BYU Claims Fourth-Straight Win

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PROVO -- The BYU women’s basketball led from start to finish, defeating Weber State, 70-54, on Saturday at the Marriott Center.

The win gave BYU its fourth-straight victory, its longest win streak of the season, as the Cougars improved to 7-3 while Weber State fell to 3-4.

“I thought we played really well, especially in the first half,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “We made them have to work for their score and didn’t bail them out.”

Senior forward Coriann Fraughton scored 20 points while senior guard Mindy Bonham filled the stat sheet by adding 10 assists, five points, five rebounds, five steals and two blocks. Bonham’s 10 assists set a new career-high and moved her into the ninth position as the all-time assist leader in BYU women’s baskbetball history.

Bonham also became the 20th player in BYU history to score 1,000 points, swishing home a three-pointer less than a minute into the game to pass the mark.

Bonham’s three would be the first basket of an 11-0 run for BYU to begin the game, holding the Wildcats scoreless for almost five minutes.

Fraughton scored eight points on 4-of-4 shooting as the Cougars pushed ahead, 20-4 in the first seven minutes of the contest. The senior scored 18 points in the first half alone on 8-of-10 shooting, finishing one-point shy of her career high with 20 points on a career-best 9-of-13 shooting.

“Coriann played a great game. The other girls were a good matchup for her and she worked really hard,” Judkins said. “I thought she could’ve had 30 points tonight.”

The defensive pressure by the Cougars held Weber State to 28-percent from the field on 14-of-50 shooting. The Cougars forced 13 Wildcat turnovers in the first half and 22 for the game. BYU scored 29 points off of Weber State’s turnovers.

On the other end, BYU shot 53 percent in the first half, making 18 shots off 15 assists, including seven assists from Bonham. After Stephanie Vermunt’s jumper just before the horn sounded, BYU took a 45-20 margin into halftime.

BYU and Weber State played a closer game in the second half, but the Cougars maintained no less than a 16-point lead throughout the remainder of the game.

Junior forward Kristen Riley scored 14 points while sophomore forward Alexis Kaufusi came off the bench to contribute eight points and six rebounds.

BYU will remain at home for their next game to face Portland State on Saturday, Dec. 18, at 3 pm MT.

Post-game Notes

PLAYER NOTES

-Mindy Bonham became the 20th player to record 1,000 points in her career with a 3-pointer in the opening minutes against Weber State. She's now totaled 1,004 points in her four year stay at BYU. The last BYU women's basketball player to join the 1,000 points club was Mallary Gillespie who finished her career in 2008.

-Bonham finished with a season-high five rebounds, season-high five steals, career-high 10 assists and season-high two blocks. Bonham’s 10 assists moved her up into the ninth position as the all-time assist leader in BYU women’s basketball history.

-Jazmine Foreman recorded her first block of the season against the Wildcats.

-With Coriann Fraughton’s 18th point scored in the 3rd minute of the first half she had surpassed her season-high and also totaled more points than the entire Weber State team combined.

-Fraughton finished with 20 points for a new season-high in her 7th double-figure performance this season.

-Kristen Riley finished with 14 points in her 6th double-figure performance this season to tie her season-high.

-Jennifer Hamson tallied her first career assist in the win over Weber State.

TEAM NOTES

-The win over Weber State gave the Cougars their first 4-game winning streak of the season.

-The Cougars are now 7-0 when they lead at the half, 1-1 when their opponents makes five or more 3-pointers, 6-1 when they have under 16 turnovers and 3-0 when they play at home.

-When scoring 70 or more points, BYU is now 6-0.

-This is the 8th game this season the Cougars have had more than one player in double-figure shooting.

-Against the Wildcats, BYU shot a season-high 90.9 percent from the charity stripe.