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PROVO -- After scoring only five points in the first half, senior Shawnee Slade’s 13 second-half points led the BYU women’s basketball team to a 70-64 victory over Southern Utah on Friday night. With the win the Cougars improve to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 at home in the Marriott Center.

Slade ended the night with a game-high 18 points. Coriann Wood added 10 points for the Cougars, while Mindy Nielson recorded a team-high six rebounds. As a team, BYU forced 26 turnovers, including 15 steals.

“I’m really happy we won, but we didn’t come out mentally ready tonight,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “Sometimes you have to figure out problems as a team. You have to learn by your own mistakes and that’s how you grow. We played about 18 minutes tonight but we have to do better and play a complete 40 minutes.”

The Thunderbirds scored the first points of the game, before BYU went on a 5-0 run after makes by seniors Cassie King and Slade. After a layup by Wood with 16:08 to play in the first half, the Cougars were held scoreless for over four minutes before a three-pointer by Wood closed the SUU lead to 14-10.

BYU continued to put points on the board, despite being outrebounded offensively and defensively, tying the score at 19-19 with back-to-back makes by Megan Marks with 5:54 remaining in the half. Marks’ previous career-high of three points was easily surpassed in the first half alone, as the sophomore from South Jordan, Utah scored a team-high eight points in the first 20 minutes.

Both teams shot well as the first half wound down, trading baskets back-and-forth, with Nielson scoring her first bucket of the game with 10 seconds remaining.

The Cougars were strong coming out of the halftime break, including Slade, who scored eight of BYU’s 10 points to start the half. BYU’s defense held the Thunderbirds scoreless during that streak. Point guard Jazmine Foreman led the Cougars’ defensive efforts—recording three steals in three minutes for BYU.

“I felt a spark within myself at the beginning of the second half and just kind of rolled with it,” said Slade. “I felt it and took the shots when they was there.”

Freshman Kristen Riley blocked a SUU shot, followed by a running layup on the other end of the court, giving BYU the 59-43 lead. Not deterred, the Thunderbirds slowly narrowed the gap after going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line on three consecutive possessions.

With the game clock winding down, successful trips to the free throw line by Foreman and Nielson helped seal the win for BYU.

Up next the Cougars travel to Hawaii to participate in the Seasider Challenge at BYU-Hawaii on Dec. 5-6.

Official Basketball Box Score
Southern Utah TBirds vs Brigham Young
11-28-08 7:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR  BYU  PROVO UTAH
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VISITORS: Southern Utah TBirds 1-4
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
42 JONES, Cassi........ f  2-4    0-0    0-0    2  4  6   0   4  0  2  1  1  23
44 FARISH, Amanda...... f  3-3    0-0    0-2    2  1  3   3   6  3  3  0  0  21
21 WESTWOOD-HIGBEE, Ann c  1-5    0-0    8-12   3  3  6   1  10  1  4  0  2  25
23 PLATT, Cassie....... g  3-9    0-4    2-2    0  4  4   1   8  4  6  0  0  35
32 SEARS, Caitlyn...... g  5-14   1-3    2-2    5  4  9   3  13  2  1  0  0  33
05 NEVILLE, Lyndie.....    1-1    0-0    3-4    0  1  1   5   5  0  4  0  0  16
14 HOSKING, Dani.......    2-3    2-2    0-0    0  6  6   1   6  0  1  0  0  15
20 SAGERS, JAMIE.......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
24 PASCUCCI,  Challis..    5-7    0-0    0-0    3  0  3   2  10  1  3  0  0  20
30 SLADE, Morgan.......    1-2    0-0    0-1    0  0  0   1   2  0  1  0  0   8
   TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   23-49   3-10  15-23  17 25 42  17  64 11 25  1  3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-29 44.8%   2nd Half: 10-20 50.0%   Game: 46.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-7  28.6%   2nd Half:  1-3  33.3%   Game: 30.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-11 63.6%   2nd Half:  8-12 66.7%   Game: 65.2%    3
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young 3-2
                          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  7-15   1-4    3-5    5  0  5   1  18  3  1  0  1  28
45 MOEAKI, Keilani..... f  0-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   0  1  3  0  1  16
54 KING, Cassie........ c  4-6    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   5   8  0  0  0  2  20
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine.... g  1-7    0-5    6-7    1  2  3   1   8  3  2  0  3  27
22 NIELSON, Mindy...... g  3-10   0-4    1-2    1  2  3   2   7  6  0  2  1  34
01 JACKSON, Jenteal....    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  0  1  0  0   8
13 JUDKINS, Jaime......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   6
14 HOSTETTER, Sarah R..    0-3    0-2    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  2  0  0  2  16
23 WOOD, Coriann.......    4-11   2-6    0-0    2  3  5   4  10  1  2  0  2  16
24 PETERSON, Dani......    0-2    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   1   0  0  0  0  0   5
35 RILEY, Kristen......    4-6    0-1    1-4    3  2  5   2   9  1  2  2  1  13
55 MARKS, Megan........    4-4    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   3   8  1  1  0  1  11
   TEAM................                         2     2
   Totals..............   28-67   3-23  11-18  17 14 31  21  70 18 12  4 14 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-35 40.0%   2nd Half: 14-32 43.8%   Game: 41.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-12  8.3%   2nd Half:  2-11 18.2%   Game: 13.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-6  33.3%   2nd Half:  9-12 75.0%   Game: 61.1%    4
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Officials: ROBERT STRONG, CODY KETTERLING, KEN SOWBY
Technical fouls: Southern Utah TBirds-FARISH, Amanda. Brigham Young-None.
Attendance: 762
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Southern Utah TBirds..........   35   29  -   64
Brigham Young.................   31   39  -   70
OFFICIAL FINAL

After a decisive 67-45 win over Pac-10 foe Oregon, BYU’s women’s basketball team (2-1) gets set to host the nation’s No. 1 ranked UConn Huskies (3-0), Tues. Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. Then on Fri., Nov. 28 instate foe Southern Utah (0-3) comes to the Marriott Center for a 7 p.m. contest.

Game Information

When: 11/25/08 vs: UConn Tip: 7 p.m. Arena: Marriott Ctr.

When: 11/28/08 vs: SUU Tip: 7 p.m. Arena: Marriott Ctr.

Broadcast Plans

Television: Tuesday’ game vs. UConn will air live on BYUTV. Jarom Jordan and Kristin Kozlowski will call the action.

Internet: Audio streaming is available for both games via the internet at BYU Radio with Jay Monsen calling the action. A link is available by going to http://www.byucougars.com/basketball_w/

Stats: Live stats through GameTracker are available as well. A link is available by logging on to the BYU women’s basketball home page at http://www.byucougars.com/basketball_w/

BYU Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

03 Jazmine Foreman G 5-5 So 7.3 2.7

22 Mindy Nielson G 5-10 So 14.3 3.0

32 Shawnee Slade F 5-11 Sr 13.0 4.7

45 Keilani Moeaki F 6-2 So 8.0 3.7

54 Cassie King C 6-3 Sr 7.3 7.0

Off the Bench

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

23 Coriann Wood F 6-1 So 6.0 3.7

14 Sarah Hostetter G/F 5-11 Sr 5.0 0.7

35 Kristen Riley C 6-3 Fr 3.3 3.7

24 Dani Peterson F 6-1 Fr 1.3 1.3

01 Jenteal Jackson G 5-7 Fr 1.0 2.5

13 Jaime Judkins G 5-6 Jr 0.7 0.3

55 Megan Marks F 6-3 So 0.0 0.7

21 Stephanie Buhler F 6-1 Fr (rs) 0.0 0.0

2008-09 Cougar Stats Summary --

-- Shooting from the field: (.418, 79-189)

-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.745, 35-47)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.365, 19-52)

-- Average points per game: 70.7

-- Average assists per game: 14.0

-- Average steals per game: 9.7

-- Average blocks per game: 3.7

-- Average turnovers per game: 15.7

Team Summary for 2008-09

The Cougars return 12 letterwinners and two starters.

-- Three seniors: Shawnee Slade, Cassie King and Sarah Red Hostetter. Slade, who started in every game last year, was second on the team in both scoring and rebounding averaging 7.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. King, a 6-3 center played in all games with an average of 4.7 points and 2.7 boards per contest. Red-Hostetter played in 21 games last year and averaged 2.7 points per game.

-- Key returners include Mindy Nielson and Haley Hall. Nielson started in 19 games last year and averaged 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and led the team in assists with a total of 80 for an 2.8 average. Point-guard Haley Hall is out the rest of this season after suffering a torn ACL to her right knee at the Portland State game on 11/14/08. Hall played in seven games during the 2006-07 season before an ACL injury ended the season. After a year of rehabilitation, Hall was set to return to her point-guard spot in 2007-08, but reinjured the same knee and did not play last year.

-- Jaime Judkins is the lone junior on the squad. She will be relied on to continue her hard working attitude and strong play this year.

-- Four additional sophomores: Jazmine Foreman, Megan Marks, Keilani Moeaki and Coriann Wood. The four return after playing significant minutes as freshmen and learning to compete at the college level.

-- The six newcomers include Stephanie Buhler, a 6-0 freshman forward who redshirted last season.

-- 2008-09 Freshman Class:

Jenteal Jackson, a 5-7 guard from Salt Lake City and Skyline HS

Alexis Kaufusi, a 6-1 forward from Provo and Timpview HS

Dani Peterson, a 6-1 forward from Salt Lake City and Skyline HS

Kristen Riley, a 6-3 forward from San Clemente, CA and San Clemente HS. Riley’s older sister Lauren played four seasons on the BYU program, graduating in 2008.

Last Game

The 2008-09 campaign opened at home last Friday night as the Cougars hosted Pac-10 foe Oregon with BYU picking up the 67-45 victory. With the win, coach Jeff Judkins improved to 7-1 in home openers. It was a night for the three BYU seniors to shine as Shawnee Slade topped the leader board in scoring on the night with a game and team high 17 points. Cassie King grabbed a season and career high 10 boards, while Sara Hostetter contributed with 13 points for season and career highs. The Cougars enjoyed a 14-point 38-24 halftime lead and finished the game shooting 43 percent from the field and 44 percent from the free throw line. They held Oregon to 25 percent shooting from the field, and outrebounded the Ducks by two, 43 to 41.

Injury Report

Near the conclusion of the game at Portland St., sophomore point-guard Haley Hall suffered a season ending injury to her right knee. She has a torn ACL. Hall has had two other ACL injuries both on her left knee prior to the 2008-09 season.

-- Of Note in 2008-09 --

TEAM

-- The Cougars host the nation's No. 1 ranked UConn Huskies on Tuesday, Nov. 25. They will be the highest ranked women's basketball team to ever play in the Marriott Center and the highest ranked team that BYU has ever played.

-- Five players scored in double digits in the game at Nevada on Nov. 18.

-- Three players contributed with double figure scoring in two games to date; at Portland St., on 11/14/08 and vs. Oregon on 11/21/08.

-- So far this season, the Cougars have played three games with teams from three different conferences. Portland State, from the Big Sky; Nevada, from the WAC; and Oregon, from the Pac-10. Tuesday’s game vs. UConn will be the fourth team from the fourth conference. The Huskies are from the Big East Conference.

-- In the victory at Nevada, BYU was perfect from the line in the first half going 9-9, and finished the game making 17 of 18.

-- With the 67-45 victory over Oregon on Fri., Nov. 21, coach Jeff Judkins improved to 7-1 in home openers.

PLAYER

-- Sophomore guard Mindy Nielson picked up new season and career highs in points with 27 at Nevada on 11/18/08. She was also 9-10 from the free throw line.

-- Nielson leads the team in points with an average of 14.3 points per game. She also tops the leader board in assists, dishing out 11 to date.

-- Senior center Cassie King tops the team’s list in the rebound category, grabbing 7.0 boards per game.

Special Promotions for UConn Game on Tues., Nov. 25

All students from any institution, and children get in FREE. Adults get in for $1. Live Band. Acrobatic Dunking Team. Prizes will be given out at every time out. (IPods, BYU apparel, Papa John’s Pizzas, tickets to the men’s game against Wake Forest). Cougarettes. Cheerleaders. Cosmo. NCAA “Pack the House Night.”

This Week’s Cougar Opponents

UConn (Nov. 25, 2008) in Provo, Utah - 7 p.m.

Connecticut will be making its first ever appearance at the Marriott Center this Tuesday night. The Huskies are the nation’s No. 1 ranked women’s basketball team with a perfect 3-0 record. They advanced to the Final Four in last year’s NCAA tournament. UConn has six players scoring in double figures led by sophomore forward Maya Moore’s 18.0 points and a team high 8.3 rebounds per game. Tina Charles follows with 17.7 points and 7.3 boards a contest. Next is Renee Montgomery with 14.0, Caroline Doty with 11.3, Tiffany Hayes contributes with 10.7, and Kalana Greene with 10.0. Head Coach Geno Auriemma begins his 24th season with the Huskies.

UConn Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

23 Maya Moore F 6-0 So 18.0 8.3

31 Tina Charles C 6-4 Jr 17.7 7.3

05 Caroline Doty G 5-10 Fr 11.3 4.3

20 Renee Montgomery G 5-7 Sr 14.0 1.7

32 Kalana Greene G 5-10 Jr 10.0 2.7

Stat Comparison

Category BYU UC

Points: 70.7 90.7

FG: .418 .579

FT: .745 .742

3FG: .365 .400

Reb: 37.3 37.7

Series Information

Record: UConn leads the series 1-0

Last Meeting: Nov. 29, 2007. The first meeting between these two school was played last year in Hartford, CT., at the XL Center. In that game, the Huskies defeated the Cougars by a score of 80-34.

Southern Utah University (Nov. 28, 2008) in Provo, Utah - 7 p.m.

SUU has compiled a 0-3 record to date. The team hosts Idaho State Tues., Nov. 25 before Friday night’s contest at the Marriott Center. Challis Pascucci and Caitlyn Sears top the leader board in scoring with each averaging 9.0 points per game. Cassie Jones tops the rebound category grabbing 7.3 boards per contest. Ann Westwood-Higbee leads the team in assists with a total of six so far this year.

SUU Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

21 Ann Westwood-Higbee F/C 6-1 Sr 7.0 5.7

42 Cassie Jones F 6-3 Fr 3.7 9.7

13 Kaila Goff G 5-8 So 4.7 1.7

23 Cassie Platt G 5-7 Fr 5.3 3.3

32 Caitlyn Sears G 5-10 So 9.0 4.7

Stat Comparison

Category BYU SUU

Points: 70.7 53.0

FG: .418 .345

FT: .745 .646

3FG: .365 .195

Reb: 37.3 48.3

Series Information

Record: BYU leads the series 15-3

Last Meeting: Nov. 19, 2004. These two instate foes last met in 2004 where BYU got the 20-point 76-56 victory. In Provo, the Thunderbirds have a 2-8 record with their last win at the Marriott Center on Dec.30, 2003, two-point 72-70 win. Head Coach Jeff Judkins has a 3-1 over SUU.

What’s Next

BYU begins the month of December on the road, playing in Hawaii on Dec. 5-6 at the Seasider Challenge. The Cougars will play Wright State on Fri., Dec. 5 and USC on Sat., Dec. 6. Both games will be played on the BYU-Hawaii campus at the Cannon Activity Center. Tip off for the games are at 1 p.m., and 4 p.m., respectively.