Cougars Win Close One

PROVO -- A huge game from Mallary Gillespie-Carling lifted the BYU women's basketball team (10-8, 4-2) past Air Force (7-11, 1-5) in the Marriott Center on Wednesday night, giving the Cougars a 52-47 victory.

Gillespie-Carling scored 24 points, going 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-7 from the three-point line. She also blocked the potential game-tying shot from Falcons guard Raimee Beck.

"I'm proud of Mallary, and I had her in for all 40 minutes because she did so well," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. "We figured out how to win tonight. We made some baskets when we needed to."

A career night in rebounds from BYU center Laren Riley-Varley helped the Cougars regain possession of the ball at crucial points throughout the game. Riley-Varley nabbed a season and career high 15 rebounds and scored eight points.

It was a slow start for the Cougars, in large part because of turnovers and poor shooting in the first half. BYU ended the period with 11 turnovers and shot 34.6 percent from the field. Fortunately for BYU, the Falcons didn't fair much better, turning the ball over nine times and shooting just 31 percent from the field.

To start the game, BYU guard Mallary Gillespie-Carling scored all eight of BYU's points through the first 12 minutes. The Cougars were down 8-17 at that point. Air Force had gone on a 9-0 run through the middle portion of the half.

Riley-Varley responded for the Cougars as the half came to a close, knocking down six straight points. The Cougars were down 20-22 at the half.

Gillespie-Carling led all BYU scorers at the half going 3-for-5 with eight points. Riley-Varley tallied six points and seven rebounds. The Falcons' leading scorer at the break was guard Jamie Davis with 11 points.

Though the Cougars trailed at the half, it took less than a minute to regain the lead. A high-low pass from Riley-Varley to Cheesman gave BYU a 23-22 lead. The Falcons would keep it close throughout the half as neither team had more than a five-point lead the entire period.

A 10-point second half performance by Beck sparked the Falcons, but Gillespie-Carling's hot shooting was enough to keep Air Force at bay.

With 11 seconds left, Air Force was down 50-47 with a chance to take the lead. Beck got the ball and tried to make a three-pointer but Gillespie-Carling stuck her hand up and blocked the shot. BYU freshman Mindy Nielson recovered the ball, got fouled and hit both free throws to seal the victory.

BYU will next be in action in the Marriott Center against No. 15 Wyoming at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2.

Official Basketball Box Score
Air Force Academy vs Brigham Young Univer
01-30-08 7:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO UT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Air Force Academy 7-11; 1-5
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
32 STEELE, Alecia...... f  1-8    0-0    1-2    3  0  3   2   3  2  2  0  1  27
43 KREKE, Kim.......... c  2-10   0-2    0-1    0  3  3   3   4  3  2  1  0  36
20 BECK, Raimee........ g  5-14   3-8    0-0    0  4  4   0  13  3  4  0  0  39
22 DAVIS, Jamie........ g  4-6    3-3    0-0    2  1  3   1  11  1  3  0  0  21
30 FINDLAY, Pamela..... g  2-9    0-0    8-8    5  2  7   2  12  0  2  0  0  37
31 JONES, Chasmine.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
34 CULTRA, Brooke......    1-6    0-3    0-0    0  5  5   1   2  1  1  2  3  23
35 LOVELESS, Dana......    1-3    0-0    0-0    2  3  5   0   2  0  1  0  0  16
   TEAM................                         5  4  9
   Totals..............   16-56   6-16   9-11  17 22 39   9  47 10 15  3  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-29 31.0%   2nd Half:  7-27 25.9%   Game: 28.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-8  50.0%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 37.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  9-11 81.8%   Game: 81.8%    0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Brigham Young Univer 10-8; 4-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
05 CHEESMAN, Ashley.... f  1-5    0-0    0-0    2  2  4   2   2  0  1  1  0  18
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... f  4-10   0-3    0-0    0  1  1   1   8  4  0  1  0  35
52 VARLEY, Lauren...... c  3-9    0-0    3-4    7  8 15   3   9  4  1  5  2  28
22 NIELSON, Mindy...... g  1-5    0-0    5-6    0  3  3   2   7  5  3  0  2  30
30 CARLING, Mallary.... g 10-16   4-7    0-0    1  2  3   2  24  1  3  1  4  40
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  2  0  0  10
13 JUDKINS, Jaime......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  1   3
14 RED, Sarah..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
23 WOOD, Coriann.......    0-4    0-2    0-0    0  2  2   0   0  0  0  0  0  14
45 MOEAKI, Keilani.....    1-2    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   0   2  0  2  0  0   9
54 KING, Cassie........    0-5    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   0   0  0  1  0  0  10
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   20-56   4-12   8-10  15 25 40  11  52 14 13  8  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-26 34.6%   2nd Half: 11-30 36.7%   Game: 35.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-7  28.6%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  8-10 80.0%   Game: 80.0%    1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: RANDY CAMPBELL, ROB BRYSON, MAJ FORSBERG
Technical fouls: Air Force Academy-None. Brigham Young Univer-None.
Attendance: 516
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Air Force Academy.............   22   25  -   47
Brigham Young Univer..........   20   32  -   52
OFFICIAL FINAL
Points in the paint-AF 14,BY 20. Points off turnovers-AF 10,BY 17.
2nd chance points-AF 11,BY 11. Fast break points-AF 0,BY 4.
Bench points-AF 4,BY 2. Score tied-7 times. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-AF 2nd-03:22, BY 2nd-01:12.
Largest lead-AF by 9 1st-08:03, BY by 5 1st-18:48.