PROVO, Utah (Dec. 9) -- BYU (6-3) held off a physical Cal Northridge (3-7) team to win 55-48, Saturday in the Smith Fieldhouse. The Cougars ran hard and lead by as much as 13 in the second half and had their largest deficit at 2-0 after the first shot of the game.

Though BYU lead most of the game and was in control most of the second half, it wasn't the victory women's head coach Jeff Judkins wanted.

"I'm not disappointed in their effort, they just aren't executing like we've practiced," Judkins said after the game. "Riley could have had twenty points, but she needs to slow down and take a good shot. Shawnee defended hard and her offense will come."

BYU came out in the first half with aggressive defense. Melinda Johnsen put some pressure on the Northridge guards, and hustle on the defensive boards kept the Cougars on top early in the first half. Six of the first nine points were layups. Then both teams fell on a scoring drought of over five minutes. That was ended by Shawnee Slade who had a block and then came back to draw a foul. She made her free throws to put the Cougars up14-9 just after the 12-minute mark. With 8:07 left in the first half, the Cougars worked the ball around to find Johnsen open for a 20-foot jumpshot. That made it 22-13 for BYU. The Matadors went on an 8-1 run late in the first half to close the gap to 23-22. Northridge rode their momentum to close the half with a one point lead 26-25.

BYU shot 32.3 percent from the field in the first half, while Northridge shot 36.4 percent. The Cougars had a two-point advantage with points in the paint 10-8, but the matadors won the 2nd chance points 6-1.

The Cougars came out running with a 9-1 run, capped off by a Jennie Keele layup at the 16-minute mark. During the run Mallary Gillespie hit one of her four three pointers. With13:12 left in the game Keele stopped her dribble on the right side and found Gillespie for a backdoor layup, making it 38-29. With 8:28 left in the second half, BYU sharp shooter Gillespie hit her fourth three pointer. Lauren Riley had an easy two with a heads-up inbounds pass from Keele under the basket. The Cougars slowed down the pace in the last seven minutes, which might have aided the slow return of the Matadors. However the Cougars held onto a ten point lead most of the quarter.

"We wanted to slow it down and win the game, and Melinda throws it away," Judkins said. "That's hard. We missed layups but still won. We can learn from this and get better. Riley was aggressive and that's what I want. Keele had a good game tonight."

BYU finished the game shooting 34.4 percent and Northridge shot 27.9 percent from the field. The Cougars shot 25 percent from beyond the arc, but cleaned up 16 offensive boards. Gillespie lead all scorers with 14 points, and the team had 24 points in the paint as opposed to 8 for the Matadors. Keele and Johnsen both dished six assists, and Riley pulled down 13 boards, a new season high for her.

BYU hosts Weber State, Thurs., Dec. 14 at the Marriot Center in a 7:00 p.m. tip.

Official Basketball Box Score

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE vs BYU COUGARS

12/9/06 4:00 P.M. at Provo, Utah

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VISITORS: CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE 3-7

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS

## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN

21 Burries, Jazelle.... f 3-13 0-0 1-3 1 3 4 3 7 2 5 1 2 32

44 Tulikihihifo, Ofa... f 4-14 1-1 2-5 1 2 3 1 11 2 0 0 3 31

00 O'Rourke, Kristin... c 3-7 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 1 6 2 2 0 0 19

02 McCaa, Jamie........ g 4-13 2-6 4-4 3 9 12 2 14 1 5 0 2 37

03 Ching, Megan........ g 0-3 0-0 2-4 0 1 1 4 2 0 0 0 3 32

05 Fuleki, Krisztina... 3-7 2-6 0-0 0 2 2 3 8 2 2 0 1 21

10 Howard, Shanice..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 4

32 Hahs, Crystal....... 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 8 8 2 0 0 0 1 0 23

52 Thompson, Katrina... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

TEAM................ 1 3 4

Totals.............. 17-61 5-15 9-16 9 30 39 16 48 10 14 2 11 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-33 36.4% 2nd Half: 5-28 17.9% Game: 27.9% DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-6 33.3% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% Game: 33.3% REBS

F Throw % 1st Half: 0-2 0.0% 2nd Half: 9-14 64.3% Game: 56.3% 3

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HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 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

15 KEELE, Jennie....... f 4-5 1-2 0-1 0 4 4 1 9 6 1 0 2 32

30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. f 5-17 4-11 2-4 2 6 8 2 16 3 3 1 0 36

45 WRIGHT, Dani........ c 3-5 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 5 6 0 2 0 0 11

52 RILEY, Lauren....... c 4-10 0-0 1-2 6 7 13 3 9 1 7 1 4 24

35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... g 2-5 0-2 1-2 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 0 2 36

05 CHEESMAN, Ashley.... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 11

13 JUDKINS, Jaime...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

22 FADDIS, Brittany.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2

32 SLADE, Shawnee...... 2-12 0-3 4-8 1 6 7 2 8 0 0 1 1 30

54 KING, Cassie........ 1-5 0-2 0-0 1 3 4 0 2 1 5 0 0 17

TEAM................ 3 5 8

Totals.............. 21-61 5-20 8-17 16 39 55 19 55 17 20 3 9 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-31 32.3% 2nd Half: 11-30 36.7% Game: 34.4% DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-12 16.7% 2nd Half: 3-8 37.5% Game: 25.0% REBS

F Throw % 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 5-12 41.7% Game: 47.1% 3

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Officials: Connie Pardue, Rob Bryson, Nick Marshall

Technical fouls: CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE-None. BYU COUGARS-None.

Attendance: 749

Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE.......... 26 22 - 48

BYU COUGARS................... 25 30 - 55

Official

After going 1-1 in last week's road trip, the 4-3 Cougar women's basketball team heads to Las Cruces, New Mexico for a Wednesday night contest at New Mexico State (2-5). Tip off is set for 7 p.m. The team returns to host CS Northridge on Sat. Dec. 9 at 4 p.m., in the Smith Fieldhouse.

Complete Broadcast Plans

On the internet - a live audio stream of all of the women's basketball games will be available on BYU Radio. Veteran broadcaster Jay Monsen will call the action. Wednesday's game at New Mexico State will air tape delay at approximately 9 p.m.To listen log on to: http://www.byuradio.org

Live Stats - Fans can follow the action via live stats by clicking on:

www.byucougars.com/basketball_w/ and going to the schedule page. A link is provided to the live stats is provided.

2006-07 Season Noteables

-- Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team - Dani Kubik Wright

-- Team's assist leader - Melinda Johnsen (211), as of 12/02/06

-- In the game @ Stanford - Dani Wright played a total of 35 minutes, the most minutes played in her college career.

-- In the game at home vs. Santa Clara University on 11/22/06, four different players scored in double figures, a first this season.

-- At Harvard on 11/29/06 - the Cougars picked up season bests in field goal percentage .481 (26-54) and 3-pt-field goal percentage .455 (5-11). In that same game, the 66 final points for BYU were the third best so far this season.

PREVIOUS GAME RECAP

BYU @ Univ. of Hartford - BY-43; UH-60

The University of Hartford Hawks upset the No. 22 Cougars Saturday, 60-43. Hartford jumped out to an early 13-6 lead, and never looked back. The first eight points for the Cougar points came from Mallary Gillespie as she hit two three-pointers in two attempts and a lay-up, but Gillespie could not stay hot and neither could her teammates.

BYU's first-half woes stemmed from Hartford's double-team defense in the paint and poor shooting on the part of the Cougars. The blue and white struggled in the first half getting open shots, but their tenacious play and three-point philosophy kept the game within reach. With a 13-10 lead and 13:28 to go in the first half, the Hawks scored four unanswered points before Cassie King hit one from down town to bring the game back within four.

The brightest point of the game for the Cougars was the end of the first half as they cut the Hawk lead to four going into the locker room after an 8-2 run. Dani Kubik Wright led the way as she broke the Hawk double team and went six for six in the half with 12 points.

The four-point first half difference came from Hartford's perfect six for six from the foul line as the Cougars went two for four.

The Hawks came out swinging in the second half as they forced a quick turnover and hit a three to push the lead back to seven in the first minute of the half. Another BYU turnover led to a Hartford fast-break lay-up and the lead shot to nine. Hartford's Lisa Etienne hit a three to take the lead to 12 before BYU gave up another turnover and quick lay-up to give the Hawks a 14-point lead, 39-25.

Freshman Haley Hall stopped the ten-point Hawk run with a three with 16:27 to go in the game. Once again the Hawks kept the pressure on as Danielle Hood returned fire with a two-point jumper of her own on the next possession. The battle continued as BYU's King hit a short hook shot on the next possession, followed by another Etienne lay-up, keeping the Hawk lead at 13.

Down 48-31, BYU's Jennie Keele hit her first shot of the game, a deep three, to take the score to 48-34.

The Hawks put on the full court press with ten minutes left in the game to try to seal the upset victory and forced the 16th Cougar turnover. Ten minutes in to the second half, the upset appeared imminent as BYU had only nine points to the Hawks' 21.

After Keele's three, the Cougars did not score again for another four minutes until she hit another lay-up. Hartford's Katie Kelly came back with another quick jumper give her team a 20-point lead and squelch the visiting team's hopes of ever cutting into it.

2005-06 Season Review

-- Best record in school history 26-6

-- Tallied an impressive 13-1 record on the road

-- MWC Regular Season Crown with a 13-3 record

-- The squad advanced to the MWC Championship game before losing to Utah, 60-84

-- Made seventh appearance in NCAA Championships, seeded sev- enth, the highest seed for the Cougar program. The team advanced to Round of 32 with 67-62 victory over Iowa, then lost to Oklahoma 70-86

-- Breaks into the national polls after going 15-1 to begin the season. Its first appearance came the week of Jan. 16 when both the AP Poll and the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll ranked the team at the No. 23 spot. The team moved as high as No. 16 in the USAToday/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll, the highest of the year and the highest ever in the program's history. BYU finished the season ranked 20th in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll.

2005-06 MWC Honors/All-America Citations

Co-Player of the Year

Ambrosia Anderson

First Team All- Mountain West Conference

Ambrosia Anderson

Second Team All- Mountain West Conference

Dani Kubik

Honorable Mention All- Mountain West Conference

Mallary Gillespie

Melinda Johnsen

Jennie Keele

Coach of the Year

Jeff Judkins

Honorable Mention All-America Citations

Ambrosia Anderson - AP Women's All-America Basketball Team

Ambrosia Anderson - WBCA and Eastman Kodak Company

Head Coach - Jeff Judkins

Overall Record:107-55

2006-07: 4-3

2006 MWC Coach of the Year Jeff Judkins begins his sixth year as head coach of the women's basketball program. Prior to heading up the women's program, he served one year (1999-2000) as Director of Basketball Operations for the BYU men's team. In 2000 he became an assistant coach on the women's team.

Last season under Judkins, the Cougars compiled their best finish in school history with a 26-6 record, clinched their first MWC regular season title since 1992 and received a no. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, the highest seed for any BYU program.

For the first time since the 2002-03 season, the team and its 13-1 record to start the year broke into the women's basketball collegiate polls, ranked No. 23 by the AP Poll and the USA Today/Espn/WBCA Coaches Poll. They would rank as high as 18 and 16 in the two respective polls, finishing the year at No. 20. Last season Judkins picked up his 100th win, a 69-67 victory over CSU on Mar. 2, the same time the team clinched the league's regular season title.

Under Judkins tutelage, the women's basketball program has had consistent success with four postseason appearances including three NCAA Championships, guiding the team to its first ever Sweet Sixteen finish in 2002. In 2005, the 19-11 team played in the first round of the WNIT.

Judkins has also coached two All-Americans in Erin Thorn and Ambrosia Anderson. Both have gone on to play in the WNBA for the New York Liberty. Thorn has been with the team for the past four years while Anderson just completed her first year playing professionally.

The longtime University of Utah coach and player came to Provo with a proven record of success dating back to his high school days at Highland HS in Salt Lake City. An all-state selection in basketball, football and baseball, Judkins went on to play for the University of Utah from 1974-78.

While playing at Utah, Judkins helped lead the Utes to one conference championship and two berths in the NCAA tournament. He was a second-team academic All-American and three-time District VII academic selection. He also earned three first team All-WAC honors and was a member of the 1977 United States World Games team that captured the gold medal.

Judkins also played five years in the National Basketball Association for the Boston Celtics, Portland Trailblazers, Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz. He was a second-round pick of the Celtics in 1978, the same year the Celtics selected Larry Bird with the sixth pick overall.

After his NBA career, he returned to Utah in 1989 and was an instrumental part of that program's success during his 10 years, recruiting such players as Keith Van Horn, Andre Miller, Mike Doleac, Hanno Mottola, Alex Jensen, Trent Whiting, Garner Meads, Jeff Johnsen and Britton Johnsen.

Judkins, graduated from the University of Utah in 1978 with a degree in health and physical education. He and his wife Mary Kaye are the parents of five children: Jessica (26), (married to Paul), Jordan (24), Jenna (22), Jaime, who plays on the basketball team, (19), and Jaxson (16). Jenna plays on the volleyball team at BYU.

Hobbies: Waterskiing, horseback riding, hunting, golf, softball, and watching ESPN.

BYU Picked Second In MWC Preseason Media Poll

School (First-place votes) Points

1. New Mexico (8) 137

2. BYU (7) 134

3. TCU (4) 126

4. Utah 102

5. Wyoming 96

6. UNLV 71

7. San Diego State 41

8. Air Force 39

9. Colorado State 36

Preseason All-MWC Team

Dionne Marsh, Jr., F, New Mexico

Hanna Zavecz, Jr., F, Wyoming

Dani Kubik Wright, Sr., C, BYU

Adrianne Ross, Jr., G, TCU

Katie Montgomery, Sr., G, New Mexico

Top Returning Player

Dionne Marsh, Jr., F, New Mexico

Top Newcomer

Justyna Podziemska, Jr., F, Wyoming

ABOUT BYU'S THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS

NEW MEXICO STATE @ Las Cruces, NM (12/06/06)

The Aggies will host BYU on Wed. 12/06/06 after posting a 2-5 record to date. NM State hosts Southern Utah on Monday night prior to Wednesday's matchup. The team's two wins to date are over Lamar 69-52 and Texas-San Antonio 69-63. Currently, they have three players scoring in double digits with 16.0 points from senior guard Cecilia Russell-Nava.Junior forward Sherell Neal follows with 15.1 points and a team leading 10.1 rebounds per game. With 10.4 points is Anikia Jawara another junior forward on the squad. Head coach Daren Spence is in his fourth year with the Aggies. This year's team returns eight letterwinners to a team that went 9-19 last season.

NEW MEXICO STATE Probable Starters

Pos.# Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 02 Sherell Neal 6-1 Jr 15.1 10.1

F 21 Anikia Jawara 6-1 Jr 10.4 6.0

F 33 Carla Denning 6-2 Jr 2.6 5.3

G 03 Jazmyn Foster 5-6 Fr 5.4 1.4

G 05 Cecilia Russell-Nava 5-8 Sr 16.0 2.4

Stat Comparisons BYU NMST

Field Goals: .410 .360

Free Throws: .658 .578

Three-Pointers: .349 .316

Points Per Game: 62.8 60.7

Rebounds Per Game: 40.2 39.4

Series Record

BYU holds a 12-10 advantage of NMST. On the road, the Cougars have a 4-6 record.

Last Meeting

The two teams have not met in over 16 years and the Cougars have not won in the six meetings. The last time the Cougars and Aggies met on 2/16/90, NMSt., picked up the win in Provo 77-63. In Las Cruces, BYU had its last victory on 2/16/85, a 90-72 win.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE, Provo, UT - in Smith Fieldhouse (12/09/06)

This will be the first trip for the Matadors to Provo. CS Northridge has compiled a 3-5 record and hosts the University of Hawaii on Dec. 5 before heading to Utah. The three wins to date are over Portland STate 77-67, San Jose State 66-63 and over Santa Clara 79-67, a team the Cougars also beat earlier this year. Four different players headline the Matadors offense led by 16.1 points from Ofa Tulikihihifo, a 5-11 guard/forward. LaJoyce King is next with 11.3 points and a team high 8.2 rebounds per game. Two others are scoring in double figures with 10.5 points a piece. They are Jamie McCaa and Krisztina Fuleki. At the helm of the Northridge program is Staci Schultz who is in her second year. The squad returns all five starters from last season.

CS NORTHRIDGE Probable Starters

Pos.# Name Ht Yr PPG* RPG* (as of 12/04/06)

F/G 23 Lajoyce King 5-9 Sr 11.3 8.2

F/G 44 Ofa Tulikihihifo 5-11 Sr 16.1 7.0

F/C 21 Jazelle Burries 6-3 Sr 8.3 4.0

G 05 Krisztina Fuleki 5-7 Sr 10.5 3.3

G 33 Ashley Blake 5-5 So 7.0 3.1

Stat Comparisons BYU CSN (as of 12/4/06)

Field Goals: .410 .439

Free Throws: .658 .686

Three-Pointers: .349 .252

Points Per Game: 62.8 72.0

Rebounds Per Game: 40.2 40.6

Series Record

In the series between BYU and CS Northridge, the Cougars hold a 2-0 advantage.

Last Meeting

The two teams played last year on 11/19/05 at CSN with BYU getting the 76-59 victory.

Travel Plans To NMSt.

Flights

Departs: Tues.,Dec.5 on Delta #3798 at 5:44 p.m.,arrives in El Paso at 7:44 p.m.

Returns: Thurs.Dec. 7 on Delta #749 at 8:30 a.m.,arrives in Salt Lake City, at 10:44 a.m.

Hotel in Las Cruces: Hilton Las Cruces,705 S.Telshor Blvd., 505-522-4300, 505-521-4707, fax.

Media Information

Team Practice Times

-- The team practices are held at the Marriott Center MWF from 11:30 a.m., to 1:30 p.m. On Tuesday's, practice is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m., and on Thursday's it is 12:30 to 3 p.m.

-- Coach Judkins and players are available for interviews prior to or after their practices. All interviews are scheduled in advance. Norma Collett is the Media Director for the team and can be contacted by phone or email. Office phone is 801-422-4908, cell phone is 801-372-0989 and email is norma_collett@byu.edu

Up Next

On Thurs., Dec. 14 instate rival Weber State comes to the Marriott Center for a 7 p.m. game. BYU then travels to nearby Utah Valley State for a contest with the Wolverines on Dec. 16 at 3 p.m.