DURHAM, North Carolina (Nov. 13, 2010) - An early lead in the first half wasn't enough to keep the BYU women's basketball team ahead against the No. 5 Duke Blue Devils with a 69-54 loss for the Cougars in North Carolina, Saturday.

Senior Mindy Bonham was the only Cougar to score in double-figures against Duke with 12 points on the night.

"I'm really proud of our team and how they played tonight," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "We played well but I think they wore us down and got some easy baskets that obviously hurt us. Dani Peterson played a great first half for us tonight and it was unfortunate that Kristen Riley got those early fouls. This is a great environment to play in, however, and a good experience for the girls."

The Cougars went on an 8-0 run to start the game with points from Bonham and Kristen Riley, and would hold the lead for the majority of the first half.

Duke took their first lead of the game with just two minutes until the break on a 24-23 score. Six more unanswered points would carry them into halftime.

The second half started with an equal scoring drive of 14-13 for BYU but the Blue Devils would take the lead from there and finish the game scoring 26 points to BYU's 17 for a final 69-54 score for the homestanding team.

Coriann Fraughton and Haley Hall both added eight points to the BYU effort with Karima Christmas' 20 points leading the Blue Devils.

The Cougars shot 28 percent overall while holding the Blue Devils to 38 percent.

Next up for BYU is another game on the road against the University of Chicago, Illinois, on Wednesday Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. CT in Chicago.

With four returning starters and after two exhibition victories the Cougar women’s basketball team begins 2010-11 competition at No. 5/6 Duke on Sat., Nov. 13. Tip off is 7 p.m., ET.

The team remains on the road traveling to Chicago for a matchup against the University of Illinois at Chicago, Wed. Nov. 17. That game starts at 7 p.m., CT.

2010-11 Probable Starters (last year stats)

2009-10 Final Stats Summary

-- Shooting from field: (.428, 807-1887)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.360, 226-628)

-- Shooting from free-throw line: (.661, 289-438)

-- Average points per game: 64.5

-- Average rebounds per game: 36.9

-- Average assists per game: 16.2

-- Average steals per game: 9.0

-- Average blocks per game: 3.4

-- Average turnovers per game: 17.0

Team Captains Selected

Mindy Bonham and Haley Hall have been chosen by their teammates as co-captians for the 2010-11 season. This is Hall’s third straight co-captain selection.

Player Updates/Injuries

Freshmen Morgan Bailey and Stephanie Rovetti will redshirt the 2010-11 season.

Dayna Burgess is not expected to play in the first two games of the season due to a knee injury.

ABOUT UPCOMING OPPONENTS

No. 5/6 Duke

The Blue Devils enter the 2010-11 campaign with three returning starters and six letterwinners from last year’s team that compiled a 30-6, record, finished first in the ACC and lost to Baylor in the NCAA Elite Eight. Among the three returning starters are the team’s leading scorer and rebounder. Senior guard Jasmine Thomas averaged a team high 16.0 points per game. A 6-5 senior center, Krystal Thomas led the team in rebounds grabbing 6.6 boards per contest. The third returning starter is Karima Christmas, a 5-11 senior guard/forward combo who scored 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Head coach Joanne McCallie enters her fourth year at Duke where she’s compiled an 82-22 record.

2010-11 Probable Starters (last year’s stats)

STAT COMPARISON (last year’s stats)

SERIES HISTORY

Overall Series Record: Duke leads 1-0

BYU Record in Provo: N/A

BYU Record in Durham: 0-1

BYU Record in Neutral Sites: N/A

BYU Record under Jeff Judkins: N/A

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: N/A

Longest Duke Win Streak: 1 (1987)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: N/A

Largest Duke Margin of Victory: 20, 80-60 in ‘87

Last Meeting

The only previous meeting between these two teams dates back to the 1986-87 season. In that meeting the game was played at Duke on Jan. 10, 1987 with the homestanding Blue Devils picking up the 20-point victory, 80-60.

Illinois Chicago

The University of Illinois at Chicago begins the upcoming season with eight letterwinners and three returning starters from a team that went 12-18 overall, 9-9 in the Horizon League. They will have played two regular games before hosting the Cougars. Guard Jasmine Bailey returns as the team’s leading scorer and rebounder with 12.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Shameila Green, a 5-7 guard who started in all but one game last year, averages 8.9 points and 3.0 boards per game. Senior guard Briana Hinkle rounds out the returning starters with a 5.7 point average while grabbing 2.9 rebounds per contest. Head coach Lisa Ryckbosch begins her ninth season at the helm of the women’s program compiling a 114-123 record.

2010-11 Probable Starters (last year’s stats)

STAT COMPARISON (last year’s stats)

SERIES HISTORY

Overall Series Record: BYU 1-0

BYU Record in Provo: N/A

BYU Record in Chicago: N/A

BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 1-0

BYU Record under Jeff Judkins: N/A

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: 1 (1998)

Longest Ill.Chicago Win Streak: N/A

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 21, 76-55 in ‘98

Largest Ill.Chicago Margin of Victory: N/A

Last Meeting

These two teams have only played each other one previous time during the 1998-99 season with the Cougars getting the 76-55 victory on Nov. 28, 1998. Both teams were competing at a University of Oregon tournament.

TRAVEL PLANS

(Duke)

Team Flight: Delta #1036 departs Thurs. 11/11/10 from Salt Lake City at 3:05 p.m., arrives in Atlanta at 8:49 p.m.

Team Flight: Delta #1083 departs Thurs. 11/11/10 from Atlanta at 10:45 p.m., and arrives in Raleigh/Durham at 12:07 a.m.

Team Hotel: Durham Courtyard by Marriott, 1815 Front Street, 919-309-1500, 919-383-8189, fax.

(UIC)

Team Flight: Delta #6697 departs Sun. 11/14/10 from Raleigh/Durham at 11 a.m., and arrives in Cincinnati at 12:39 p.m.

Team Flight: Delta #6759 departs Sun. 11/14/10 from Cincinnati at 1:40 p.m., arrives in Chicago at 2 p.m.

Team Flight: Delta #4771 departs Thurs. 11/18/10 from Chicago at 7:30 a.m., arrives in Salt Lake City at 9:55 a.m.

Team Hotel: Marriott Chicago at Medical District, 625 South Ashland Ave., 312-491-1234, 312-529-6095, fax.

UP NEXT

The Cougar team returns home for two games. The team’s home opener is on Nov. 20 against Pac-10 foe Washington at 1 p.m. They host instate rival Utah State, Tues., Nov. 23 at 4 p.m.