PROVO -- The BYU women's basketball team enjoyed a home-court 72-52 victory over in-state rival Utah Valley Saturday at the Marriott Center. The 20-point spread is the team's largest margin of victory this season.

Junior Shawnee Slade led all scorers with 15 points, and senior Mallary Gillespie-Carling followed with 13. Gillespie-Carling has now scored 10 or more points in seven games this season and in 54 in her career. Freshman Mindy Nielsen recorded career highs with six rebounds, five steals, and five blocks. Freshman Jazmine Foreman also recorded a career-high eight assists.

"I thought we really defended UV well tonight," said BYU Head Coach Jeff Judkins. "All the girls did well. We did a nice job in the zone and getting the shots when we needed them."

The Cougars started out with a bang, dropping three three-pointers in a row in the first three minutes of the game. Slade made the first three-point shot less than one minute into the game and followed up with another just one minute later. Gillespie-Carling finished the three-point streak, making the basket with a behind-the-back assist from Foreman.

"Shawnee [Slade] came out ready to play tonight, and Riley-Varley got some easy baskets early too, which helped her confidence," Judkins said. "We started aggressively, and Utah Valley couldn't recover from our great start."

Not only was BYU active behind the arc, but also was successful underneath the basket. The Cougars scored the first 17 of 22 points in the game.

The Cougars' aggressive and quick defense contributed to holding the Wolverines on the defensive end of the court. Nielson blocked two Utah Valley shots in a row with a little over 13 minute left in the first half, and the Cougars tallied a total of 16 defensive rebounds in the first half.

Continuing their three-point success, the Cougars sunk three more in a row starting with Nielson at 11:55, followed by Gillespie-Carling and Slade. At 8:11 the Wolverines fouled Foreman attempting yet another three-point shot. Foreman was 3-3 at the free throw line.

Utah Valley closed BYU's advantage going on a three-point streak of its own. With eight minutes left, the Wolverines went on to score the next 14 of 16 points, with three of those baskets from behind the three-point line.

Sophomore Jamie Judkins responded with a three-point shot of her own with 1:45 left in the first half for the team's season-high seventh of the first period. The Cougars ended the half with a 35-25 lead over Utah Valley, which is the largest half-time lead the Cougars have had all season.

The Cougars jumped out quick at the start of the second half with two baskets by Riley-Varley, but the Wolverines fought hard to close the gap with the Cougars. Utah Valley pulled within eight points of the Cougars, 43-35, which was the closest they had been since 17:40 of the first half.

That would be the closest Utah Valley would come to BYU. The Cougars gradually pulled away, scoring 9 of 13 points in the remaining four minutes of the game.

"It was a good game for us," said Slade. "We came out with intensity, and we've needed a game like this. We came back fighting every time and didn't give up those last final minutes."

The Cougars will travel Wednesday, Dec. 12, to face Weber State at noon in Ogden's Dee Events Center. They will return home to the Marriott Center to play UCLA on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 4 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
Ut Valley Wolverines vs Brigham Young Univer
12-8-07 5:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO UTAH
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Ut Valley Wolverines 8-2;0-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
03 Julie McMurray...... f  9-16   2-4    0-1    5  0  5   4  20  0  4  0  1  31
22 Jordyn Bowen........ f  0-4    0-0    0-0    3  2  5   0   0  0  5  1  1  18
10 Robyn Fairbanks..... c  7-17   1-2    7-9    2  6  8   1  22  0  3  0  2  32
01 Sandy Marvin........ g  0-10   0-1    0-0    2  6  8   5   0  1  5  0  2  29
25 Hollie Beaman....... g  0-1    0-0    0-1    0  1  1   2   0  3  1  0  0  25
13 Asumi Nakayama......    0-6    0-3    3-4    1  0  1   3   3  1  4  0  5  25
23 Rebekah Peterson....    1-4    1-2    0-0    0  1  1   3   3  1  2  0  2  25
34 Susie Cornejo.......    1-2    1-1    0-0    1  0  1   4   3  1  0  0  0   7
42 Blake Reynolds......    0-2    0-0    1-2    0  0  0   1   1  1  1  0  0   8
   TEAM................                         4  5  9
   Totals..............   18-62   5-13  11-17  18 21 39  23  52  8 25  1 13 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-30 26.7%   2nd Half: 10-32 31.3%   Game: 29.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 38.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-10 60.0%   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 64.7%    2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Brigham Young Univer 4-5
                          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  5-11   3-6    2-4    2  5  7   0  15  1  4  1  3  30
45 MOEAKI, Keilani..... f  1-3    0-0    0-0    2  3  5   1   2  1  1  1  1  20
52 VARLEY, Lauren...... c  4-7    0-0    1-2    5  3  8   4   9  2  1  3  4  22
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine.... g  0-2    0-2    3-3    0  0  0   2   3  8  3  0  0  19
30 CARLING, Mallary.... g  4-17   3-7    2-3    1  2  3   1  13  5  2  0  3  38
00 NICHOLS, Lauren.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  1  0   1
05 CHEESMAN, Ashley....    1-1    0-0    0-0    2  2  4   0   2  0  0  0  0  10
10 BECK, Marie.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   0
12 JACKSON, Brooke.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
13 JUDKINS, Jaime......    1-3    1-3    0-0    1  0  1   2   3  2  3  0  0   9
14 RED, Sarah..........    0-0    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   1
22 NIELSON, Mindy......    2-6    1-2    4-6    1  5  6   0   9  0  7  5  5  25
23 WOOD, Coriann.......    1-3    0-2    3-4    2  1  3   2   5  1  2  0  1   7
31 ALLETO, Amy.........    0-0    0-0    1-2    0  0  0   0   1  0  0  0  0  0+
34 BELL, Marianne......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
54 KING, Cassie........    3-5    0-0    2-2    1  5  6   2   8  0  0  1  0  15
55 MARKS, Megan........    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   0  0  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         2  3  5
   Totals..............   22-58   8-22  20-28  20 30 50  15  72 20 23 12 17 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-26 42.3%   2nd Half: 11-32 34.4%   Game: 37.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  7-12 58.3%   2nd Half:  1-10 10.0%   Game: 36.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-10 60.0%   2nd Half: 14-18 77.8%   Game: 71.4%    3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: SCOTTY HERMANN, JOHN HAEFELI, KEN SOWBY
Technical fouls: Ut Valley Wolverines-None. Brigham Young Univer-None.
Attendance: 484
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Ut Valley Wolverines..........   25   27  -   52
Brigham Young Univer..........   35   37  -   72
OFFICIAL FINAL
Points in the paint-UVU 14,BY 26. Points off turnovers-UVU 15,BY 22.
2nd chance points-UVU 9,BY 17. Fast break points-UVU 0,BY 4.
Bench points-UVU 10,BY 30. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-UVU 2nd-00:02, BY 2nd-01:28.
Largest lead-UVU None, BY by 23 2nd-00:26.

After two disappointing losses in Connecticut, the Cougar team looks to get back on the winning side with two home games in the Marriott Center.

On Wed., Dec. 5, BYU (3-4) hosts New Mexico State(5-1) in a 4:30 p.m. tip. Then on Sat., the team will host crosstown rival Utah Valley University (8-0) in a 5 p.m., tip off.

That's a half hour later than the original scheduled time.

Game #8-12/05/07:BYU vs. New Mexico St. Time:4:30 p.m. MT Arena:Marriott Ctr.

Game #9-12/08/07:BYU vs. Utah Valley Univ. Time:5:00 p.m.MT Arena:Marriott Ctr.

Following the Cougars --

Radio: Both of the games this week will air live on KOVO 960 AM.

Internet: They will also be heard live on the internet at

http://www.byuradio.org/streaming Jay Monsen will call the action for both games.

Live stats: All of the games can be accessed with the live stats link by logging on to: www.byucougars.com/basketball_w/.

Cougar All-Acccess: Those who have signed up for Cougar All-Access can also view the games on their computers.

BYU Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

03 Jazmine Foreman G 5-5 Fr 3.3 1.1

30 Mallary G. Carling G 5-10 Sr 13.3 2.7

32 Shawnee Slade F 5-11 Jr 7.1 6.0

54 Cassie King F 6-3 Jr 3.6 2.4

52 Lauren R. Varley C 6-3 Sr 9.0 9.1

Reserve Players

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

45 Keilani Moeaki F 6-2 Fr 5.7 4.6

22 Mindy Nielson G 5-10 Fr 5.0 1.9

23 Coriann Wood F 6-1 Fr 3.8 2.4

14 Sarah Red G/F 5-11 Jr (rs) 2.5 0.0

05 Ashley Cheesman F 6-0 Sr 1.7 1.7

13 Jaime Judkins G 5-6 So 1.2 0.7

0 Lauren Nichols F 6-0 Fr (rs) 0.8 0.3

55 Megan Marks F 6-2 Fr 0.3 1.3

21 Stephanie Buhler F 6-0 Fr

Team Stats -- 2007-08

-- Shooting from the field: (.394, 146-371)

-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.584, 52-89)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.278, 32-115)

--Average points per game: 53.7

2007-08 Season Highlights and Notables

TEAM

-- The captains on the 2007-08 season are seniors Mallary Gillespie-Carling and Lauren Riley-Varley

-- When playing on the road this season, BYU has a 1-3 record.

-- The 55 rebounds by the Cougars vs Fresno State on 11/17/07 are a season high and rank tied for third place in the program's history.

-- The win over Fresno State improved BYU's all-time record in home openers to 24-11 and under coach Judkins is now 6-1 in home openers.

-- The 78 points and the 55 rebounds recorded in the win over Fresno State are the most in both categories to date.

-- Starting lineups:

Foreman, Carling, Slade, Cheesman, Varley: 2-2

Foreman, Carling, Slade, King, Varley: 1-1

Judkins, Carling, Slade, Wood, Varley: 0-1

PLAYER

-- Center Lauren Riley-Varley picked up back-to-back double doubles in the first two games of this season. She tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds against UCSB and 16 points and 13 boards at Arkansas State. She led all players in the rebound category in those contests.

-- Varley's 16 points at Ark. State were season highs to date

-- Varley tops the list in rebounds for the team to date grabbing an average of 10.0 boards per contest.

-- Mallary Gillespie-Carling has scored in double figures in 52 games during her career, including five so far this season, most recently (22) at Sacred Heart, (17) at UCSB, (13) at Ark. St., (17) vs. Fresno St., and (15) vs. Seton Hall.

-- Carling is the team's assist leader so far this year dishing out a total of 19.

-- Freshman Mindy Nielson tallied a career-high 11 points vs. Fresno State on 11/17/07.

-- Shawnee Slade led the team in scoring at Connecticut on 11/29/07 with 10 points, marking her 12th career double figure contest, and the second this season.

-- Freshman Keilani Moeaki tallied a career- and game-high 19 points in the game vs. Hartford

-- Freshman Coriann Wood picked up season and career highs in points and rebounds in the game at UConn on 11/29/07 with eight points and five rebounds. She had her first collegiate start at Sacred Heart on 12/01/07.

About This Week's Opponents

NEW MEXICO STATE UNIV. - Provo, Utah at 4:30 p.m. (12/05/07)

The Aggies from New Mexico St., have compiled a 5-1 record to date with their most recent win, a 58-42 victory over New Mexico on 12/02/07 in Las Cruses.The team returns four starters and a totalof nine letterwinners from a team that went 13-18 last season. Head Coach Darin Spence is in his fifth season with the Aggies where he has a 50-74 record to date. Three players from NMSt., are currently scoring in double figures led by senior forward Sherell Neal with 13.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Madison Spence follows with 12.3 points and grabs 3.2 boards per contest. Anika Jawara, a 6-0 senior forward rounds out the double digit scoring with 11.5 points and a team high 9.7 rebounds per game.

New Mexico State Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 02 Sherell Neal 6-0 Sr 13.8 8.8

F 21 Anikia Jawara 6-0 Sr 11.5 9.7

G 24 Madison Spence 5-11 Fr 12.3 3.2

G 35 Tyshae Walton 5-8 Jr 6.8 2.5

G 05 Hannah Spanich 6-0 So 2.7 3.0

Stat Comparisons BYU NMSt.

Field Goals: .394 .385

Free Throws: .584 .704

Three-Pointers: .278 .280

Points Per Game: 53.7 67.7

Rebounds Per Game: 37.7 46.5

Series History

Record: 13-10 favoring BYU. The Aggies have not made an appearance in the Marriott Center since a game on 2/16/90 where NMSt., got the 77-63 win.

Against the Cougars in the Marriott Center they have a 3-8.

Last Meeting: Dec 6, 2006 where the Cougars picked up a 60-43 win in Las Cruces.

UTAH VALLEY UNIV. - Provo, Utah at 5 p.m. (12/08/07)

The Wolverines from crosstown rival UVU have an impressive 8-0 record having just won the Air Force Classic in Colo. Sprgs. The team plays at Montana St. on Wed., Dec. 5 prior to the matchup with the Cougars on Saturday. Four starters and 13 letterwinners return to the team that went 15-13 last season. In scoring, three players are in double figures for the Wolverines. Senior Robyn Fairbanks tops the list in both scoring and rebounding with 22.9 and 9.0 respectively. Junior guard Sandy Marvin follows with 20.0 points and 3.1 boards and Julie McMurray who contributes with 15.5 points and 6.4 boards per contest. Cathy Nixon is in her 12th season with UVU and fourth as a NCAA Div. I program.

Utah Valley Univer. Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

C 00 Kaitlin Sowinski 6-4 Jr 18.0 6.0

G 04 Maggie Cosgrove 5-3 Fr 4.8 3.3

G 22 Stephanie Ryan 5-10 Jr 6.0 7.3

G 24 Khalia Cain 5-7 Jr 7.8 2.8

G 35 Alisa Apo 5-9 Fr 5.0 1.8

Stat Comparisons BYU UVU

Field Goals: .394 .490

Free Throws: .584 .761

Three-Pointers: .278 .444

Points Per Game: 53.7 86.1

Rebounds Per Game: 37.7 41.8

Series History

Record: 2-0 favoring BYU since UVU became a Div. I program four years ago. When playing in the Marriott Center in those four seasons, they have a 0-1 record.

Last Meeting: The Cougars and Wolverines played last year in Orem where BYU picked up the 71-57

Media Availability

Team Practice Times - at home

-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 from 1 to 3 p.m., and on Thursday's from 11:30 to 2 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 Basketball Communications Director for the team and can be contacted by phone or email.

Contact at -- office: 801-422-4908, cell: 801-372-0989 and email: norma_collett@byu.edu

Looking Ahead

Three more games round out the nonconference schedule for the Cougars. The team plays at Weber State on Wed., Dec. 12 at noon, then hosts Pac-10 powerhouse UCLA on Dec. 15 at 4 p.m.

BYU has a short Christmas break before a Dec. 29 game at Utah State. That contest tips off at 5 p.m.