SALT LAKE CITY -- Claiming a win at the Huntsman Center for the first time in seven years, the BYU women's basketball team defeated in-state and conference rival University of Utah, 46-41, in front of 2,405 fans Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars had not beaten the Utes on their home court since exactly seven years ago, on February 26, 1993. It was head coach Trent Shippen's first win against Utah in Salt Lake City.
"Obviously this is an exciting win for the BYU women's basketball program," Shippen said. "This was one of our best defensive efforts of the year. That was one of our goals going into the game, to not have too many letdowns on defense."
A defensive contest it was, as BYU sophomore Lisa Osguthorpe was the only player on both teams to score in double figures with 10 points. Both teams shot under 30 percent, but the Cougars came away with 15 steals, the most this season, and battled under the basket for 47 rebounds, the team's second-highest total of the season.
BYU freshman Jennifer Leitner was the only player on both teams to rebound in double figures, ending with 10 boards. Forward Kristina Andersen led the Ute effort with eight points and five rebounds.
The Cougars upped their record to 18-7, 8-4 conference, while the Utes fell to 18-7, 9-3. Utah came into the game ranked first in the conference ahead of Colorado State, and BYU fourth behind New Mexico. However, it was the day for upsets, as New Mexico defeated Colorado State, 67-59, setting the stage for a key conference showdown between the Lobos and Cougars Saturday at the Marriott Center. BYU will face Air Force Thursday before taking on the Lobos Saturday at 4 p.m.
The road swing through Colorado and Wyoming did not turn out as good a the Cougars had hoped, losing to CSU , and squeaking by Wyoming. The win over the Cowgirls gives BYU a 7-4 conference record and fourth place finish in the latest MWC standings.
Last Week Wrap Up
In the first of two road games, the Cougar women lost to CSU 74-84 in front of over 2,000 fans. BYU has lost twice to the Rams this season. At Laramie, Wyoming it was different story, an extremely tight game the entire game with the visiting Cougars sneaking out with a one-point 70-69 victory after four final points from Erin Thorn, a huge three-pointer and one of two free-throws with 11 seconds to clinch the BYU victory.
Cougars On Radio And TV This Week BYU fans can tune in to KSL Radio 1160 AM to here the entire BYU vs Utah women's basketball game, immediately following the broadcast of the men's game between the Cougars and Cowboys on Sat. Feb. 26. Geoff Flynn will call the play by play on KSL Radio with Amanda Covington as the color commentator . The game can also be seen live on KJZZ TV, Channel 14.
Player Injury Report
Senior forward Cady Williams is back in the lineup for the Cougars after missing three weeks because of a broken left hand. Williams saw action in the CSU game and started in the Wyoming game.
BYU Probable Starters
l 32 Lori Cuff - 6-1 F, Sr (7.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
l 35 Cady Williams - 5-11 F, Sr (11.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
l 33 Jill Adams - 6-3 C, Jr (13.7ppg, 6.3 rpg)
l 11 Erin Thorn - 5-10 G, Fr (13.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
l 22 Stacy Jensen - 5-6 G, So (7.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg)
BYU Players Off The Bench
l 31 Lisa Osguthorpe - 6-0 F, So (4.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
l 05 Alisha Griffeth - 6-0 F, Sr (4.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
l 04 Renae Hansen - 5-11 G, Sr (1.8 ppg, .8 rpg)
l 00 April Hayes - 6-3 C, Jr (2.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
l 44 Caroline Beus - 6-1 C, Jr (2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
l 21 Jennifer Leitner - 6-1 F, Fr (7.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
Cougar Quickie Stats - After 24 games
l Shooting from the field - .456 (612-1343)
l Shooting from the free-throw line - .726 (294-405)
l Shooting from the three-point arc - .370 (177-479)
l Averaging 70.6 points per game
l After averaging 21 turnovers in the first 11 games of the season, the Cougars are averaging 16.3 in the last ten games played.
l The Cougars have a 4-2 record when playing on Thursday and a 7-2 record when BYU plays on Saturday
l BYU has gone on a four-game winning streak and a six-game winning streak so far this season
BYU Player Quick Facts - After 24 games
l Stacy Jensen had a career-high 30 points in the UNLV victo- ry on 2/10/00
l The entire Cougar roster, minus injured Cady Williams, got some playing time and scored in the 98-81 win over UNLV
l Jennifer Leitner had her first double-double of her career with 19 points and 10 rebounds in the 2/10/00 UNLV Cougar victory
l Jill Adams has scored in double figures in 17 of 20 games
l Erin Thorn has scored in double figures in 18 games to date
l Jill Adams has rebounded in double figures in four games
l Lisa Osguthorpe had her first double-double of her career against Air Force on 2/3/00, picking up 11 points and 11 boards
Mountain West Conference Stats 4
BYU Team (11 Conf. Games Only - Top Five)
4 2nd in scoring offense - average 73.5 ppg (809 points)
4 3rd in scoring margin - 73.5 off, 65.5 def +18.1 margin 4 1st in free throw percentage - .740 (148-200)
4 2nd in field goal percentage - .450 (290-645)
4 2nd in 3-point field goal percentage - .370 (81-219)
4 4th in 3-point field goal percentage defense - .344 (66-102)
4 2nd in 3-point field goals made - average 7.36 (81)
4 1st in rebounding defense - average 33.0 (363)
4 1st in steals - average 10.45 (115)
4 1st in assists - average 17.73 (195)
4 4th in blocked shots - average 3.00 (33)
4 2nd in offensive rebounds - average 13.82 (152)
BYU Players (11 Conf. Games Only - Top Five)
4 Erin Thorn - 1st in 3-point field goals made - average 3.09 (34)
4 Lori Cuff - 2nd in field goal percentage - .597 (43-72)
4 Jill Adams - 5th in field goal percentage - .522 (47-90)
4 Stacy Jensen - 3rd in free throw percentage - .833 (30-36)
4 Jennifer Lietner - 4th in offensive rebounds - 2.64 (29)
4 Jill Adams - 3rd in blocked shots - average 1.27 (14)
4 Erin Thorn - 3rd in asst/turn ratio - (asst 39, 3.5 turn 20, 1.8 avg, ratio 1.95)
4 Stacy Jensen -4th in asst/turn ratio - (asst 43, 3.9/turn 23, 2.1 avg, ratio 1.87)
4 Stacy Jensen - 4th in steals - average 2.27 (25)
Cougars In National Stats
4 Erin Thorn - 7th in 3PT FG Made Per Game - average 3.0 (65)
4 Erin Thorn - 22nd in 3PT FG PCT - 45.1 (65-144)
4 Brigham Young - 21st in 3PT FG PCT - 37.4 (164-438)
4 Brigham Young - 8th in 3PT FG Made Per Game - average 7.5 (164)The
Scouting Utah
The University of Utah is currently atop the MWC standings with a 9-2 conference record, 18-6 overall. The Utes two conference losses were to New Mexico (70-74) in overtime at The Pit and to Colorado State (56-57) in Ft. Collins. BYU has also lost to the same opponents in conference play. Utah is led in scoring by sophomore F/C Lauren Beckman who's averaging 11.0 points per game and 6.8 rebounds. Other scoring threats for the Utes are Kristina Andersen who tallies 9.7 points and 5.0 rebounds. Teammate Amy Ewert, a junior F/G, contributes 8.5 points a game and 3.8 rebounds. Utah is averaging 65.4 points per game to opponents 52.4 points a game. From the field, the Utes are shooting 43 percent and 72 percent at the free-throw line and 40 percent from the three-point arc.
Utah Probable Starters
l 21 Kristina Andersen - 6-1 F, Jr (9.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
l 32 Lori Red - 5-11 F, Jr (7.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
l 52 Lauren Beckman - 6-2 F/C, So (11.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
l 22 Tiana Fuertes 5-3 G, Sr (4.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg)
l 24 Amy Ewert -6-0 F/ G, Jr (8.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
Series Against Utah
Series Record: 25-43 favoring the Utes. In their first meeting this season, Utah defeated the Cougars by a four-point margin 59-55 in the Marriott Center. In that game, three BYU players scored in double digits with Stacy Jensen and Lori Cuff each contributing 14 points a piece. Freshman Erin Thorn had 10 points and four assists.
The Shippen File
BYU RICKS COLLEGE
1999-00 17-7 1994-95 33-3
1998-99 16-13 1995-96 19-11
1997-98 15-14 1996-97 19-12
Totals 48-34 (.585) Totals 71-26 (.731)
Coach Trent Shippen Quotes
(On the Cougars) We had a nice win at Wyoming to finish off our conference road trip. CSU was playing the toughest game I've seen in our league all season last Thursday. Right now we're all pretty healthy for the most part. Cady's (Williams) had is still a bit tender but she should be ready to go on Saturday. The game will be a tough one for us especially because of the instate rivalry.
(On Utah) They are a good defensive team, probably the best in our conference so we will have our hands full. Utah is also a tough team to match up against and they are alot like CSU. This could be a very big win and very important for us as far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned. We'll need to play at our very best against a team that will also be at their best.
Up Next For The Cougars
Next week BYU hosts its final two conference contests with games in the Marriott Center against Air Force and New Mexico on March 2 and 4 .
BYU Media Information/Home Practice Schedule
At home, the Cougars practice at the Marriott Center. Practice schedule is Mon-Fri from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Player and/or coach Shippen interviews may be done in advance by contacting the women's basketball SID Norma Collett at 801-378-4908 or via e-mail at norma_collett@byu.edu There are no player interviews 24 hours prior to games.
