Final Road Game In December, At TCU

A three-game winning streak is on the line this week, with one more road trip to finish off the month of December for BYU's women's basketball team. This Saturday, the women travel back to Texas for a game against TCU on Dec. 22.

Tip off: BYU (7-3) @ TCU (6-2), 1:00 p.m. (CST) Arena: Daniel-Meyer Coliseum

BYU's Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 Jr 11.0 8.4

F 31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Sr 6.7 4.0

F 23 Chanell Rose 6-0 Jr 3.7 2.7

G 11 Erin Thorn 5-10 Jr 20.2 4.6

G 22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Sr 10.4 2.9

Cougar Players Off The Bench

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F/G 12 Melanie Pearson 6-1 Sr 9.4 2.1

F 51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Fr 7.9 2.7

F 45 Lisa Hansen 6-5 Jr 4.0 2.9

G 25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Fr 2.3 0.5

F 20 Brittany Larson 6-0 Jr 2.1 1.2

F 50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 So 3.1 1.3

G 05 Amy Lewis 5-6 Jr 0.8 0.7

Quickie BYU Stats

l Shooting from the field - .481 (283-588)

l Shooting from the free-throw line - .738 (124-168)

l Shooting from the three-point arc - .467 (98-210)

l Averaged 78.8 points per game

Last Game Recap

In the only tournament the Cougar women will participate in prior to the MWC Championships in March, BYU's team headed to Denver for the Pioneer Classic picking up two big wins, over Arkansas Pine Bluff and against hosts University of Denver. All-American Erin Thorn shined with season highs and record breaking performances. Thorn became BYU's all-time scorer in treys in a game with the nine she tallied against Arkansas PB. The team also picked up a new school record with the 20 treys they scored in that same game.

Thorn Picks Up MWC Weekly Honor

After starting in last week's three games and compiling a total of 69 points, All-American Erin Thorn was honored for her feat as this week's (Mon., Dec. 17) MWC Women's Basketball Player of the Week honors. It is Thorn's first this season and the first for the Cougar team.

Thorn averaged 20.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, while helping the Cougars to a 3-0 record last week.

Thorn started the week with 14 points, two assists and two steals in a 74-58 win over Oregon. She then turned in a stellar performance at the Denver

Tournament, scoring a season-high 29 points in a 90-50 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff. She added a pair of assists, two blocks and three steals vs. the Golden Lions and hit 10-of-15 shots from the field, including a Mountain West record nine made three pointers. In the 81-67 win over host

Denver University, Thorn went 5-of-5 from three-point range, totaling 19 points along with six rebounds and six assists.

For the week, Thorn shot 51.3 percent (20-of-39) from the field and 64.3 percent (18-of-28) from beyond the arc. She is second in the Mountain West

Conference with 20.2 points per game this season and leads the league in three-pointers made per game with 4.0.

BYU Notes

All-American Erin Thorn continues to be the team's leading scorer with an average of 20.2 points a game. The team's leading rebounder is junior forward Jennifer Leitner who's averaging 8.4 boards a game. Senior guard Stacy Jensen leads in the assist category with an average of 4.9 per game. Jensen is one of two other Cougars' scoring in double digits, contributing 10.4 points a game with junior forward Leitner picking up 11.0 points a game.

2001-02 Season Highlights

TEAM

4 Points - 94 vs Washington State 11/24/01

4 Field Goals Made - 36 vs Washington State 11/24/01

4 3 PT Field Goals Made - 20 vs Arkansas Pine-Bluff 12/14/01

4 Free Throws Made - 21 @ USC 11/29/01

4 Rebounds - 43 @ SMU 12/8/01

4 Assists - 32 vs Washington State 11/24/01

4 Steals - 14 @ Weber State 12/01/01

INDIVIDUAL

4 Points - Erin Thorn, (29) vs Arkansas Pine-Bluff 12/14/01

4 Field Goals Made - Erin Thorn, (10) @ Weber State 12/01/01

4 3 PT Field Goals Made - Erin Thorn, (9) vs Arkansas PB 12/14/01

4 Free Throws Made - Jennifer Leitner, (8) @ USC 11/29/01

4 Rebounds - Jennifer Leitner, (13) @ UCLA 11/27/01

4 Assists - Stacy Jensen, (8) vs Washington State 11/24/01

4 Steals - Erin Thorn, (5) vs Washington State 11/24/01

Scouting TCU

The Horned Frogs are 6-2 on the year to start this week with a game on Dec. 18 against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. TCU returns seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 25-8, 13-3 and won the WAC Championship, plus extending its season to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. To date TCU is led by Sandora Irvin who's averaging 14.1 points a game. Irvin also leads in the rebounding category, averaging 12.0 boards a game. Two other Horned Frog players are scoring in double digits as well. They are Kati Safaritova with 11.3 points a game and Grace Gantt who's contributing 10.8 points a game. TCU is averaging 80.5 points a game to opponents 54.0 points. The Horned Frogs shoot 43 percent from the field and 69 percent from the free throw line.

Series Record: 2-1 for BYU. The two teams met last during the 1996-97 season when both teams were part of the WAC. That year BYU won both contests. Prior to that year, TCU had beaten the Cougars in December of 1987.

TCU Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 33 Kati Safaritova 6-2 Sr 11.3 5.0

F 40 Grace Gantt 6-0 Jr 10.8 3.3

F 50 Sandora Irvin 6-4 Fr 14.1 12.0

G 20 Ashanti Nix 5-5 Sr 7.4 3.3

G 30 Ebony Shaw 5-10 So 9.0 6.0

Head Coach Jeff Judkins

Jeff Judkins, an assistant during the 2000-01 season is this year's head coach for the Cougar women. Judkins, a longtime University of Utah coach and player takes over the BYU program with a proven record of success dating back to his high school days at Highland HS in Salt Lake City.

An all-state selection in basketball, football and baseball, Judkins went on to play for Utah from 1974-78. While playing for the Utes, he helped the team win one conference championship and two berths in the NCAA Tournament. He was a second-team academic All-American and three-time first-team District VII academic selection. Judkins earned three first-team All-WAC honors and was a member of the 1977 United States World Games team that captured the gold medal.

He played five years in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Portland Trailblazers, Detroit Pistons and the Utah Jazz. He was a second-round pick by the Celtics in 1978, the same year the Celtics selected Larry Bird with the sixth pick overall.

After his NBA career, he returned to the the University of Utah in 1989, and was an integral part of the program's success during his 10 year tenure.

Judkins, a Salt Lake City native, graduated from Utah in 1978 with a degree in health and physical education. He is a member of the Utah Sports Hall of Fame and the Crimson Club Hall of Fame.

He and his wife Mary Kay, are the parents of five children: Jessica (20), Jordan (18), Jenna (16), Jaime (13) and Jaxson (10).

Up Next

After Saturday's game against TCU , the Cougar team returns to Provo for Christmas and then will host Southern Utah on Dec. 29 in a 7 p.m. tip off.

2001-02 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - NUMERICAL ROSTER

No. Name Ht. Cl. Pos. Exp. Hometown/School

11 Erin Thorn 5-10 Jr. G 2V Orem, UT/Mountain View H.S.

12 Melanie Pearson 6-1 Sr. G 3V Irvine, CA/Woodbridge HS/UCLA

20 Brittany Larson 6-0 Jr. F 2V Chicago, IL/New Trier HS

21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 Jr. F 2V Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley HS

22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Sr. G 3V West Jordan, UT/West Jordan HS

23 Chanell Rose 6-0 Jr. F 2V Orem, UT/UVSC

25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Fr. G HS Lyman, UT/Wayne HS

31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Sr. F 3V Orem, UT/Mountain View HS

45 Lisa Hansen 6-5 Jr. C 2V/RS Bakersfield, CA/Centennial HS/UCSB

50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 So. F 1V Orem, UT/Mountain View HS

51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Fr. F HS Orem, UT/Mountain View HS

HEAD COACH: Jeff Judkins (1st Year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Trent Shippen, Alli Bills

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Jonas Chatterton

NICKNAME: COUGARS

COLORS: BLUE AND WHITE

2001-02 Walk-On Players:

05 Amy Lewis 5-6 Jr. G Jefferson City, Montana/Jefferson City HS

24 Shauna Tuft 6-0 So. F 1V Mesa, Arizona/Highland HS

30 Melissa Brown 5-8 So. G 1V University Place, WA/Curtis HS

32 Aspen Casper 6-0 Jr. F 1V Central Point, Oregon/S. Medford HS