LAS -- All-American Erin Thorn, on a record day, led the Cougars over No. 1 seed Utah, 70-59. The Cougars avenged the two regular season losses to Utah to make it the forth-straight year the team will play in the MWC tourney finals. BYU will defend their tournament title on Saturday at 4:30 on ESPN 2.
Thorn scored 30 points in the game, 27 in the second half. Her combined two game total of 64 points was good enough to break her own record of 60 points she set last year in MWC tournament play. Thorn will have the championship game on Saturday to add to her new scoring record.
Head Coach Jeff Judkins said it took a team effort to win the game, "This was a gutsy team performance because I know we were tired and pretty beat up. Each player did what they needed to win."
Danielle Cheesman led all scorers at the half with 11 points, giving the Cougars a 28-24 lead. Cheesman ended the game with 15 points. Kestlee Nelson scored 11 points in the game and grabbed five rebounds. Despite fouling out with just over three minutes left in the game, Ashleigh Chamberlain had a team-high seven rebounds and scored six points.
In the first half, BYU held MWC Player of the Year Kim Smith to just two points, while Utah shot 35 percent as a team. Smith ended with seven points. The top performer for the Lady Utes was Shona Thorburn who scored 16 points and had a game-high eight rebounds.
The Cougars shot 57 percent for the game and the Lady Utes shot 40 percent. BYU out rebounded Utah 32-23.
The MWC championship game is on Saturday at 4:30 p.m., MST in Las Vegas. The Cougars will face the winner of the New Mexico-Colorado State game. The championship game will be taped delayed on ESPN 2 at 10:30 p.m., MST. BYU is 1-2 in finals play, and are the defending MWC tournament champions.
Official Basketball Box ScoreBYU vs Utah
03/14/03 12:00 N at Las Vegas, Nevada
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VISITORS: BYU 19-10, 8-6
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
32 KOZLOWSKI, Kristen.. f 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 0 2 0 1 0 0 16
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. f 7-11 0-0 1-2 2 2 4 3 15 1 1 0 1 32
04 NELSON, Kestlee..... g 5-5 1-1 0-1 0 5 5 3 11 3 4 0 0 37
11 THORN, Erin......... g 8-14 3-7 11-11 0 4 4 3 30 5 3 0 2 35
15 OVERDIEK, Jen....... g 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 2 2 0 2 0 0 26
01 SELJAAS, Nancy...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 8
05 LEWIS, Amy.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
20 LARSON, Brittany.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
25 TAYLOR, Kali........ 1-4 0-1 0-2 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 12
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia.. 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 9
40 CHAMBERLAIN, A...... 3-5 0-0 0-1 3 4 7 5 6 2 5 1 3 22
45 HANSEN, Lisa........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 27-47 4-9 12-17 7 25 32 17 70 14 17 1 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-24 54.2% 2nd Half: 14-23 60.9% Game: 57.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% Game: 44.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-5 20.0% 2nd Half: 11-12 91.7% Game: 70.6% 2
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HOME TEAM: Utah 23-6, 12-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 SMITH, Kim.......... f 3-10 1-6 0-0 1 4 5 2 7 1 5 0 1 39
45 MARSHALL, Carley.... f 3-6 0-0 2-3 0 1 1 4 8 2 2 1 0 23
30 LITTLE, Mandie...... c 4-6 0-0 4-4 1 4 5 1 12 0 0 0 1 31
10 THORBURN, Shona..... g 5-16 1-7 5-6 3 5 8 4 16 2 3 0 2 40
14 STIREMAN, Kelsy..... g 2-5 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 4 5 3 1 0 5 31
05 WOBBE, Sarah........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
21 WOOD, Julie......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
31 GREEN, Hanna........ 0-1 0-1 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3
32 SITTERUD, Lana...... 3-6 2-4 2-2 1 0 1 1 10 2 1 0 2 29
TEAM................ 1
Totals.............. 20-50 5-21 14-17 7 16 23 16 59 10 14 1 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-28 35.7% 2nd Half: 10-22 45.5% Game: 40.0% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-11 27.3% 2nd Half: 2-10 20.0% Game: 23.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 13-15 86.7% Game: 82.4% 1
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Officials: Randy Campbell, Jack Jones, Marianne Karp
Technical fouls: BYU-None. Utah-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
BYU........................... 28 42 - 70
Utah.......................... 24 35 - 59
Statistics provided by Jim Shaffer & crew (702) 896-5677 statman@winning.com
