PROVO -- Despite shooting 41 percent from the field, the BYU women's basketball team (14-4, 5-0 MWC) was able to hold off the UNLV Lady Rebels with a 64-59 win Saturday in the Marriott Center.

BYU's Mallary Gillespie started the Cougars off strong scoring the game's first six points hitting two three-pointers in the first three and-a-half minutes of play. The Cougars were unable to feed off of Gillespie's hot shooting by going on an offensive scoring drought. BYU failed to score from 17:37 until the 10:21 mark in the first half.

The scoring drought was broken by an Ashley Chessman jump shot that gave BYU an eight to six lead. Chessman broke the drought the team began to pick up the offensive pace and caused UNLV to commit 10 turnovers, scoring on six of them.

After missed open shots, free-throws and committing eight first half fouls UNLV capitalized on the Cougars mistakes and shot 85 percent from the free-throw line to cut the BYU lead to 25-21.

"We had a 21-12 lead going into halftime, " said BYU Head Coach Jeff Judkins. "But we kind of messed around and gave them momentum going into halftime."

Gillespie led the Cougars with nine first half points and Chessman had eight points off the bench.

BYU opened the second half hitting three straight three-pointers, two by Jennie Keele and one by Gillespie, to take a 34-25 lead. Cougar fouls and poor shooting led to a UNLV run cutting the BYU lead to 36-31 when Melinda Johnsen hit another three-pointer to bring the score to 39-31. Post player Lauren Riley scored six consecutive points to keep the Cougars lead at five, 49-44, after another UNLV run. After trading baskets, Gillespie hit her fifth three-pointer of the night to bring the lead to nine with the score 55-46 with 3:08 left.

Despite poor free-throw shooting and rebounding BYU continued to keep the lead despite a UNLV run that cut the Cougar lead to six with 22 seconds left. UNLV then hit two free throws to cut the lead to 63-59 with 14 seconds left. After Dani Kubik-Wright hit one of two free throws, making the score 64-59, Riley stole the ball on the ensuing UNLV possession and quickly handed it to Johnsen who was immediately fouled. Johnsen missed both of her free throws and UNLV rebounded the ball with four seconds left and dribbled down court but came up short when time ran out.

I'm happy with our win," said Coach Judkins. "We played well in spurts and I'm happy we won but disappointed with some of the other things that happened today."

BYU shot 41percent from the field for the game and 45 percent from the free throw line.

"We are definitely going to practice our free throw shooting," said Mallary Gillespie. "It's a lot of mental stuff. That's what happened tonight. The first couple of people missed and the next people were unsure when we went to the line."

Gillespie led BYU with 17 points all of them coming from either the three-point line or the foul line. Riley led BYU with 10 rebounds.

The team travels to San Diego State next Thursday January 25, to play the Aztecs at 7 p.m., and then on to Salt Lake City on January 27, to play the University of Utah Utes at 1 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
UNLV Rebels vs BYU COUGARS
01-20-07 2:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO, UT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: UNLV Rebels 8-9;2-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
05 HALBERG, Brittany... *  3-6    0-1    2-2    0  4  4   4   8  2  4  0  0  29
12 HOLMES, Sequoia..... *  5-17   1-3    3-4    1  7  8   3  14  1  3  0  1  37
14 PACE, Latosha....... *  0-3    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  2  1  0  1   7
15 MULLER, Faye........ *  3-4    0-0    1-2    1  4  5   4   7  1  3  0  1  37
24 HAMPTON, Shamela.... *  6-9    0-0    5-7    3  5  8   5  17  1  1  2  1  33
03 SIMMONS, Kameca.....    3-5    1-1    4-4    0  3  3   1  11  2  3  0  0  30
11 HOLIDAY, Allison....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   4
32 LEE, Kisha..........    1-5    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   2   2  2  2  0  1  20
35 STICKLER, Samantha..    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   21-50   2-6   15-19   8 28 36  19  59 11 18  2  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  7-23 30.4%   2nd Half: 14-27 51.9%   Game: 42.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-4  25.0%   2nd Half:  1-2  50.0%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-7  85.7%   2nd Half:  9-12 75.0%   Game: 78.9%    1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 14-4;5-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f  2-5    1-4    3-8    0  3  3   3   8  7  4  0  4  39
52 RILEY, Lauren....... f  3-4    0-0    0-2    3  7 10   3   6  0  3  0  1  25
45 WRIGHT, Dani........ c  3-4    1-1    2-6    4  1  5   4   9  0  2  1  0  26
15 KEELE, Jennie....... g  3-10   2-6    0-0    0  3  3   4   8  5  1  0  1  29
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g  5-16   5-14   2-2    0  0  0   2  17  4  0  0  1  36
05 CHEESMAN, Ashley....    4-6    0-1    0-0    0  3  3   0   8  0  0  0  1  13
32 SLADE, Shawnee......    3-11   0-3    2-4    1  3  4   1   8  1  1  0  0  27
54 KING, Cassie........    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   1   0  0  0  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         2  3  5
   Totals..............   23-56   9-29   9-22  11 24 35  18  64 17 11  1  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-32 34.4%   2nd Half: 12-24 50.0%   Game: 41.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-16 18.8%   2nd Half:  6-13 46.2%   Game: 31.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-2   0.0%   2nd Half:  9-20 45.0%   Game: 40.9%    7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: RANDY CAMPBELL, MIKE PETTY, SCHEL BROWN
Technical fouls: UNLV Rebels-None. BYU COUGARS-None.
Attendance: 1072
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
UNLV Rebels...................   21   38  -   59
BYU COUGARS...................   25   39  -   64
OFFICIAL FINAL

The league race continues for defending MWC Regular Season Champions BYU this week as the team hosts two games. The Cougars (12-4, 3-0) take on CSU (6-9, 1-3) on Thurs., Jan. 18 in a 7 p.m. start time. Then MWC foe UNLV (8-8, 2-2) comes to Provo on Sat., Jan 20 for a 2 p.m. tip off. Both games will be played at the Marriott Center.

Complete Broadcast Plans

On TV - The Cougars and Rams game on Thurs., Jan. 18 will air live on BYU-TV and live locally on KBYU-TV, Chan. 11. It will also air tape delay on the mtn. Chris McGown and Kristin Kozlowski will call the action

On the internet - Both home games this week will have live audio streaming on BYU Radio. Veteran broadcaster Jay Monsen will call the action. To listen log on to: http://www.byuradio.org/streaming

Live stats - fans can follow the game action via stats by clicking on:

http://www.byucougars.com/Schedule.jsp?SP=112&YR=2006

BYU Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

G/F 15 Jennie Keele 5-10 Sr 6.9 3.6

G 30 Mallary Gillespie 5-10 Jr 11.8 3.6

G/F 35 Melinda Johnsen 5-10 Sr 5.6 2.9

C 45 Dani Kubik Wright 6-3 Sr 12.5 6.3

F 52 Lauren Riley 6-3 Jr 6.3 5.8

Reserve Players

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

G/F 32 Shawnee Slade 5-11 So 9.2 5.2

C 54 Cassie King 6-3 So 4.4 2.9

F 05 Ashley Cheesman 6-0 Jr 1.3 1.8

F 22 Brittany Faddis 6-0 So 0.8 1.3

G 13 Jaime Judkins 5-6 Fr 0.4 0.9

G 31 Rachel Aina 5-9 So 0.3 0.1

Team Stats --

-- Shooting from the field: (.434, 377-868)

-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.608, 149-245)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.328, 89-271)

-- Average points per game: 62.0

2006 Run In Preseason WNIT

The Cougar team ended their run in this year's Preseason WNIT with a disappointing 58-84 loss to No. 16 Baylor on Thurs. Nov. 16. BYU had advanced to the Final Four after a 73-50 home victory over Idaho State on Nov. 10 and then a come from behind 55-52 upset victory over No. 4 Stanford. Dani Kubik Wright was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Cougars Team Summary

After compiling the best season record in school history (26-6), making their seventh postseason NCAA Championships appearance and clinching the 2006 MWC Regular Season Champion crown, the BYU team looks to take that success and winning attitude into the 2006-07 year.

BYU returns a nucleus of four starters and five letterwinners that will make this year's squad tough to beat during its non-conference and league schedules.

Once again the Cougars should finish at the top of the MWC standings, leading the way to an eighth appearance in the NCAA Championships and advancing further in that national tournament.

-- 2006-07 Highlights --

-- With the 55-52 win vs. WY on 01/13/07, the team improved to 9-0 when leading at the half. The halftime score was 33-20.

-- The Cougars non-conference road record finished at 4-4.

-- The 79 points scored against Weber State are the most scored by BYU this year and the (13) three-point goals, are a new team high.

-- Five times this season, the Cougars had two players scoring in double figures with the most recent (vs. Weber St.).

-- For the fifth time, the Cougars had three players scoring in double figures (@ Baylor, vs. UCR, @ Oregon, @ AF, vs. WY).

-- BYU is 9-1 when outrebounding opponents. (Outrebounded Oregon 37-29 but loss the game by nine points).

-- The Cougars picked up season bests in 3-point field goal percentage .542 (13-24) in the Weber State game on 12/14/06.

-- To date, BYU has shot over 50 percent from the field in two games (vs. Weber State .542 on 12/14/06 and vs. UCR .521 on 12/20/06)

-- The Cougars have had four players score in double figures three times this year: (vs. SCU, @ Harvard, and @ UVSC).

-- Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team - Dani Kubik Wright

-- Team's assist leader - Melinda Johnsen (257), as of 01/15/07

-- In the game @ Stanford - Dani Wright played a total of 35 minutes, the most minutes played in her college career.

-- In the game at home vs. Santa Clara University on 11/22/06, the .839 (26-31) free throw percentage was the best for the team so far this season.

-- The 55 total rebounds grabbed in the game vs. CSUN on 12/09/06 are a new season high for the team.

Injury Update -

Freshman point guard Haley Hall is out for the rest of the season. She tore her ACL in her left knee at the New Mexico State game on 12/06/06.

PREVIOUS GAME RECAP

BYU vs. WYOMING - BY-55; WY-52

The BYU women's basketball team improved to 12-4 overall and 3-0 in Mountain West Conference play with a halfcourt buzzer-beating shot by Jennie Keele to give the Cougars a 55-52 win over the Wyoming Cowgirls Saturday.

Keele's buzzer beater was only part of the Cougars' balanced scoring effort led by Dani Kubik Wright with 12 points and five rebounds. This was Wright's 10th double-digit scoring game of the season. Shawnee Slade picked up her seventh double-figure scoring game and second straight with 11 points off the bench. The Cougar post players outscored the Cowgirl post players 26-10 led by Wright.

The Cougars led 49-41 with 5:37 left in the second half when the Cowgirls went on an 8-0 run to cut the score to 46-49 with 2:58 to play. Keele hit a three-pointer to put the Cougars up 52-46, which was answered by a three-pointer by Wyoming's Aubrey Vandiver to bring the score to 52-49. The Cougars then turned the ball over and Wyoming hit one foul shot to move the score to 52-50. Wyoming scored with two seconds left out of a time-out to tie the game at 52 all.

The ball was quickly inbounded, and Keele hit the shot from halfcourt to give the Cougars the victory. In addition to making game-winning shots, Keele played the last part of the game with a broken nose, which she sustained with five minutes left. Keele's 11-point scoring effort was her fifth double-digit scoring game of the year.

2005-06 Season Review

-- Best record in school history 26-6

-- Tallied an impressive 13-1 record on the road

-- MWC Regular Season Crown with a 13-3 record

-- The squad advanced to the MWC Championship game before losing to Utah, 60-84

-- Made seventh appearance in NCAA Championships, seeded sev- enth, the highest seed for the Cougar program. The team advanced to the Round of 32 with 67-62 victory over Iowa, then lost to Oklahoma 70-86

-- Breaks into the national polls after going 15-1 to begin the season. Its first appearance came the week of Jan. 16 when both the AP Poll and the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll ranked the team at the No. 23 spot. The team moved as high as No. 16 in the USAToday/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll, the highest of the year and the highest ever in the program's history. BYU finished the season ranked 20th in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll.

2005-06 MWC Honors/All-America Citations

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

Honorable Mention All- America Citations

Ambrosia Anderson - AP Women's All-America Basketball Team

Ambrosia Anderson - WBCA and Eastman Kodak Company

Head Coach - Jeff Judkins

Overall Record:115-56

2006-07: 12-4, 3-0

2006 MWC Coach of the Year Jeff Judkins begins his sixth year as head coach of the women's basketball program. Prior to heading up the women's program, he served one year (1999-2000) as Director of Basketball Operations for the BYU men's team. In 2000 he became an assistant coach on the women's team.

Last season under Judkins, the Cougars compiled their best finish in school history with a 26-6 record, clinched their first MWC regular season title since 1992 and received a no. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, the highest seed for any BYU program.

For the first time since the 2002-03 season, the team and its 13-1 record to start the year broke into the women's basketball collegiate polls, ranked No. 23 by the AP Poll and the USA Today/Espn/WBCA Coaches Poll. They would rank as high as 18 and 16 in the two respective polls, finishing the year at No. 20. Last season Judkins picked up his 100th win, a 69-67 victory over CSU on Mar. 2, the same time the team clinched the league's regular season title.

Under Judkins tutelage, the women's basketball program has had consistent success with four postseason appearances including three NCAA Championships, guiding the team to its first ever Sweet Sixteen finish in 2002. In 2005, the 19-11 team played in the first round of the WNIT.

Judkins has also coached two All-Americans in Erin Thorn and Ambrosia Anderson. Both have gone on to play in the WNBA for the New York Liberty. Thorn has been with the team for the past four years while Anderson just completed her first year playing professionally.

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 HS 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.

After his NBA career, he returned to Utah in 1989 and was an instrumental part of that program's success during his 10 years, 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 (26), (married to Paul), Jordan (24), Jenna (22), Jaime, who plays on the basketball team, (19), and Jaxson (16). Jenna plays on the volleyball team at BYU.

Hobbies: Waterskiing, horseback riding, hunting, golf, softball, and watching ESPN.

BYU Picked Second In MWC Preseason Media Poll

School (First-place votes) Points

1. New Mexico (8) 137

2. BYU (7) 134

3. TCU (4) 126

4. Utah 102

5. Wyoming 96

6. UNLV 71

7. San Diego State 41

8. Air Force 39

9. Colorado State 36

Preseason All-MWC Team

Dionne Marsh, Jr., F, New Mexico

Hanna Zavecz, Jr., F, Wyoming

Dani Kubik Wright, Sr., C, BYU

Adrianne Ross, Jr., G, TCU

Katie Montgomery, Sr., G, New Mexico

Top Returning Player

Dionne Marsh, Jr., F, New Mexico

Top Newcomer

Justyna Podziemska, Jr., F, Wyoming

IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE THIS WEEK

January 17 (Wednesday)

San Diego State @ Wyoming - 7 p.m.

January 18 (Thursday)

Air Force @ New Mexico - 7 p.m.

CSU @ BYU - 7 p.m. (BYUTV)

TCU @ Utah - 7 p.m. (mtn.)

January 20 (Saturday)

Air Force @ Utah - 3 p.m.

CSU @ San Diego State - 2 p.m.

TCU @ WY - 2 p.m.

UNLV @ BYU - 2 p.m.

Cougar MWC Season Honors to date for 2006-07

Player of the Week - Mallary Gillespie (Dec. 18, 2006)

Player of the Week - Shawnee Slade (Nov. 12, 2006)

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S MWC OPPONENTS

COLORADO STATE - Provo, UT (01/18/07)

After two weeks of league play the Rams have compiled a 1-3 record with a 65-56 win at Air Force, and losses at TCU and vs. Utah and at UNM. The team's overall record stands at 6-9. In league games CSU is led in scoring by senior guard Molly Nohr who averages 10.0 points and 3.5 rebounds a game. Just behind her is junior guard Sara Hunter who picks up 8.0 points and 4.8 boards. The team's rebound leader is Juanise Cornell who grabs 8.0 rebounds per game. She also tops the list in steals with seven to date while Nohr is the Rams assist leader with nine. Head Coach Jen Warden is in her second season at the head of CSU's women's basketball program.

COlORADO STATE Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 22 Kelly Finley 6-2 So 3.0 1.0

F 35 Juanise Cornell 5-10 Fr 7.3 8.0

C 51 Marilyn Moulton 6-4 Sr 4.8 6.3

G 04 Sara Hunter 5-6 Jr 8.0 4.8

G 20 Molly Nohr 5-11 Sr 10.0 3.5

Stat Comparisons BYU CS (conf. game stats)

Field Goals: .454 .347

Free Throws: .488 .636

Three-Pointers: .353 .290

Points Per Game: 59.0 50.0

Rebounds Per Game: 33.0 35.2

Series Record

The series between these two league teams stands at 43-22 in favor of BYU. At home, the Cougars have an 23-6 edge. The last time CSU won in Provo was on 02/14/04 where they beat BYU by a score of 72-64.

Last Meeting

Last season the two teams played three times; in Provo on 1/28/06 where BYU won 70-54; at Fort Collins, BYU won by two

69-67. The teams met again during the quarterfinals of the 2006 MWC Championships in Denver with the Cougars advancing with a 65-45 tournament victory.

UNLV - Provo (01/20/07)

As the third week of league play continues, UNLV has compiled an 8-8, 2-2 record. The team's wins were vs. San Diego State (71-54) and vs. Wyoming (51-46). The Lady Rebels lost at TCU (88-63) and suffered a loss at home at the hands of Utah (459-37). In conference games, UNLV has two players who score in double figures, led by sophomore guard Brittany Halberg with 11.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Shamela Hampton, a 6-3 sophomore center follows with 10.3 points and grabs 8/3 boards a contest. The team's leading rebounder is 6-3 senior forward Faye Muller who is averaging 11.3 boards a game. in her ninth season at the helm of the women's basketball team is Regina Miller.

UNLV Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 12 Sequoia Holmes 6-1 Jr 9.5 5.0

F 15 Faye Muller 6-3 Sr 4.3 11.3

C 24 Shamela Hampton 6-3 So 10.3 8.3

G 05 Brittany Halberg 5-7 So 11.3 2.0

G 14 Latosha Pace 5-11 Jr 7.0 3.8

Stat Comparisons BYU LV (conf. game stats)

Field Goals: .454 .346

Free Throws: .488 .681

Three-Pointers: .353 .256

Points Per Game: 59.0 55.5

Rebounds Per Game: 33.0 41.2

Series Record

The series between these two league foes is 199 favoring BYU. At the Marriott Center, the Lady Rebels have a 2-10 record. The last time they beat the Cougars was on 03/04/06 a 67-59 victory for UNLV.

Last Meeting

Last season BYU swept the series with UNLV, winning 77-58 in Provo and picked up a 55-51 win at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.

Media Information

Team Practice Times

-- The team practices are held at the Marriott Center MWF from 11:30 a.m., to 1:30 p.m. On Tuesday's, practice is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m., and on Thursday's it is 12:30 to 3 p.m.

-- Coach Judkins and players are available for interviews prior to or after their practices. All interviews are scheduled in advance. Norma Collett is the Media Director for the team and can be contacted by phone or emaill. She travels to all of the away games. Office phone is 801-422-4908, cell phone is 801-372-0989 and email is norma_collett@byu.edu

Up Next

On Thurs., Jan. 25, the defending 2006 MWC Regular Season Champs Cougars are at San Diego State, and then return to play at instate rival Utah on Sat., Jan. 27 in a 1 p.m., tip off from the Huntsman Center. That game will air live on the mtn.