WNIT Bound Women To Take On Oregon State
After an impressive performance at this year's EAS MWC Women's Basketball which took the Cougar women into the title game for the second straight year, the team is in post-season play, taking on Oregon State in first round action in the 2001 WNIT.
Tip off: BYU (18-12, 8-6) vs OSU (16-12, 8-10) , 7:00 p.m.PST Arena: Gill Coliseum
Cougars vs Beavers On The Web
Friday night's game between BYU and Oregon State can be heard on their website at www.osubeavers.com
BYU's Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Jr 6.3 4.4
F 23 Chanell Rose 6-0 So 6.2 3.3
C 44 Caroline Beus 6-1 Sr 9.0 5.9
G 11 Erin Thorn 5-10 So 15.3 4.4
G 22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Jr 9.6 2.7
Oregon State Probable Starters
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 42 Brina Chaney 6-5 Fr 4.6 3.8
C 22 Ericka Cook 6-3 Jr 12.6 6.1
G 10 Leilani Estavan 5-7 Fr 4.2 2.2
G 23 Syesha Thomas 5-6 Sr 6.8 2.4
G 34 Felicia Ragland 5-9 Jr 19.9 7.5
BYU In Post Season
This will be the fifth year the Cougar program have participated in a post season tournament, and the third straight under Head Coach Trent Shippen. BYU has made three appearances to the NCAA championships and has a 0-3 record. They were part of last year's tournament losing to Oklahoma 81-86 in W. Lafayette in first round action. They were one of 16 teams to compete in the East Regional
The WNIT - History
Year Record WNIT Tourney
1998-99 16-13, 9-5 0-1, lost @ Colorado 53-70
1981-82 24-13, 7-3 2-1, beat DePaul 72-69, lost to Florida State 71-75, beat Illinois State 78-73
Quickie BYU Stats
l Shooting from the field - .426 (722-1695)
l Shooting from the free-throw line - .716 (378-528)
l Shooting from the three-point arc - .394 (207-525)
l Averaged 67.6 points per game
Cougar Players Off the Bench
Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
F 50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 Fr 7.2 3.4
F 21 Jennifer Leitner 6-0 So 5.7 5.2
G 14 Julie Whetten 5-8 Fr 5.4 1.7
G 04 Kaly G. Shippen 5-6 Sr 3.4 0.5
F 20 Brittany Larson 6-0 So 1.7 1.1
F 15 Jorja Cox 5-11 Sr 1.6 1.4
Season Highlights To Date
TEAM
l Most points scored - 90 @ Washington State on 11/30/00; 89 vs UNLV on 02/08/01
l Most field goals made - 32 @ Washington State on 11/30/00; 30 @ Wyoming on 2/17/01
l Most free-throws made - 26 vs Colorado State 01/20/01; 24 vs UNLV on 02/08/01
l Most three-pointers made - 12 vs UNM on 02/03/01; 12 vs SMU on 12/30/00
l Most rebounds made - 49 vs SMU on 12/30/00; 46 vs SDSU on 02/10/01
l Most assists made - 24 vs UNLV on 02/08/01; 22 vs SMU on 02/10/01
l Most blocks made - 7 vs Air Force on 03/03/01 and 7 vs SDSU on 02/10/01
INDIVIDUAL
l Most points - Erin Thorn (36) @ Arizona 11/18/00; Erin Thorn (31) @ UNM on 02/03/01
l Most field goals made - Erin Thorn (12) @ Arizona 11/18/00; Erin Thorn (10) @ UNM on 02/03/01
l Most three-pointers made - Erin Thorn (8) @ Arizona 11/18/00
l Most free-throws made - Heather Cheesman (9) @ Gonzaga 12/02/00; Erin Thorn (8) vs UNLV on 02/08/01
l Most rebounds made - Caroline Beus (11) three times; vs CSU on 03/10/01, vs UNLV on 03/07/01, vs UNM on 02/03/01 ; Lisa Osguthorpe (10) vs SDSU on 02/10/01
l Most assists made - Stacy Jensen (11) vs UNM on 03/01/01; Julie Whetten (8) vs Air Force on 03/03/01
l Most steals made - Stacy Jensen (6) @ Idaho State on 12/28/00
l Most blocked shots - Lisa Osguthorpe (4) @ CSU on 02/15/01; Julie Whetten (3) vs Air Force on 03/03/01
EAS 2001MWC Women's Basketball Tournament Recap
The Cougars came into the 2001 conference tourney seeded fourth after finishing the MWC season tied for third place with New Mexico and UNLV. The coin toss went to UNM for the third spot, BYU was fourth and UNLV was fifth because the Lady Rebels had lost twice to second seeded Colorado State.
l Quarterfinal Game - BYU vs UNLV on 3/7/01
In quarterfinal action the Cougars won their first game 62-54 over hosts UNLV led by 13 points and six rebounds from All-American Erin Thorn. Chanell Rose tallied 10 points with senior center Caroline Beus contributing a team high 11 rebounds.
l Semifinal Game - BYU vs Utah on 3/9/01
It was BYU and instate rival Utah in one of two semifinal games, a team the Cougars had lost to twice this season. The 14th ranked Utes took a 40-20 lead at the break with Cougar hopes of an upset dismal. But in the second half it was all BYU as they outshot the Utes 37-10 for the seven-point 57-50 upset victory, the "most remarkable, impressive" comeback, as reported by the local media. Turnovers by Utah led to 34 points by the Cougars in the game with the Utes only getting two field goals the entire second half. Three BYU players were in double digit scoring led by Beus's 14 and 13 a piece from guards Thorn and Stacy Jensen. Lisa Osguthorpe topped the rebound category with eight. BYU handed Utah its first conference loss in 16 games and snapped their 14-game winning streak. The Utes last conference loss dates back to Feb. 26 when BYU beat them at the Huntsman Center during last year's regular MWC season.
l Championship Game - BYU vs Colorado State 3/10/01
After an impressive come from behind win over number one seed and regular season champs Utah, it was onto the title game and rematch against CSU. During the conference schedule each team won on its home court. The Cougars once again fell behind early taking an eight-point deficit into the locker room at halftime. In the second half it looked like another impressive come back for BYU, but they ended up falling short, losing in the final seconds by three 56-59. In this game it was Osguthorpe stepping up with her season and career high 16 points followed by Beus's third double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 boards. This was the first game ever where All-American Erin Thorn was scoreless. She'd been struggling with anemia the entire week.
BYU Players Receive Conference and Tournament Honors
Erin Thorn was named to the 2000-01 All-Mountain West Conference First Team
Stacy Jensen was named to the 2000-01 All-Mountain West Conference Second Team
Julie Whetten was named Newcomer of the Year
Lisa Osguthorpe, Caroline Beus and Erin Thorn were all named to the All-Tournament Team in this year's 2001 EAS MWC Women's Basketball Championships
Scouting Oregon State
WNIT hosts Oregon State finished the 2001 season with a 16-12, 8-10 record and tied for sixth place in the very competitive Pac-10. OSU is making its first post-season appearance since the 1996 NCAA Tournament. The Beavers have made two other appearances in the WNIT in 1980 and 1982, winning both National Championships and earning a perfect 6-0 all time WNIT record. Junior guard Felicia Ragland is one of three Beavers scoring in double digits. She's tallying 19.9 points and also leads in rebounds with an average of 7.5 boards per game. Ericka Cook, a 6-3 center is contributing 12.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game followed by 11.5 points from Nicole Funn. Oregon State is shooting 43 percent from the field and 68 percent from the free throw line. From three-point land they're shooting 36 percent (119-335). In all games, the Beavers are shooting 69.0 points and holding opponents to just 63.4 points a game. OSU was on a five-game winning streak before falling to Pac-10 foe Oregon 60-72 in their last game on March 10. Head Coach Judy Spoelstra is in her sixth season with the Beavers.
Series Record: 3-5 favoring the Beavers. This will be the first time the two teams have met since the 1995-96 season when OSU was in the Marriott Center and picked up an 89-52 victory. The last time BYU beat the Beavers was in Dec. 10, 1992 in Corvallis, the score was 74-60. The Cougars are 1-2 on OSU's home court. The Beavers compiled a 10-5 record this season at Gill Coliseum.
Record Against Common Opponents In 2000-01 Basketball Season
Opponent H/A BYU Score OSU Score H/A
Wyoming x/x W:78-57/W:83-59 W:72-55 x
Marquette x W: 58-44 W:64-50 x
Utah x/x/n L:57-72 /L:55-67/W:57-50 L:49-53 x
New Mexico x/x W:79-72/L:70-78 W:75-64 x
Washington State x W:90-58 W:64-46/W:94-60 x x
UCLA x W:68-53 W:71-58/W:65-57 x x
Arizona x L:71-76 L:73-83/W:67-66 x x
Shippen Quotes
On BYU team: I think it was hard on our team losing to CSU in the title game of the conference tournament and our hopes of going to the NCAA Championships dashed. But now that we did get a post-season invitation to the NIT we're excited for the opportunity to continue playing. We play a great opponent in Oregon State. They are a very good team, very solid all the way through and we have similar wins and losses in seven common opponents. The team is excited to be playing and are energized and focused.
On Oregon State team: Their top players are very athletic, can shoot the three, have good quick guards and have the ability to get hot shooting the three. Felicia Ragland is their leading scorer and rebounder and we'll need to do a solid job defending her as well as their other three starting guards. We will have to play for a full forty minutes and play tough and focused and with a lot of energy if we want to pick up a win and continue playing. I know that Oregon State has a very good record at home and it will be tough for us to come in there to play.
Head Coach Trent Shippen
Trent Shippen enters his fourth season at the helm of BYU's women's basketball program. The 22 wins last year are a first for the Cougar program since the 1992-93 season when BYU finished with a 24-5, 13-1 record and made its last NCAA Championships appearance.
This is Shippen's first Division I coaching assignment. Shippen came to BYU after a three year stint as head coach at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. While at Ricks, he led his 1995 team to a fifth place finish in the NJCAA Tournament, and was voted Region 18 Coach of the Year. He was also the recipient of the Alberta Lee Cox Sportsmanship Award at the 1995 NJCAA Tournament. He played college hoops at Ricks College and at Colorado State University. At Ricks, Shippen earned All-Region 18 honors as a sophomore and was a member of the 1983-84 Viking team that placed sixth at the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.
During his career at CSU he helped the Rams place third in the NIT Tournament in 1988, where Shippen set the Madison Square Garden single-game record with six three-pointers. The following year he helped CSU win the league title, advance
to the second round of the NCAA tournament, was selected Academic All-WAC, and averaged 7.6 points and 2.9 assists.
SHIPPEN FILE
BYU
2000-01 18-12 Ricks College
1999-00 22-8 1994-95 33-3
1998-99 16-13 1995-96 19-11
1997-98 15-14 1996-97 19-12
Totals 71-47 (.601) Totals 71-26 (.739)
Did You Know....Cougar Family Connections
Kaly Gillette Shippen (#04) is coach Shippen's sister-in-law. She married his younger brother Ty Shippen who walked on to this year's men's basketball team.
Chanell Rose (#23) is BYU's men's assistant basketball coach Dave Rose's daughter. She transferred from playing one year at neighboring Utah Valley State College.
Since Dec. 16, Utah transfer Trent Whiting became eligible to play on BYU's men's team. His wife Amber who is a transfer from Weber State is part of the women's team. She's redshirting this season.
Travel Itinerary
The BYU will depart for Oregon on Thurs. Mar. 15 on a Delta flight at 11:05 a.m., arriving in Portland at 12:02 p.m. The team will then travel by bus to Corvallis where they will be staying at the Best Western, 925 N.W. Garfield, 541-758-8571, 541-758-0834 fax. The Cougars are scheduled to return on Sat., Mar. 17 from Portland on a Delta flight at 4:50 p.m., arriving at 7:32 p.m., in Salt Lake City.
Cougars Practice Schedule This Week
BYU will have regular practices at the Marriott Center this Tuesday and Wednesday from 1-3:30 p.m. On Thursday, Mar. 15 they are scheduled to practice at Gill Coliseum from 6-8 p.m. Friday's shoot around is set for 12-1 p.m.
Up Next
If the Cougars beat the Beavers on Friday night, they would advance to the next round of the WNIT tournament playing the winner of the Hawai'i vs Santa Clara being played on Thursday, Mar. 15 in Honolulu. If Hawai'i wins BYU would most likely travel there for its next game on Mon. Mar. 19. If Santa Clara wins Thursday night's game then the Cougars would host the Broncos in a Monday night game at the Marriott Center. Ticket prices will be announced on Monday morning.
2001 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - NUMERICAL ROSTER*
No. Name Ht. Cl. Pos. Exp. Hometown/School
4 Kali Gillette Shippen 5-6 Sr. G 3V Paul, ID/Minico HS/Ricks/SDSU
11 Erin Thorn 5-10 So. G 1V Orem, UT/Mountain View H.S.
14 Julie Whetten 5-8 Fr. G HS Silver City, NM/Silver City HS
15 Jorja Cox 5-11 Sr. G 2V Othello, WA/Kamiakin/Col.Basin CC
20 Brittany Larson 6-0 So. F 1V Chicago, IL/New Trier HS
21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 So. F 1V Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley HS
22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Jr. G 2V West Jordan, UT/West Jordan HS
23 Chanell Rose 6-0 So. F 1V Orem, UT/UVSC
31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Jr. F 2V Orem, UT/Mountain View HS
44 Caroline Beus 6-1 Sr. C/F 3V Kuna, ID/Melba HS/Ricks College
50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 Fr. F RS Orem, UT/Mountain View HS
HEAD COACH: Trent Shippen (4th year)
ASSISTANT COACHES: Cindy Lawrence (4th year)
Tom Gneiting (4th year)
Jeff Judkins (1st year)
NICKNAME: COUGARS
COLORS: BLUE AND WHITE
* Please add the following players who are walk-ons.
#24 Shauna Tuft - 6-0 Fr, Forward, Mesa, Arizona/Highland HS
#00 Katie Wilson - 6-0 Fr, Forward, Woodinville, WA/Woodingville HS
#45 Aspen Grant Casper - 6-0 Jr, Forward, Central Point, Oregon/South Medford HS
#32 Melissa Brown - 5-8 Fr, Forward, University Place, WA/Curtis HS
