Season opens at UC Santa Barbara

The 2007-08 season begins this week for BYU's women's basketball team. Two road games open up the year with a game at UCSB on Nov. 9 and at Arkansas State on Nov. 13.

Game #1- 11/09/07: BYU @ UCSB Time: 7 p.m. PT Arena: The Thunderdome

Game #2- 11/13/07: BYU @ Arkansas St. Time: 7 p.m. CT Arena: Convocation Center

Cougars on the radio and the internet --

Radio: All of the BYU games this season will air live on the radio at KOVO 960 AM. In addition, fans can tune in to a 15-minute postgame show on KOVO.

Internet: This week's games will also be heard live on the internet at

http://www.byuradio.org/streaming

Veteran broadcaster Jay Monsen will call the action for both games.

BYU Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

3 Jazmine Foreman G 5-5 Fr

30 Mallary G. Carling G 5-10 Sr 13. 3.7

32 Shawnee Slade F 5-11 Jr 7.8 4.6

54 Cassie King F 6-3 Jr 3.5 2.7

52 Lauren R. Varley C 6-3 Sr 7.3 6.6

Reserve Players

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

5 Ashley Cheesman F 6-0 Sr 2.2 1.8

13 Jaime Judkins G 5-6 So 0.2 0.6

0 Lauren Nichols F 6-0 Fr (rs)

14 Sarah Red G/F 5-11Jr (rs)

21 Stephanie Buhler F 6-0 Fr

22 Mindy Nielson G 5-10 Fr

23 Coriann Wood F 6-1 Fr

45 Keilani Moeaki F 6-2 Fr

55 Megan Marks F 6-2 Fr

byu quick hits

The team

-- Two starters are among the six letterwinners returning for the 2007-08 season.The team also returns two redshirts in addition to six very talented newcomers

-- The seniors are MWC Second Team honoree guard Mallary Gillespie-Carling and MWC Honorable Mention Lauren Riley-Varley. Both were also named to the 2007 MWC All-Tournament Team.

-- Among the letterwinners are junior forward/guard combo Shawnee Slade, senior forward Ashley Cheesman and junior center Cassie King. The trio return with the most playing experience and an understanding of coach Judkins' game plan. Guard Jamie Judkins who also comes in with significant playing time experience.

-- Two redshirts who were on the team last year, freshman forward Lauren Nichols and sophomore guard Sarah Red, a transfer from the University of Utah, will also provide solid experience on the team.

-- Six new incoming freshmen will take to the court in 2007-08. They are:

Stephanie Buhler, a 6-0 forward from Oregon City, Ore., and Oregon City High School

Jazmine Foreman, 5-5 guard from Vancouver, Wash., and Hudson's Bay High School

Megan Marks, a 6-2 forward from South Jordan, Utah and Bingham High School

Keilani Moeaki, a 6-2 forward from Warrenville, Ill. and Wheaton Warrenville South High School

Mindy Nielson, 5-10 guard form Centennial. Colo., and Regis Jesuit High School

Coriann Wood, a 6-1 forward from Basin City, Wash., and Connell High School.

About This Week's Opponents

UCSB - Santa Barbara, CA (11/9/07)

The 2007-08 Gauchos team returns all five starters and 12 letterwinners from a team that compiled a 19-14 record and advanced to the second round of the WNIT last season. UCSB will be led by senior guard Jessica Wilson who averaged 13.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Another senior, Chisa Ononiwu will also play a big role on the team. Ononiwu averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 boards per contest. The Gauchos are coached by Mark French who enters his 22nd season with the program, and are part of the Big West Conference.

UCSB Probable Starters * (all stats are from last season)

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 14 Jordan Franey 6-0 So 8.6 4.0

F 23 Ashlee Brown 6-0 Fr

G 03 Chisa Ononiwu 5-7 Sr 11.6 5.0

G 05 Jessica Wilson 5-10 Sr 13.0 6.7

G 11 Sha'Rae Gibbons 5-7 Jr 0.3 0.3

Stat Comparisons* BYU UCSB

Field Goals: .433 .421

Free Throws: .618 .705

Three-Pointers: .310 .337

Points Per Game: 62.5 68.8

Rebounds Per Game: 37.9 38.3

Series Record: 2-4 in favor of UCSB

Last Meeting: 11/26/05 in Provo where the Cougars captured a 72-39 victory.

Arkansas State - Jonesboro, AR (11/13/07)

Arkansas State compiled an impressive 21-13 overall record and finished fourth in the Sun Belt West Division. The team returns two starters and eight letterwinners. Ashley Anderson and Caroline Starr are the two starters back with Anderson averaging 4.2 ppg and 2.7 rpg, while Starr tallied 7.4 ppg and 3.5 rpgs. The Lady Indians are coached by Brian Boyer who is in his eighth season with the program.

Arkansas State Probable Starters * (all stats are from last season)

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 5 Kelsey Lock 6-0 Sr 1.7 0.8

F 33 Ashley Anderson 6-2 Jr 4.2 2.7

G 01 Jazmine Taylor 5-8 So 1.3 1.2

G 24 Veronica Smith 5-10 So 3.0 2.1

G 25 Caroline Starr 5-10 Jr 7.4 3.5

Stat Comparisons* BYU ASU

Field Goals: .433 .423

Free Throws: .618 .704

Three-Pointers: .310 .325

Points Per Game: 62.5 66.3

Rebounds Per Game: 37.9 37.0

Series Record: First meeting between the two schools

Travel Plans

To UCSB Game

Flight: Nov. 8, Delta flight# 3965 departs SLC at 11:55 a.m., arriving in Santa Barbara at 1 p.m.

Flight: Nov. 10, Delta flight# 3950 departs Santa Barbara at 6:10 a.m., arriving in SLC at 9:06 a.m.

Team Hotel: Nov. 8-10, Holiday Inn, 5650 Calle Real, 805-964-6241, 805-964-8467, fax.

To Arkansas State Game

Flight: Nov. 12, Delta flight# 1543 departs SLC at 10:15 a.m., to Cincinnati. Delta flight# 5039 arriving in Memphis at 5:24 p.m.

Flight: Nov. 14, Delta flight# 1658 departs Memphis at 8 a.m., to Atlanta. Delta flight# 1285 arriving in SLC at 2:10 p.m.

Team Hotel: Holiday Inn Express, 2407 Phillips Drive, Jonesboro, 870-932-5554, 870-932-2586.

Media Availability

Team Practice Times - at home

-The team practices are held at the Marriott Center MWF from 11:30 a.m., to 1:30 p.m. On Tuesday's, practice is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m., and on Thursday's from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

- Coach Judkins and players are available for interviews prior to or after their practices. All interviews are scheduled in advance. Norma Collett is the Basketball Communications Director for the team and can be contacted by phone or email.

Contact at -- office: 801-422-4908, cell: 801-372-0989 and email: norma_collett@byu.edu

Team Practice Times - on the road

- For the game at UCSB, the Cougars have a shootaround for one-hour at 12:15 p.m., on Nov. 9.

- For the game at Arkansas State, BYU has a scheduled shootaround at 11 a.m. on Nov. 13.

What's Next

BYU will return home for its season opener at the Marriott Center on Sat., Nov. 17 against Fresno State. Tip offf is at 2 p.m.

The Cougars also host Hartford on Nov. 20 at 4:30 p.m., and Seton Hall on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.