Julie Sullivan hit a layup with 1.4 seconds left to cap the Cougars' second half comeback against Idaho State, giving BYU a 56-54 victory Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center.
"I knew we needed a basket," Sullivan said. "And I wanted to win, so I just took it."
BYU came out of the gates slow, falling behind by as many as 10 points in the second half before Ambrosia Anderson, who scored nine points in the second half, was inserted in the game and helped spark the Cougars' comeback.
Trailing 36-26 with 15:42 remaining in the second half, Anderson hit two quick baskets to pull BYU within six and the Cougars went on to outscore Idaho State 30-18 for the remainder of the game.
The Cougars tied the game at 44 on a layup by Ashleigh Chamberlain, but Idaho State would fight back and the lead would change hands four times in the final eight minutes.
BYU looked like they would be up for good when Anderson's shot with 49 seconds put the Cougars up by three points, 54-51, but Idaho State's Lindy Whitley would tie the game on her fifth three pointer of the night, leading to Sullivan's game-winning layup.
Jenny Overdiek led a balanced scoring attack for BYU, finishing with 11 points, followed by Anderson and Chamberlain who each scored nine.
Head coach Jeff Judkins attributed BYU's slow start to final exams, which the team took this week.
"Because of finals our practice time was limited this week," Judkins said. "Their minds and bodies just weren't into it this afternoon."
Besides the slow start offensively, the Cougars had a tough time defensively stopping Whitley, who was 5 of 6 behind the three-point arc and finished the game with 18 points.
BYU plays next against in-state rival Southern Utah after the Christmas holiday on Tuesday Dec. 30 at 7 p.m at the Marriott Center.
Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICSIDAHO STATE BENGALS vs Brigham Young University
12-20-03 1:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO, UT
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VISITORS: IDAHO STATE BENGALS 7-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
45 GIFFORD, Heidi...... f 4-14 0-2 4-4 3 3 6 2 12 0 4 0 0 30
21 HAYS, Molly......... c 4-11 1-3 3-4 4 10 14 3 12 5 6 0 0 34
11 BARRON, Laraine..... g 2-4 1-2 0-0 0 4 4 1 5 2 2 1 1 26
15 BROSSMAN, Christa... g 1-6 0-2 2-2 2 2 4 4 4 3 2 0 1 27
35 WHITLEY, Lindy...... g 6-7 5-6 1-1 1 4 5 1 18 3 3 0 0 40
12 UDY, Merrilee....... 0-3 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 13
14 MAREKOVA, Monika.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
24 CHRISTENSEN, Camile. 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 13
32 ANDERSON, ANNIE..... 0-4 0-0 1-2 0 2 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 13
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 17-52 7-17 13-15 11 26 37 12 54 14 19 2 3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-27 .407 2nd Half: 6-25 .240 Game: .327 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-8 .500 2nd Half: 3-9 .333 Game: .412 REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-5 1.000 2nd Half: 8-10 .800 Game: .867 1
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young University 6-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. f 3-9 0-1 2-2 3 2 5 4 8 1 2 3 2 26
40 CHAMBERLAIN, A...... c 4-11 0-0 1-2 6 3 9 3 9 0 2 2 1 27
04 DOOLEY, Kestlee..... g 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 4 0 0 1 26
15 OVERDIEK, Jennie.... g 4-6 2-4 1-2 0 2 2 2 11 0 3 1 0 23
25 TAYLOR, Kali........ g 2-3 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 2 4 2 3 0 3 19
01 SELJAAS, Nancy...... 3-6 2-5 0-0 0 1 1 0 8 3 3 1 0 22
14 SULLIVAN, Julie..... 3-13 1-2 0-0 0 3 3 1 7 3 2 0 2 23
24 HANSEN, Hollie...... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 1 0 0 2 11
32 KOZLOWSKI, Kristen.. 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 9
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia.. 4-5 1-1 0-0 0 4 4 0 9 1 1 0 0 9
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5
TEAM................ 1 2 3
Totals.............. 23-59 6-16 4-6 11 25 36 18 56 15 16 7 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-32 .312 2nd Half: 13-27 .481 Game: .390 DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-11 .364 2nd Half: 2-5 .400 Game: .375 REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 .500 2nd Half: 3-4 .750 Game: .667 1
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Officials: KENT JOHNSON, ERIKA HERRIMAN, BRIAN ABBOTT
Technical fouls: IDAHO STATE BENGALS-None. Brigham Young
University-None.
Attendance: 926
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
IDAHO STATE BENGALS........... 31 23 - 54
Brigham Young University...... 25 31 - 56
