LAS VEGAS -- The BYU women's basketball team is now 1-0 in conference after a 71-61 victory, its fifth straight, over the UNLV Rebels in Las Vegas, Wednesday.

"I thought we had a really good first half," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "We came in when we had to make the big shots and made them."

The Cougars took an early 13-7 lead with 16:52 to play in the first half after back-to-back three pointers from Haley Hall and Jazmine Foreman.

Hall finished the game with eight points and six assists. Foreman finished with 19 points to lead the team, hitting three 3-pointers.

Mindy Bonham (Nielson) and Alexis Kaufusi also both finished the game with double-digit points. Bonham ended with 11 while Kaufusi put up 10. Bonham also recorded nine assists to tie her career-high.

BYU went on an 13-2 run in five minutes in the first half and would never look back from there taking the 32-22 lead going into halftime.

The second half proved to be a little tougher with the Rebels fighting back but never getting ahead. BYU got its double-figure lead back with 4 minutes to play after a jump shot from Coriann Wood. Wood finished the game with 17 points, to tie her career- and-season high, and 10 rebounds. This was her second double-double of the season.

"Coriann had a really, really good game and made some big shots for us," Judkins said. "Jazmine also played really well tonight. This game really shows that our team has a lot of heart."

After this victory over the Rebels, at least two BYU players have now scored in double-figures in every BYU game. In this game, four players finished with double-figure points for the fifth time this season.

The Cougars now lead the series record against the Rebels 24-12.

Next up for the Cougars is a matchup against Air Force on January 13 in the Marriott Center at 7 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
BYU vs UNLV
01/06/10 7:00 PM at Las Vegas, Nev. (Cox Pavilion)
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VISITORS: BYU 10-3, 1-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 RILEY,Kristen....... f  3-9    0-3    0-0    1  4  5   0   6  1  0  0  2  26
45 MOEAKI,Keilani...... f  0-2    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2   0  0  2  0  0  15
03 FOREMAN,Jazmine..... g  6-8    3-5    4-5    1  2  3   1  19  3  2  0  0  37
22 BONHAM,Mindy........ g  3-13   2-6    3-4    0  5  5   1  11  9  2  0  2  38
33 HALL, Haley......... g  3-14   2-8    0-0    3  2  5   2   8  6  2  0  2  38
10 KAUFUSI, Alexis.....    5-9    0-0    0-1    0  3  3   4  10  1  0  0  0  15
13 JUDKINS,Jaime.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
23 WOOD,Coriann........    7-9    1-3    2-2    4  6 10   4  17  0  3  0  1  27
32 PETERSON,Dani.......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         6  2  8
   Totals..............   27-65   8-26   9-12  15 25 40  15  71 20 11  0  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-33 39.4%   2nd Half: 14-32 43.8%   Game: 41.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-15 33.3%   2nd Half:  3-11 27.3%   Game: 30.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  1-3  33.3%   2nd Half:  8-9  88.9%   Game: 75.0%    0
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HOME TEAM: UNLV 7-8, 0-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
11 SMITH, Jamie........ f  2-4    0-2    6-6    1  7  8   2  10  1  2  1  0  38
03 NZEUKOU, Sandrine... c  2-4    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   2   4  0  1  0  0  19
15 HELMS, Erica........ g  7-17   2-4    2-3    1  2  3   1  18  5  0  0  0  37
30 BELL. Mia........... g  3-5    1-2    0-0    0  0  0   4   7  4  4  0  1  28
45 THOMPSON, Kelli..... g  3-12   1-7    2-5    1  5  6   2   9  2  3  0  0  31
05 STYLES, Markiell....    4-6    0-0    2-3    3  1  4   1  10  0  2  0  0  19
10 HOLIDAY, Allison....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   1
21 ANDERSON, Amanda....    1-2    1-2    0-0    0  4  4   1   3  0  1  0  1  14
23 HUNT, Latoya........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  1  0  0   3
32 CHANEY, India.......    0-3    0-1    0-0    1  1  2   1   0  0  2  1  0  10
   TEAM................                         1  5  6
   Totals..............   22-53   5-18  12-17  10 26 36  14  61 12 17  2  2 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-26 34.6%   2nd Half: 13-27 48.1%   Game: 41.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-10 20.0%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 27.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-5  40.0%   2nd Half: 10-12 83.3%   Game: 70.6%    1
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Officials: Shelley Nakasone, Randy Campbell, Wanda Szeremeta
Technical fouls: BYU-None. UNLV-None.
Attendance: 749
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BYU...........................   32   39  -   71
UNLV..........................   22   39  -   61

On a four-game winning streak and a (9-3, 0-0) nonconference record, the BYU women’s basketball team begins the MWC season on the road.

The Cougars open up the 2010 league race at UNLV (7-7, 0-0) on Wed. Jan. 6. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. PT.

2009-10 Stats Summary

-- Shooting from field: (.440, 313-711)

-- Shooting from free-throw line: (.607, 119-196)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.367, 87-237)

-- Average points per game: 69.3

-- Average rebounds per game: 41.3

-- Average assists per game: 16.3

-- Average steals per game: 10.2

-- Average blocks per game: 3.6

-- Average turnovers per game: 19.0

Player Injury Report

Freshman guard Kim Parker suffered a season ending injury in the game at Weber State. She has torn ligaments in her left foot.

Sophomore guard Jenteal Jackson will redshirt the rest of the year due to an on-going back problem.

Junior forward Megan Leach is probable for Wednesday’s game after sitting out the last two due to a shoulder injury.

THIS WEEK’S MWC COUGAR OPPONENT

UNLV - Wed. Jan. 6 at 7 p.m. PT (Las Vegas, NV) - Cox Pavilion

The Rebels enter MWC play with a 7-7 record, winning three of their last five games and they are 3-5 when playing at Cox Pavilion. Two players are currently scoring in double figures for UNLV led by Erica Helms who tallied 13.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Freshman Thompson is next with 13.4 points and 4.1 rebounds. Sophomore guard/forward Jamie Smith leads the team in the rebound category grabbing 9.8 boards per game. Helms tops the list in both assists and steals dishing out a total of 48 and getting 31 steals to date. Head Coach Kathy Olivier is in her second season with the Rebels.

Stat Comparison

Category BYU LV

FG: .440 .379

3FG: .367 .344

FT: .607 .646

Points: 69.3 65.3

Reb: 41.3 39.4

Series Information

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 23-12

BYU Record in Provo: 13-2

BYU Record in Las Vegas: 9-9

BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 1-1

BYU Record under Jeff Judkins: 13-7

BYU Record in Overtime Games: 1-2

Longest BYU Win Streak: 5 (twice, 2001-02; 2005-07)

Longest UNLV Win Streak: 3 (twice, 1975-79; 2004)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 26, 74-48 in 2005

Largest UNLV Margin of Victory: 13, 77-64 in 2004

A Look Back at the Series during the 2009 MWC Race

BYU swept the series with UNLV, but fell to the Rebels in first round action at the 2009 MWC Championships. When playing in Las Vegas, the Cougars are 9-9. They won their last game there on Jan. 21, 2009, a 67-62 BYU victory.

Cougars Travel Schedule

Team Flights: Tuesday, Jan. 6 - Delta flight# 1120 departs from Salt Lake City at 3:15 p.m., and arrives in Las Vegas at 3:35 p.m.

Thurs. Jan. 8 - Delta flight# 4658 departs Las Vegas at 10:35 a.m., and arrives in Salt Lake City at 12:58 p.m.

Team Hotel: Hyatt Place - 4520 Paradise Road, 702-369-3366, 702-369-0009, fax.

What’s Next

After the matchup at UNLV, the BYU team continues MWC with their first home league game on Wed. Jan. 13 when they host the Air Force Academy at 7 p.m. That game is scheduled to air live on BYU TV.