Conference Championship Begins, CSU is Quarterfinal Opponent

With a third place regular season finish in the MWC, the BYU women's basketball team (18-9, 9-5) plays Colorado State (15-12, 6-8) on Wed. Mar. 9, at 8:30 p.m., at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

The Cougars are the No. 3 seed and the Rams are No. 6 in the 2005 MWC Women's Basketball Championships.

Teams: BYU(18-9, 9-5) vs.CSU (15-12, 6-8) Date: 03/9/05 Time: 8:30 p.m. Arena: Pepsi Ctr.

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.

CSTV To Air Games

In Utah, the CSTV affiliate is KULC. CSTV is also available on Direct TV.

BYU's Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

G 14 Julie Sullivan 5-8 Sr 11.2 3.5

G 30 Mallary Gillespie 5-10 Fr 7.7 2.9

F 32 Kristin Kozlowski 6-2 Sr 9.7 5.3

F 35 Melinda Johnsen 5-10 So 4.0 2.0

F 51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Sr 8.3 8.0

Cougar Players Off The Bench

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 33 Ambrosia Anderson 6-2 Jr 10.4 4.8

C 45 Dani Kubik 6-3 So 7.9 4.1

F 01 Nancy Seljaas 6-0 Jr 4.1 2.0

C 52 Lauren Riley 6-3 Fr 2.2 1.8

F 50 Mary Martha Abell 6-3 Fr 1.9 1.7

G 25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Sr 2.4 1.3

G 13 Tiari Goold 5-10 Fr 1.0 1.1

G 10 Laura Stratton 5-6 Jr 0.5 0.5

2004-05 Team Stats --

-- Shooting from the field: (.436, 656-1505)

-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.722, 312-432)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.314, 125-398)

-- Average points per game: 64.8

Team Stat Leaders

-- Leading scorer: Julie Sullivan - 11.2 points.

-- Leading rebounder: Danielle Cheesman - 8.4 boards

-- Assist Leader: Julie Sullivan - 3.9

-- Blocks Leader: Dani Kubik - 0.93

-- Steals Leader: Julie Sullivan - 1.26

About the Cougars

-- Cheesman notched her fifth double double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Utah game on 01/29/05. It was her 12th overall.

-- 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.

-- Junior forward Ambrosia 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.

-- 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.

BYU By The Numbers

48 rebounds grabbed in the AF game on 2/17/05, the most against an MWC opponent this season.

25 assists vs. UNLV on 2/05/05, the most vs. an MWC foe this year.

18 games where Julie Sullivan has scored in double figures.

15 games that senior forward Kristin Kozlowski has scored in double figures.

14 steals in the game vs. AF on 2/17/05, the most against an MWC opponent this season

13 times that BYU has had at least three players scoring in double figures

11 times that Ambrosia Anderson has scored in double figures

10 three-pointers made @ Utah on 2/24/05, the most this season

8 season-high blocks by BYU in the game vs. Wyoming on 01/13/05

6 times that the Cougars have shot 50 percent or better from the field:

vs. SDSU on 03/05/05 (58.0, 29-50);

vs. Colorado State on 01/15/05 (50.8, 31-61);

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);

vs. SUU on 11/19/04 (52.6, 30-57)

3 times that the Cougars have had four players score in double figures

1 time that BYU has shot 60 percent: vs. UNLV on 2/05/05 (60.4,32-53)

Lineup Update

Starters: Record:

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

Sullivan, Anderson, Kozlowski, Johnsen, Cheesman: 2-1

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

Goold, Sullivan, Kozlowski, Johnsen, Cheesman: 3-1

Sullivan, Gillespie, Kozlowski, Johnsen, Cheesman: 6-3

Four Cougars Garner MWC All-Conference Honors

Julie Sullivan - First Team All Conference

Danielle Cheesman - Third Team All-Conference

Kristen Kozlowski - Third Team All-Conference

Ambrosia Anderson - Honorable Mention All-Conference

BYU In The MWC Championships - History

The Cougar women have advanced to the championship game in four of the five previous MWC tournaments, winning in 2002 by defeating UNLV 61-46.

That same year, BYU went on to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.

During last year's MWC tournament the Cougars were the No. 6 seed, losing in the quarterfinals to No. 3 seed UNLV, 57-60.

Previous Seeds

BYU in 2000 - 2nd

BYU in 2001 - 4th

BYU in 2002 - 3rd

BYU in 2003 - 5th

BYU in 2004 - 6th

MWC Women's Basketball Championships - Pepsi Center, DENVER

Quarterfinals

(Session 1)

Wed. Mar. 9 12 noon #1 UNM vs. #8 SDSU

Wed. Mar. 9 2:30 p.m. #4 WYO vs. #5 UNLV

(Session 2)

Wed. Mar. 9 6:00 p.m. #2 UTAH vs. #7AFA

Wed. Mar 9 8:30 p.m. #3 BYU vs. #6 CSU

Semifinals

(Session 3)

Fri. Mar. 11 12 noon Winners from Session 1

Fri. Mar 11 2:30 p.m. Winners from Session 2

Championship

Sat. Mar. 12 4:00 p.m. Championship

BYU MWC Player of the Week Honors

Kristin Kozlowski - Jan. 10, 2005

Dani Kubik - Feb. 7, 2005

Tracking the Cougars vs. MWC - Final Regular Season

Category Conference Games All Games

Scoring Offense 4th, 62.0 4th, 64.8

Scoring Defense 3rd, 57.8 4th, 58.5

Scoring Margin 3rd, +4.2 3rd, +6.3

Field Goal Pct. 3rd .430 1st, .436

Free Throw Pct. 4th, .720 3rd, .722

3-Point Field Goal Pct. 5th, .304 5th, .314

Rebounding Offense 2nd, 38.5 2nd, 39.3

Rebounding Defense 3rd, 33.4 4th, 32.9

Blocked Shots 1st, 4.21 3rd, 3.33

Assists 3rd, 14.93 3rd, 15.81

Steals 3rd, 7.71 5th, 8.00

Assist/Turnover Ratio 4th, 0.81 4th, 0.83

3-Point Field Goals Made 6th, 4.21 6th, 4.63

Offensive Rebounds 3rd, 12.43 4th, 12.22

Defensive Rebounds 2nd, 26.07 2nd, 27.04

Tracking BYU Players in the MWC - Final Regular Season

Name Category Conf. Games All Games

Sullivan, J. Scoring 9th, 12.7 11th, 11.2

Anderson, A. Scoring ---- 16th, 10.4

Kozlowski, K. Scoring 20tht, 8.3 19th, 9.7

Cheesman, D. Scoring 22ndt, 8.1 23rd, 8.3

Kubik, D. Scoring 27th, 7.7 ----

Gillespie, M. Scoring 30th, 6.9 25th, 7.7

Kozlowski, K. FG Pct. 7th, .469 1st, .543

Chessman, D. FG Pct. 12th, .458 9th, .459

Sullivan, J. FG Pct. 13th, .428 14th, .414

Anderson, A. FG Pct. 14th, .417 12th, .427

Cheesman, D. Rebounding 5th, 6.9 4th, 8.0

Kozlowski, K. Rebounding 9th, 5.9 11tht, 5.3

Kubik, D. Rebounding 19th, 4.2 ----

Sullivan, J. Assists 7th, 3.64 6th, 3.85

Goold, T. Assists 9th, 3.36 11th, 2.89

Kubik, D. FT Pct. 2nd, .867 ----

Sullivan, J. FT Pct. 12th, .712 6th, .761

Gillespie, M. 3-PF FG Pct.13th, .321 9th, .361

Kubik, D. Blocked Shots 6th, 0.92 ----

Cheesman, D. Blocked Shots 10th, 0.64 14tht, 0.48

Sullivan, J. Blocked Shots 14tht, 050 14tht, 0.48

Anderson, A. Steals 11tht, 1.50 ----

Gillespie, M. 3-PT FG Made 12th, 1.29 5th, 1.67

Cheesman, D. Offensive Reb. 2nd, 3.07 3rdt, 2.93

Kozlowski, K. Offensive Reb. 10tht, 2.07 11th, 2.07

Cheesman, D. Defensive Reb. 9tht, 3.86 4th, 5.07

Kozlowski, K. Defensive Reb. 9tht, 3.86 15th, 3.22

Anderson, A. Defensive Reb. ---- 11th, 3.70

About CSU

The Rams finished the MWC season in 6th place with a 15-12, 6-8 record. They tied for fifth place in league play with UNLV, but the Rebels earned the No. 5 seed as they defeated New Mexico during the regular season. CSU has three players scoring in double figures with Melissa Dennett leading the way. She's averaging 14.4 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game. Lindsay Thomas follows with 12.6 points and 7.8 boards a game. Teammate Vanessa Espinoza rounds out the top three in points with 10.6 per game. She tallies 2.7 rebounds per game, and has the second best assist average dishing out 3.1 per game. The team shoots 43 percent from the field, 68 percent at the line and 32 percent when shooting from behind the arc.

CSU Probable Starters

Pos. # Name PPG RPG

G 04 Sara Hunter 7.2 3.1

G 05 Vanessa Espinoza 10.6 2.7

G 21 Annika Walseth 2.6 3.2

C 45 Lindsay Thomas 12.6 7.8

F 32 Melissa Dennett 14.4 8.0

Series Record: 39-22 in favor of the Cougars

Last Meeting: BYU swept the series against the Rams this year winning at Moby Arena for the first time since th 1994 season when both teams were part of the WAC. The two teams have not met in the tournament since th 2001 year when CSU beat BYU 59-56 in the title game.

Head Coach - Jeff Judkins

Overall Record: 76-44, 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 In 2005

Air Force 6-0 2-0

CSU 1-5 2-0

New Mexico 2-6 1-1

San Diego State 6-0 2-0

UNLV 5-4 2-0

Utah 3-4 0-2

Wyoming 5-2 0-2

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

Travel Plans/Media

The Cougar team departs for Denver on Tues., Mar. 8 at 10:10 a.m., on Delta flight # 572, arriving in Denver at 11:37 a.m. During the tournament, BYU will stay at the Denver Marriott City Center, 1701 California Street, 303-297-1300, 303-298-7474, fax. For coach and or player interviews during the tournament, please contact Norma Collett at the team hotel or on her cell phone, 801-372-0989.

Practice Times

Tues., Mar. 8, 3:00 p.m. to 3:55 p.m., at Nuggets Center

Tues., Mar. 8, 4:00 p.m., to 4:55 p.m., at Pepsi Center Main Court

Wed., Mar. 9, Shoot Around, 10:30 a.m. to 10:55 a.m. at Pepsi Center Main Court

Remaining Practices - TBA

What's Next

The MWC Championship winner receives and automatic berth into this year's NCAA tournament.