Fresno, Calif. (Nov. 17, 2006) -- With two games in two days and little time to rest and prepare for Fresno State, No. 18 BYU (2-2)dropped a disappointing 61-51 decision to the Bulldogs.

In the first half both teams traded leads before Fresno State went ahead 10-6 on a layup by Chantella Perera. Then BYU came back and went on a 10-2 run capped off by a free throw by Dani Wright that put the Cougars up 16-12. The Bulldogs bounced back and pushed the game to 28-21 with 1:44 left in the half. The Cougars cut the deficit to three with a jumper from Shawnee Slade and a last second layup by Lauren Riley.

Perera was the deciding factor in this game. She scored a game high 21 points for the Bulldogs with fellow guard Tierre Wilson also putting up double digits scoring with her 10 points.

"Fresno State played more aggressive on offense and defense than we did," said head coach Jeff Judkins.

"We have a long way to go and we need to find our team identity. Hopefully we'll learn from this game and bounce back. I also think because of our fatigue we made some uncharacteristic mental mistakes," added Judkins.

BYU senior leader Melinda Johnsen led BYU in scoring, three pointers and had two steals on the night. Wright, playing center for BYU put in 10 points to boost the Cougars. The team shot 35 percent from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc while the Bulldogs shot 34 percent from the field and 41 percent from behind the three point line.

The game was closer than the final score suggests. With just over two minutes left to go, Mallary Gillespie put in two of her nine to get the Cougars within two, 53-51. Fresno's Wilson got her final three points putting the Bulldogs up 56-51. From there Fresno was able to take advantage of free throws to put the game away. Fresno State shot 26 free throws to the Cougars five, a stat that was more important late in the game when Wright had to sit with four fouls six minutes into the second half.

BYU will get much needed rest from a grueling week-long road trip and will host Santa Clara on Nov. 22 at 4:30 pm.

Official Basketball Box Score
#18 Brigham Young vs Fresno State
11/17/06 7:05 p.m. at Save Mart Center -- Fresno, Calif.
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VISITORS: #18 Brigham Young 2-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... f  3-9    1-2    0-0    2  4  6   1   7  0  3  0  0  34
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f  5-11   2-6    0-0    0  3  3   2  12  1  1  0  2  37
45 WRIGHT, Dani........ c  4-7    0-0    2-3    0  3  3   4  10  0  3  0  0  23
15 KEELE, Jennie....... g  1-6    0-3    0-1    2  1  3   3   2  3  4  1  2  23
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g  4-15   1-7    0-0    3  4  7   4   9  2  0  0  1  32
05 CHEESMAN, Ashley....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  1  0  0   2
33 HALL, Haley.........    2-10   0-5    0-0    1  2  3   5   4  4  1  0  1  24
52 RILEY, Lauren.......    2-3    0-0    0-0    3  3  6   4   4  2  2  2  0  20
54 KING, Cassie........    1-1    0-0    1-1    0  0  0   0   3  0  1  1  0   5
   TEAM................                         2  4  6
   Totals..............   22-62   4-23   3-5   13 24 37  23  51 13 16  4  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-23 47.8%   2nd Half: 11-39 28.2%   Game: 35.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-7   0.0%   2nd Half:  4-16 25.0%   Game: 17.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half:  0-0   0.0%   Game: 60.0%    1
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HOME TEAM: Fresno State 2-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
02 Green, Brittani..... f  0-4    0-2    6-8    2  3  5   2   6  4  0  0  0  26
44 THIGPIN, Jenny...... c  3-6    0-0    1-3    1  4  5   4   7  0  2  0  1  21
03 Wilson, Tierre...... g  4-11   2-5    0-0    0  3  3   2  10  2  2  0  1  27
11 PERERA, Chantella... g  6-13   4-5    5-6    0  5  5   1  21  1  5  0  0  36
32 MARSHALL, Jasmine... g  1-7    0-1    1-4    2  5  7   0   3  2  1  2  2  30
01 Roberson, Andrea....    3-8    0-3    0-0    6  1  7   1   6  1  0  1  1  21
10 DIGGS, Paige........    1-4    0-0    3-5    2  2  4   2   5  2  3  0  1  23
23 HENRY, Erica........    1-3    1-1    0-0    2  3  5   1   3  0  2  2  1  16
   TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   19-56   7-17  16-26  17 28 45  13  61 12 15  5  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-27 33.3%   2nd Half: 10-29 34.5%   Game: 33.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-8  37.5%   2nd Half:  4-9  44.4%   Game: 41.2%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-12 58.3%   2nd Half:  9-14 64.3%   Game: 61.5%    6
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Officials: Melissa Barlow, Lisa Jones, Maj Forsberg
Technical fouls: #18 Brigham Young-None. Fresno State-None.
Attendance: 3144
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
#18 Brigham Young.............   25   26  -   51
Fresno State..................   28   33  -   61

With a 55-52 upset victory over No. 4 Stanford on Mon. 11/13, the No 18 ranked BYU women's basketball team(2-0) advances to the Final Four of the Preseason WNIT. The Cougars play at No. 16 Baylor (2-0) on Thurs., Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CT.

Complete Broadcast Plans

On the internet - a live audio stream of all of the women's basketball games will be available on BYU Radio. Veteran broadcaster Jay Monsen will call the action. To listen log on to: http://www.byuradio.org

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 6.5 2.0

G 30 Mallary Gillespie 5-10 Jr 11.0 4.5

G/F 35 Melinda Johnsen 5-10 Sr 4.0 2.5

C 45 Dani Kubik Wright 6-3 Sr 6.0 7.5

G/F 32 Shawnee Slade 5-11 So 8.5 6.0

Reserve Players

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 52 Lauren Riley 6-3 Jr 7.0 5.0

C 54 Cassie King 6-3 So 5.5 3.0

F 22 Brittany Faddis 6-0 So 0.0 4.0

G 31 Rachel Aina 5-9 So 0.0 1.0

F 05 Ashley Cheesman 6-0 Jr 2.0 2.5

G 33 Haley Hall 5-4 Fr 11.5 1.0

G 13 Jaime Judkins 5-6 Fr 3.0 0.0

Team Stats -- after two games

-- Shooting from the field: (.415, 49-118)

-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.417, 10-24)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.426, 20-47)

-- Average points per game: 64.0

2006 BYU Run In Preseason WNIT

The No. 18 Cougar team is in the Final Four of this year's Preseason WNIT with a 73-50 home victory over Idaho State on Nov. 10. They then traveled to No. 4 Stanford where they picked up the biggest win in the program's history a 55-52 upset win over The Cardinal on Nov. 13.

Against Idaho State the team had a balanced scoring performance from junior Mallary Gillespie (10) points and five rebounds and from Shawnee Slade who tallied her first career double double with 10 points and team high 10 rebounds. Slade's impressive game garnered her this week's MWC Player of the Week honors, her first ever accolade.The Cougars shot 45 percent from the field and from behind the arc and were 6-15 from the free throw line. They held ISU to 33 percent shooting from the field and 19 percent from three-point range.

In the Stanford game, BYU had another impressive outing down by two at the break 28-26. In the second half, the Cougars were down by 13 with just over nine minutes left when they went on an 18-2 run to finally clinch the three-point 55-52 upset victory over The Cardinal. Freshman Haley Hall came off the bench for a stellar night with a season-high 15 points including four three pointers. Mallary Gillespie had her second straight double figure night with 12 points and four rebounds. Dani Wright had a team and game high nine rebounds in the game, playing a total of 35 minutes, the most ever for the senior center. BYU finished the night shooting 37 percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range and 44 percent at the free throw line. Stanford shot 38 percent from the field, 25 percent from three-point land and 54 percent at the line. Brooke Smith had 13 points and Cissy Pierce had 10 to lead Stanford.

ABOUT BYU'S UPCOMING OPPONENTS

In Preseason WNIT FInal Four

Baylor

The No. 16 ranked Baylor Bears are in the Final Four with an 84-47 win against North Texas and an 81-71 victory over Hofstra. All of their games have been played on their home court. Baylor currently has four players scoring in double figures with senior forward Bernice Mosby's 17.5 points and a team-high 15.5 rebounds per game. Danielle Wilson is next with 13.0 points, followed by junior guard Angela Tisdale's 12.5 points and 2.5 boards a game. Sophomore forward Rachel Allison rounds out the team's double digit scoring with 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest. Head Coach Kim Mulkey is in her eighth season at the helm of Baylor's program.

BAYLOR Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 03 Jessica Morrow 6-2 So 5.0 2.0

F 14 Rachel Allison 6-1 So 11.0 8.0

F 32 Bernice Mosby 6-1 Sr 17.5 15.5

G 15 Jhasmin Player 5-10 So 5.0 2.0

G 20 Angela Tisdale 5-5 Jr 12.5 2.5

Stat Comparisons BYU Baylor

Field Goals: .415 .446

Free Throws: .417 .652

Three-Pointers: .426 .235

Points Per Game: 64.0 82.5

Rebounds Per Game: 41.0 51.5

Series Record

The record between the two schools is 1-1. The two teams have played once in Provo and once on a neutral court.

Last Meeting

The Cougars and the Bears have not met in over 28 years. The last time they met (11/25/78) BYU beat Baylor 75-69 when both teams were playing at the UNM Invitational hosted by New Mexico in Albuquerque.

In Regular Season

Fresno State

Fresno State and BYU are set to play on Friday, Nov. 17 in Fresno as part of both team's regular season schedule. The Bulldogs return three starters and eight letterwinners from last year's team that went 24-8 and finished second in the WAC with a 14-2 record and went to the second round of the WNIT. Head Coach Adrian Wiggins is in his third season with the Bulldogs. FSU's top returning players are senior guard Chantella Perera who averaged 11.8 points and 3.4 rebounds last season and Tierre Wilson, a junior guard who tallied 4.3 points and grabbed 1.8 boards a game. Fresno State has played two games to date, an exhibition game vs. Australian Roos, who they beat 80-54. They opened the 2006-07 campaign at Utah on Monday beating the Utes 61-55 led by 23 points from Perera, 16 from Andrea Roberson and 13 from Wilson.

FRESNO STATE Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 02 Brittani Green 6-2 Sr 5.6* 2.7*

C 44 Jenny Thigpin 6-3 Sr transfer

G 03 Tierre Wilson 5-8 Jr 11.2* 4.3*

G 11 Chantella Perera 5-9 Sr 11.8 3.4

G 32 Jasmine P. Marshall 6-0 Sr 3.3 5.3

Stat Comparisons BYU FSU

Field Goals: .415 .441*

Free Throws: .417 .686*

Three-Pointers: .426 .316*

Points Per Game: 64.0 70.1*

Rebounds Per Game: 41.0 40.4*

* Denotes stats from last season

Series Record

The record between the two schools is 5-5 with BYU tallying a 1-4 record when playing at the Savemart Center.

Last Meeting

The Cougars and Bulldogs played each other regularly when both teams were members of the WAC. The last meeting between the two schools was on Feb. 18, 1999 where BYU won 100-49 in Provo. The last time the Cougars met the Bulldogs on the road was on Jan. 21, 1999 where BYU lost 65-68.

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 email. Office phone is 801-422-4908, cell phone is 801-372-0989 and email is norma_collett@byu.edu

Cougar Travel Plans

The team heads to Waco, Texas on Wed., Nov. 15 and will stay at the Hilton Waco Hotel, 113 South University Parks Drive, 254-754-8484, 254-752-2214, fax.

Road Practice

BYU has a shoot-around on Thurs., Nov. 13 at 11 a.m., Ferrell Center

Up Next

A win over Baylor on Thursday and the Cougars would play in the championship game vs. Purdue or NC State on Monday, Nov. 20. The championship game is set for Sunday, Nov. 19, but would have to be changed because BYU does not compete on Sunday. After the Fresno State game on Nov. 17, BYU's next regular season schedule game is at home on Nov. 22 vs. Santa Clara at 4:30 p.m.