Bonham, Fraughton Lead Cougars to Victory

Click to watch the video.

PROVO -- A balanced scoring attack led the BYU women’s basketball team to its third straight Mountain West Conference victory over the New Mexico Lobos 76-54 in the Marriott Center on Saturday.

"It was nice to see four players score in double figures tonight," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "Jen (Hamson) had a really good game and Mindy (Bonham) played great as usual. I'm really happy, even though it wasn't as good as we like, that the girls played well and we got the win. The girls have pretty much figured out what they need to do to win so we're just working more on that."

Four Cougars finished in double figures, with seniors Mindy Bonham and Coriann Fraughton leading the way on 17 points apiece. Bonham also dished out 10 assists to earn her third career double-double, while freshman Jennifer Hamson contributed with 15 points and Kristen Riley added 11.

BYU (14-7, 6-1) opened the game by shooting lights out, nailing seven of their first 10 shots to take an early 14-6 lead. During that same stretch the BYU defense held the Lobos to just 4-for-11 from the field and caused two New Mexico shot clock violations.

Senior Jazmine Foreman helped keep the BYU lead at eight with an arching three-point basket at the shot clock buzzer to make it 20-12. Bonham followed suit on the following possession as she nailed her first trey of the game to stretch the lead to 23-14.

Following Bonham's three, the Cougars went on a 6-0 run to widen the margin to 12 points at 29-17. The Lobos finished the half by outscoring BYU 7-4 to make it 33-24 at the break.

Bonham and freshman Jennifer Hamson both contributed eight points in the opening half, with Hamson also grabbing five boards.

New Mexico started the second half with five quick points to narrow the Cougar lead to five but Bonham scored a fast break lay up to end the run and continued on to score seven of the next nine BYU points, giving them the 12-point lead at 48-36.

Fraughton ended a Lobo run late in the second half by hitting shots on three consecutive possessions to put the Cougars back up by eight, 60-52.

Fraughton scored 15 of her 17 points in the second half to lead BYU. Strong defense and free throw shooting helped the Cougars close out the game and earn their sixth MWC win this season.

BYU will be back at the Marriott Center on Wednesday night for a MWC matchup against the Cowgirls of Wyoming. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. and will be televised live on BYUtv.

Post-game Notes

Team

-The win over New Mexico was the third game in conference action this year the Cougars have had four or more players recording double figures.

-The Cougars are now 13-1 when they lead at the half, 11-4 when they make more than five 3-pointers, 12-2 when they outrebound their opponent, 11-1 when they commit less than 16 turnovers and 8-1 when they play in the Marriott Center.

-BYU is now 10-0 when 70 or more points are recorded.

Player

-Mindy Bonham finished with 17 points to lead the team for her fifth straight double-figure game and 15th this season. Her 10 assists gave her her third career double-double of the career. Mindy's points are a new season-high in conference play. She also recorded two blocks for a new season-high.

-Coriann Fraughton's 17 points were her second straight double-figure game and 13th this season.

-Jennifer Hamson's 15 points were just one shy of her career-high but is her fifth time this season to score in double-figures.

-Kristen Riley's 12 points were her third straight double-figure performance and 10th of the season.