radio

All of the women's basketball games can be heard on BYU radio via the internet at www.byuradio.org Veteran BYU broadcaster Jay Monsen calls the action. Fans can also access BYU Radio on the Dish Network.

Game Tape Delay on CSTV

The Cougars Wednesday night's quarterfinal game will also air tape delay on CSTV at 10:30 p.m, MT.

BYU's Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

G/F 15 Jennie Keele 5-10 Jr 4.3 3.3

G 30 Mallary Gillespie 5-10 So 10.1 3.9

F 35 Melinda Johnsen 5-10 Jr 4.4 4.3

F 33 Ambrosia Anderson 6-2 Sr 18.3 7.4

C 45 Dani Kubik 6-3 Jr 10.2 6.1

Cougar Players Off The Bench

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 01 Nancy Seljaas 6-0 Sr 3.3 1.3

G 10 Laura Stratton 5-6 Sr 1.1 0.5

G 23 Brit Brown 5-7 So 0.5 0.3

G 24 Vanessa Hutson 5-4 Fr 2.6 1.2

G/F 32 Shawnee Slade 5-11 Fr 3.5 2.2

F 41 Brittany Faddis 6-0 Fr 0.8 0.5

C 52 Lauren Riley 6-3 So 6.4 5.7

C 54 Cassie King 6-3 Fr 1.1 1.5

2005-06 Team Stats --

-- Shooting from the field: (.424, 660-1558)

-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.630 , 281-446)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.332, 162-488)

-- Average points per game: 65.3

Notables in 2005-06

-- Leading scorer: Ambrosia Anderson - 18.3 ppg

-- Leading rebounder: Ambrosia Anderson - 7.4 rpg

-- Assist leader: Melinda Johnsen- 3.59 apg

-- Blocks leader(s): A. Anderson - 16 to date

-- Steals leader: Melinda Johnsen - 49 to date, 1.81 spg

-- BYU has outrebounded its opponents in 19 of 27 games to date

BYU Team Ranked Top 25

For the first time since the 2002-03 season, BYU's women's basketball team and its 13-1 record breaks into the week of 01/16/06 AP Poll at the no. 23 spot, and also rank 23rd in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll. The team's last top 25 ranking came during the 2002-03 year when the Cougars had tallied a 5-1 record and a no. 20 ranking before losing at George Washington who was ranked 22nd, on 12/11/02. BYU also finished ranked 17th after its first-ever Sweet Sixteen finish in 2001-02.

For the week beginning Jan. 23, BYU jumped to the no.20 spot in both polls.

The week of Jan.30, the team is ranked 19th by both polls.

The week of Feb. 6, the Cougars are ranked 18th in both polls.

Feb. 13, BYU was ranked 19th by AP Poll, and stayed 18th in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll.

Cougars dropped from no. 19 to no. 21 in the AP Poll on Feb. 20, 2006, but stayed at no. 18 in the Coaches Poll.

For the week of Feb. 27, the team is ranked 18th in the AP Poll and 16th in the USAToday/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll.

Anderson Joins 1,000-Point Club

After the 14 points scored by Ambrosia Anderson in the game at Wyoming on Jan. 18., she becomes one of only 18 players in BYU women's basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 point mark. As of Mar. 5, she has tallied 1,206 total points in her four-year career.

Gillespie's Buzzer Beater Winning Basket Makes ESPN Highlights

Sophomore guard Mallary Gillespie's game-winning basket at Utah on 01/07/06 made that night's ESPN Sports Center list of the 10 best Plays of the Day. It also took the number seven spot on Chris Birman Plays of the Week on Sunday, Jan. 8.

Cougars By The Numbers

3 games where the Cougars have shot at least 50 percent: @ AF on 2/4/06, vs. UNLV 01/14/06 and vs. NAU, 50.8

4 games where four players have scored in double figures (@ Stony Brook, @ UC Riverside, and vs. TCU)

6 games in which the Cougar defense has held opponents to under 30 percent shooting from the field (vs. UCSB, @ Seton Hall, @ Weber State, @ Wyoming, vs. SDSU, vs. CSU)

8 games in which three players have scored in double figures

9 assists by Melinda Johnsen, the team's assist leader (vs. UNLV on 1/11/06)

11 longest winning streak of the 2005-06 season, ended on 2/8/06 with 52-70 loss to Utah in Provo

13 games in which A. Anderson has been the team's leading rebounder

13 games won by the Cougars on the road

13 career games where A. Anderson has picked up a double double

13 games in which two players have scored in double figures

14 rebounds grabbed by Dani Kubik, team's second leading rebounder (vs. SDSU on 1/21/06)

17 games where BYU has made at least five three-pointers

19 games where BYU has outrebounded opponents. They have won 17 of those games (the two losses were vs NC State on 12/21/05 and vs. Utah on 2/08/06)

18 games won by BYU when leading at the half

25 games where Ambrosia Anderson has scored in double figures

26 season and career high points by Ambrosia Anderson (vs. NAU on 12/10/05)

34 biggest margin of victory, vs. NAU 82-48

42 most first half points scored, vs. CSU on 1/28/06

51 most rebounds against a league opponent this season

100 career victories for coach Judkins after defeating CSU 69-67 on 3/2/06.

Anderson Leads Cougar Honors In 2005-06 MWC All- Conference Team

Co-Player of the Year

Ambrosia Anderson

First Team All- Mountain West Conference

Ambrosia Anderson

Second Team All- Mountain West Conference

Dani Kubik

Honorable Mention All- Mountain West Conference

Mallary Gillespie

Melinda Johnsen

Jennie Keele

Coach of the Year

Jeff Judkins

BYU MWC Championships History

-- The Cougar women have advanced to the championship game in four of the five previous MWC tournaments, winning in 2002 by defeating UNLV 61- 46. That same year, BYU went on to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.

-- During last year's MWC tournament the Cougars were the No. 6 seed, losing in the quarterfinals to No. 3 seed UNLV, 57-60.

-- Previous Seeds:

BYU in 2000 - 2nd

BYU in 2001 - 4th

BYU in 2002 - 3rd

BYU in 2003 - 5th

BYU in 2004 - 6th

BYU in 2005 - 1st

-- BYU Team Records In MWC Championship:

widest margin of victory - (41) points over San Diego State in 2000

points in the second half - (46) points against Colorado State in 2000

3-point field goals - (12) over Wyoming in 2002

most assists in a game - (23) assists against Wyoming in 2002

-- BYU Player Records In MWC Championship:

Two-time All-American player, Erin Thorn (2000-01-02-03) holds 34 MWC Championship records, more than any other single player in MWC history. Thorn records include:

3-point field goals (8)

3-point field goal attempts (13)

field goal attempts (22)

free throw percentage (1.000, 11-11)

Melanie Pearson - (7) field goals

L. Osguthorpe - (11-11) free throws

Jennie (Keele) Overdiek - (12) freshman rebounds

Cougar MWC Regular Season Honors

Ambrosia Anderson was named the MWC Player of the Week on Nov. 28, 2005.

Player Injury Report

Ambrosia Anderson sprained her left knee in the UNM game on 3/4/06. The injury and status will be reviewed day to day during this week's MWC Championships.

Sophomore forward Mary Martha Abell, from Monroe, Louisiana suffered a torn ACL injury in the exhibition game against Westminster College on Nov. 1. She will use this season as an injury redshirt year.

Head Coach - Jeff Judkins

Overall Record: 100-50

Jeff Judkins is in his fifth year as head coach after serving one year as the Director of Basketball Operations at BYU. He was also the scheduling coordinator. He has been involved in coaching for 16 years.

The longtime University of Utah coach and player came to Provo with a proven record of success dating back to his high school days at Highland High School in Salt Lake City. An all-state selection in basketball, football and baseball, Judkins went on to play for the University of Utah from 1974-78.

While playing at Utah, Judkins helped lead the Utes to one conference championship and two berths in the NCAA tournament. He was a second-team academic All-American and three-time District VII academic selection. He also earned three first team All-WAC honors and was a member of the 1977 United States World Games team that captured the gold medal.

Judkins also played five years in the National Basketball Association for the Boston Celtics, Portland Trailblazers, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz. He was a second-round pick of the Celtics in 1978, the same year the Celtics selected Larry Bird with the sixth pick overall. He made second-team all-rookie in 1979 with the Boston Celtics.

After his NBA career, he returned to Utah in 1989 and was an instrumental part of the program's success during his 10 years with the program, recruiting such players as Keith Van Horn, Andre Miller, Mike Doleac, Hanno Mottola, Alex Jensen, Trent Whiting, Garner Meads, Jeff Johnsen and Britton Johnsen.

Judkins, graduated from the University of Utah in 1978 with a degree in health and physical education. He and his wife Mary Kaye are the parents of five children: Jessica (25), Jordan (23), Jenna (21), Jaime (18), and Jaxson (15).

Reaches 100 Wins Mark

With the 69-67 win @ CSU on Thurs. Mar. 2, 2006, Head Coach Jeff Judkins recorded his 100th win in his fifth season as head coach of BYU. In that same game, the team clinched the 2005-06 MWC Regular Season Title. The Cougars last regular season title was during the 1992-93 season.

Judkins Record vs. MWC School

School Record In 2006

Air Force 8-0 2-0

CSU 3-5 2-0

New Mexico 4-7 1-1

San Diego State 8-0 2-0

UNLV 7-4 2-0

Utah 3-6 1-1

Wyoming 5-4 1-1

TCU 1-1 2-0

BYU vs. 2006 MWC Tournament Opponents

Summary

In the bottom bracket of this year's MWC Championships, the 18th ranked BYU women's basketball team swept the series against CSU, SDSU, TCU, and split the series vs. Wyoming with the Cougars winning in Laramie and losing at home.

Cougars vs. Rams in MWC Championships (seed)

In 2000

Played in semifinal game - BYU (2) defeated CSU (3) 77-69

In 2001

Played in championship game - CSU (2) defeated BYU (4) 59-56

In 2002, 2003, 2004 did not play each other

In 2005

Played in quarterfinal game - BYU (3) defeated CSU (6) 70-65

Cougars vs. Aztecs in MWC Championships (seed)

In 2000

Played in quarterfinal game - BYU (2) defeated SDSU (7) 78-37

From 2001 to 2005 the Aztecs and Cougars have not played each other

Cougars vs. Wyoming in MWC Championships (seed)

In 2000 and 2001 did not play each other

In 2002

BYU (3) defeated WYO (6) 82-69

In 2003, 2004, and 2005 did not play each other

Cougars vs. TCU in MWC Championships (seed)

These two teams have not played in any MWC Championships

When both teams were in the WAC they did not play in any WAC Championships

Travel Itinerary

Depart for Denver: Tues. Mar. 7 at 10:50 a.m. on Frontier flight# 584, arriving at 12:10 p.m.

Team Hotel: Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California St., 303-297-1300, 303-298-7474, fax

Practice Times during MWC Championships

Tues. Mar. 7: 2 -3:30 p.m. - Gymnasium at Colorado School of Mines

Wed. Mar. 8: 9:30 - 9:55 a.m. Pepsi Center