MWC Race Begins, Two League Foes Battle Cougars At Home

The non-conference schedule is done and the 2005 MWC race begins this week. BYU's women's basketball team (9-4), opens league play hosting Wyoming and Colorado State Jan. 13 and 15. Thursday's tip off is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday's is at 4 p.m.

Teams: BYU (9-4, 0-0) vs. Wyoming (9-4, 0-0) Date: 01/13/05 Time: 7 p.m. Arena: Marriott Center

Teams: BYU (9-4, 0-0) vs. CSU (9-4, 0-0) Date: 01/15/05 Time: 4 p.m. Arena: Marriott Center

Follow the women's basketball action live on BYU Radio

All of the women's basketball games can be heard live on BYU radio via the internet at www.byuradio.org Veteran BYU broadcaster Jay Monsen calls the action. Fans can also access BYU Radio on the Dish Network.

Cougars vs. Rams Game To Air on BYU -TV

Saturday afternoon's league game between BYU and CSU will air live on BYU TV. Chris McGowan and Amy Gant will call the action.

BYU's Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

G 14 Julie Sullivan 5-8 Sr 9.6 3.2

F 32 Kristin Kozlowski 6-2 Sr 11.2 4.6

F 33 Ambrosia Anderson 6-2 Jr 11.6 5.7

F 35 Melinda Johnsen 5-10So 3.0 2.0

F 51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Sr 8.4 9.2

Cougar Players Off The Bench

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

G 30 Mallary Gillespie 5-10 Fr 8.6 2.1

C 45 Dani Kubik 6-3 So 9.0 3.7

G/F 01 Nancy Seljaas 6-0 Jr 4.5 2.0

F 50 Mary Martha Abell 6-3 Fr 2.8 2.0

G/F 25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Sr 2.4 1.5

C 52 Lauren Riley 6-3 Fr 2.6 2.1

G 13 Tiari Goold 5-7 So 1.0 0.7

G 10 Laura Stratton 5-6 Jr 0.4 0.4

2004-05 Team Stats --

4 Shooting from the field: (.442, 326-738)

4 Shooting from the free-throw line: (.724, 163-225)

4 Shooting from three-point line: (.324, 66-204)

4 Average points per game: 67.8

Lineup Update

Starters: Record:

Seljaas, Sullivan, Kozlowski, Johnsen, Cheesman: 6-4

Sullivan, Anderson, Kozlowski, Johnsen, Cheesman: 2-0

Sullivan, Gillespie, Anderson, Kozlowski, Cheesman: 1-0

Previous Game Recap

The Cougar women completed the non-conference season in Provo with a lopsided win 77-50 against the Portland State Vikings, Saturday.

A game in which it never trailed, BYU overwhelmed the Vikings from start to finish and shot 52 percent from the field in an all-around team effort.

Junior Ambrosia Anderson, who had a game-high 16 points, was one of three Cougars to score in double figures. Senior Kristen Kozlowski scored 13 points in just 12 minutes, making perfect on all six shot attempts. Senior Danielle Cheesman had a game-high eight rebounds and nine points.

Sophomore Dani Kubik provided a spark off the bench and scored a season-high 13 points and hauled in six rebounds.

Getting off to a quick start, the Cougars scored on their first five possessions and never looked back, leading 10-4. Kozlowski led all scorers at the half with 10 points. The sharp-shooting Cougars shot 68 percent from the field, and held the Vikings to just 26.9 percent and scoreless during a nearly five-minute period towards the end of the half.

About the Cougars

u To date, the Cougars have compiled a 9-4 record, 7-1 at home.

u In the past 13 games, the Cougars have shot 50 percent or better from the field four times: vs. Portland State on 01/08/05 (51.7, 31-60), vs. USC on 12/18/04 (55.3, 26-47), vs. GW on 12/06/04 (50.0, 27-54) and vs. SUU on 11/19/04 (52.6, 30-57).

u As of 01/10/05, the past three games the Cougars have had at least three players scoring in double figures.

u The team's leading scorer is junior forward Ambrosia Anderson, who tallies 11.6 points.

u Senior forward Danielle Cheesman tops the list in the rebound category with 9.2 per game.

u Cheesman notched her third double double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. Weber State on 12/30/04. It was her 10th overall.

u Cheesman joined BYU's elite 1,000 point club when she hit a three-point bucket just minutes into the Weber State game on 12/30/04. She becomes the 14th student-athlete who has reached that similar milestone during their BYU college career.

u Senior point guard Julie Sullivan is one of the team's best free throw shooter, with a percentage of .825, (33-40).

u Sullivan has scored in double figures in seven games to date.

u Sullivan was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Hilton Woodland Hills Beach Classic in Malibu, Calif., on Dec. 20-21.

u Anderson picked up her first double double of the 2004-05 campaign with the 20 points and 12 rebounds against SEMO on 12/10/04.

u To date, Kristin Kozlowski has scored in double figures in eight games.

u Freshman Mallary Gillespie put in seven three pointers in the game vs. Nevada on 11/24/04, that's two shy of BYU's all-time record holder in three pointers, Erin Thorn. Thorn tallied nine treys vs. Arkansas Pine-Bluff at a tournament in Denver on 12/14/01.

u Gillespie got her first start in a college game vs. Portland State on 01/08/05. She filled in for Melinda Johnsen who had the flu.

Player Injury Report

Junior forward Jennie Keele will get a medical redshirt for the rest of this season. The injury she suffered to her foot on the first day of practice is not complete healed. She's only been able to play for a few minutes at a time. To date, she's played in six games.

Cougars Picked Fifth in Preseason Media Poll

For the 2004-05 season, BYU's women's basketball team was picked to finish 5th in the regular MWC season.

Rk. Teams (1st votes) Points

1. UNLV (5) 134

2. New Mexico (8) 131

Utah (7) 131

4. Colorado State 92

5. BYU 88

6. Wyoming 65

7. San Diego State 43

8. Air Force 28

Abell Gets MWC Newcomer of the Year Nomination in Preseason Media Poll

Mary Martha Abell, a 6-3 freshman forward from Monroe, Louisiana and Monroe High School was picked as the top newcomer in the media's preseason poll announced in Denver in October 2004.

Tracking the Cougars vs. MWC as of Jan.10

Category Conference Games All Games

Scoring Offense 3rd, 67.8

Scoring Defense 5th, 59.2

Scoring Margin 5th, +8.5

Field Goal Pct. 1st, .442

Free Throw Pct. 3rd, .724

3-Point Field Goal Pct. 4th, .324

Rebounding Offense 3rd, 40.1

Rebounding Defense 2nd, 32.3

Blocked Shots 6th, 2.38

Assists 1st, 16.77

Steals 5th, 8.31

Assist/Turnover Ratio 4th, .86

3-Point Field Goals Made 4th, 5.08

Tracking BYU Players in the MWC as of Jan. 10

Name Category Conf. Games All Games

Anderson, A. Scoring 12th, 11.6

Kozlowski, K. Scoring 14th, 11.2

Kozlowski, K. FG Pct. 1st, .628

Sullivan, J. FT Pct. 4th, .825

Anderson, A. FT Pct. 5th, .780

Kozlowski, K. FT Pct. 7th, .766

Cheesman, D. Defensive Reb. 1st, 6.38

Cheesman, D. Offensive Reb. 6th, 2.77

Cheesman, D. Rebounding 3rd, 9.2

Anderson, A. Rebounding 13th, 5.7

Sullivan, J. Assists 4th, 4.08

Sullivan, J. Steals 10th, 1.69

About University of Wyoming

With a 9-4 record in non-conference games, Wyoming opens league play on the road where they are 3-3 on the year. Three Cowgirls are scoring in double digits beginning with senior Ashley Elliott who tops the list at 17.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Hanna Zavecz follows with 14.5 points and has the team's second best rebound average at 7.2 per game. Erin Hicks rounds out the scoring with 10.6 points and a team-best 7.4 boards per game. Wyoming shoots 38 percent from the field and 73 percent at the free throw line. From behind the three-point arc they are shooting 32 percent, (95-294). This is Joe Legerski's second season with the Cowgirls. He was voted MWC Coach of the Year in his first season as he guided the team to a 11-18, 6-8 record.

Wyoming Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

G 12 Dominique Sisk 5-10 Fr 2.2 1.3

G 24 Ashley Elliott 5-7 Sr 17.5 3.8

F 13 Hanna Zavecz 6-0 Fr 14.5 7.2

F 23 Erin Hicks 5-9 Jr 10.6 7.4

C 31 Kristen Lenhardt 6-1 Sr 4.4 4.2

Series Record: 40-15 for BYU

Last Meeting: During last year's league schedule, each team won on its home court, @ Laramie the score was 57-50 for the Cowgirls and @ Provo, it was the Cougars getting the 67-50 win. When playing at the Marriott Center Wyoming has a 5-15 record, the last win coming during the 1997-98 season when both schools were part of the WAC. In that game the final score was 70-66 in favor of the Cowgirls.

About Colorado State University

Coming into the first week of conference play the Rams open on the road at Utah on Thurs., Jan.3 with a 9-4 overall record. On the road they have a 2-2 record. On this year's team there are three players scoring in double figures with junior forward Melissa Dennett leading the way with 14.6 points and 8.0 rebounds. She's followed by junior guard Vanessa Espinoza who contributes 13.8 points and 3.3 boards a game. Lindsay Thomas another junior for CSU is also in double figure scoring contributing 13.0 points and toping the list in rebounds with a team-high 8.9 boards a game. The Rams shoot 44 percent from the field, 68 percent at the free throw line and 35 percent from three-point range. They are picking up 71.1 points a game and hold opponents to just 58.7 points. Head coach Chris Denker is in his third year with CSU.

Colorado State Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

G 05 Vanessa Espinoza 5-3 Jr 13.83.3

G 20 Molly Nohr 5-11 So 4.4 2.7

F 31 Kylee O'Dwyer 6-1 So 4.5 2.8

F 32 Melissa Dennett 6-2 Jr 14.6 8.0

F 45 Lindsay Thomas 6-3 Jr 13.0 8.9

Series Record: 37-22 favoring BYU

Last Meeting: In last year's regular season schedule the Rams won both contests, a 54-52 victory in Fort Collins and a 72-64 decision in Provo. At the Marriott Center, CSU has a 2-5 record.

Head Coach - Jeff Judkins

Overall Record: 67-39, begins his fourth season at BYU.

Under Coach Judkins, the team has gone to back-to-back NCAA appearances as well as to the title games of the MWC Championships, winning the title game in 2001-02.

An all-state selection in basketball, football and baseball, Judkins played basketball for the University of Utah 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 U of U in 1989, and remained with the men's program for 10 years. 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 (24), Jordan (22), Jenna (20), Jaime (17), Jaxson (14).

Judkins Record vs. MWC Schools

School Record

Air Force 6-0

CSU 1-5

New Mexico 2-6

San Diego State 6-0

UNLV 5-4

Utah 3-4

Wyoming 5-2

2004-05 Cougar Roster Breakdown

Seniors (4):

Danielle Cheesman, Kristen Kozlowski, Julie Sullivan, Kali Taylor

Juniors (5):

Ambrosia Anderson, Julie Cross, Jennie Keele (Overdiek), Nancy Seljaas, Laura Stratton

Sophomore (3):

Dani Kubik, Tiari Goold,Melinda Johnsen

Freshman (4):

Mary Martha Abell, Mallary Gillespie, Lauren Riley, Summer Sykes

By Position

Forward (6):

Mary Martha Abell, Ambrosia Anderson, Danielle Cheesman, Kristen Kozlowski,

Summer Sykes

Guard (6):

Julie Cross, Mallary Gillespie, Tiari Goold, Laura Stratton, Julie Sullivan, Kali Taylor

Guard/Forward (3):

Melinda Johnsen, Jennie Keele, Nancy Seljaas

Center /Forward(2):

Dani Kubik, Lauren Riley

Team's Practice Schedule/Media Interviews

The BYU team practices at the Marriott Center from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m., on Monday's, Wednesday's, Thursday's, and Friday's. On Tuesday's , practice time is from 1 to 3 p.m.

Media interviews with coach Judkins and players can be done prior to or at the end of practice. All interviews must be scheduled in advance with the women's basketball athletic communications director, Norma Collett at 801-422-4908, 801-372-0989 during regular business hours or via email at: collett@byucougars.com

No interviews will be given the day of a game until after the game. Updated information on the women's basketball team is available 24 hours a day on the BYU web site at www.byucougars.com/basketball_w/

Stats on the team are updated on the web site every Monday morning. Media members may contact Norma Collett to receive news releases and game notes via email.

All working media personnel will be put on a media gate list for entry into the arena. The list will be available by the elevators near the main ticket office in the Marriott Center. No other credentials are needed. Media will be assigned a seat on press row to cover each home game.

What's Next

BYU takes its first road trip of the 2005 MWC race, playing at New Mexico on Jan.. 20 and at Air Force on Jan. 22. The team returns to host instate rival Utah on Jan.. 29.