CSU and UW Spell Two Wins in Two-Game Road Trip for Cougars

FORT COLLINS -- The BYU women's basketball team (19-6, 10-2) traveled to Fort Collins to beat the Colorado State Rams (record) Saturday, 67-50, capping off a two-win road trip in which it beat Wyoming Thursday night in Laramie.

"This week we showed that we're a team," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We had different players step it up for us, and as a coach that is what you want to have. Jennie Keele had a great game today, both offensively and defensively. Melinda Johnsen also played another great game, especially on defense, and Wright did a great job playing inside, especially in the second half."

In the first five minutes of the game, the Cougars hit eight of their first ten shots, including three for five from down town, to propel BYU to a 21-11 lead. Jennie Keele had five of those points while five of her teammates contributed the other 16 points.

Defense became the key for the Rams in the first half as they held the Cougars scoreless for over four minutes and tied the game at 23 with just over ten minutes left in the half. BYU went on a five-point run before the Rams cut the lead to two at 26-28 with a three-pointer from Emily Neal. CSU then tied the game at 28 with two free throws from Marilyn Mouton. BYU's Melinda Johnsen gave the Cougars the lead again with a lay-up with just over five minutes to go in the half, but CSU answered with a lay-up of her own to tie the game again. BYU's Lauren Riley then hit a hook shot on the other end of the floor to give the Cougars a lead they would not give up.

After leading by ten earlier in the half and not allowing the Rams to take the lead at any point, the Cougars took a six point lead into the locker room at the half with a score of 41-35. In the first half, the Rams shot 52 percent from the field and their leading scorer was Juanise Cornell with 10 points. Keele led the Cougars and all scorers in the first half with 11 points, including two shots from behind the arc. At the break the Cougars were dominating the boards with 20 compared to the Rams' ten.

CSU hit the first shot of the second half, but Mallary Gillespie scored the first Cougar points in the half with a long triple to give her team a seven-point lead with 17:30 left in the game. Moulton hit another shot before Dani Kubik-Wright hit another shot from three-point land off an assist from Johnsen.

Neal cut the BYU lead to four with 13:25 to go in the game, but Keele hit another three-pointer a minute later for her 14th point of the game, tying her season high and giving the Cougars another five-point lead with 11 minutes to go. That would be as close as the Rams would get the rest of the day.

The first 12 Cougar points in the second half were from down town and the team was determined not to let the Rams back into the game. Wright scored her 14th point with ten minutes to go in the game to give the Cougars an 11-point lead. The lead went to 15 after two more Cougar buckets, including another from Gillespie taking her season high to 16.

The second half was not characterized by spectacular scoring, but both teams hustled after ball and fought to the finish. In the end, it was the Cougars who were able to hold on and outlast the under-manned Rams and strengthen BYU's place at the top of the Mountain West Conference.

When it was all said and done, Wright tallied her 17th game in double figures this season with 22 points, shooting hitting 7-12 from the field including two three's in two attempts. Keele finished with 16 points, her season high and one shy of her career high of 17. BYU is now 14-1 when leading at the half.

The next time the Cougars will be in action is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at UNLV (10-14, 4-8). The Rebels will look to end a four-game skid against the surging Cougars. The first meeting between these two squads resulted in a five-point BYU win in Provo.

Official Basketball Box Score
BYU vs Colorado State
02-17-07 2 p.m. at Fort Collins, Colo. (Moby Arena)
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VISITORS: BYU 19-6, 10-2 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f  3-4    1-2    2-2    0  0  0   2   9  3  1  0  4  33
45 WRIGHT, Dani........ f  7-12   2-2    6-7    2  4  6   3  22  1  5  1  0  28
52 RILEY, Lauren....... c  3-4    0-0    0-2    2  2  4   3   6  0  3  0  2  20
15 KEELE, Jennie....... g  6-8    3-4    1-1    1  5  6   3  16  2  3  1  0  32
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g  3-15   2-8    0-0    3  1  4   2   8  4  2  0  1  32
05 CHEESMAN, Ashley....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  0  0  0  13
10 ALLETTO, Amy........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
13 JUDKINS, Jaime......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
22 FADDIS, Brittany....    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
32 SLADE, Shawnee......    1-7    0-2    0-0    0  4  4   2   2  2  2  0  2  28
54 KING, Cassie........    2-5    0-0    0-0    3  3  6   2   4  0  4  0  0   8
   TEAM................                         2  3  5
   Totals..............   25-56   8-19   9-12  14 24 38  18  67 12 20  2  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-32 50.0%   2nd Half:  9-24 37.5%   Game: 44.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-12 33.3%   2nd Half:  4-7  57.1%   Game: 42.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-6  83.3%   2nd Half:  4-6  66.7%   Game: 75.0%    1
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HOME TEAM: Colorado State 7-18, 2-11 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 CORNELL, Juanise.... f  6-13   0-1    0-0    2  8 10   2  12  2  7  0  1  40
51 MOULTON, Marilyn.... c  3-7    0-0    5-5    1  2  3   3  11  0  3  1  0  37
04 HUNTER, Sara........ g  3-12   1-4    3-4    0  2  2   2  10  2  1  0  1  40
12 FRANCE, Justine..... g  0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  1  0  0  0   8
33 MCFARLAND, Ashley... g  1-4    1-3    0-0    0  1  1   1   3  0  3  0  1  19
21 NEAL, Emily.........    4-5    1-2    3-6    1  4  5   0  12  3  5  0  2  32
22 FINLEY, Kelly.......    0-1    0-1    0-0    1  0  1   3   0  0  2  0  0  19
42 MASON, Nya..........    1-3    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  1   5
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   18-45   3-11  11-15   6 19 25  12  50  8 21  1  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-23 52.2%   2nd Half:  6-22 27.3%   Game: 40.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-7  42.9%   2nd Half:  0-4   0.0%   Game: 27.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  8-11 72.7%   2nd Half:  3-4  75.0%   Game: 73.3%    1
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Officials: Clarke Stevens, Robert Strong, Tony Timmons
Technical fouls: BYU-None. Colorado State-None.
Attendance: 1421
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BYU...........................   41   26  -   67
Colorado State................   35   15  -   50
ID-473571