ALBUQUERQUE -- Mallary Gillespie scored 18 points and Shawnee Slade chipped in 16 points off the bench in the second half to lead BYU (11-4, 2-0) to a 63-59 victory over New Mexico (10-6, 0-3) Wednesday night in Albuquerque. It was the Cougars first win in "The Pit" since 2001.

"Tonight was a good team effort," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. "Everybody did something positive to help us win."

A tough BYU defense held New Mexico to just 38 percent shooting on the night, while Lobo star Dionne Marsh was held to just two points on a pair of free throws.

"Defensively, we played well and mixed it up," Judkins said.

The Lobos controlled the flow of the game much of the first half though, leading by as many as eight points and preventing BYU from mounting any type of serious run. They fought back late in the half and cut the New Mexico lead to 26-22 after a Gillespie three-point bucket.

Katie Montgomery scored 11 first-half points behind a pair of three-point buckets to lead the Lobos to a 31-26 advantage at halftime.

New Mexico started the second half of play hot and took a 37-29 lead with 17:01 left. Shawnee Slade hit a pair of three pointers to cut the deficit to four. The Cougars responded though and cut the lead to three after a pair of Melinda Johnsen free throws.

The Lobos controlled play over the next few minutes and took a seven-point lead with 8:50 left to play. BYU got hot though and ripped off an 8-0 run with a pair of three-point buckets from Slade and Gillespie to give the Cougars their first lead of the game at 50-49 with 6:43 left to play.

Both teams traded scores until a Dani Wright bucket put the Cougars up one with 4:10 left to play. They went up by four after a Slade jumper a short time later. New Mexico's Montgomery responded with a big three-point shot to cut the BYU lead to one with 1:30 left to play.

A smothering Cougar defense held strong and kept the Lobos from scoring the rest of the way. A Wright free throw with three seconds left sealed the win for BYU.

The Cougars outrebounded New Mexico 33-31 on the evening behind a game-high eight rebounds each from Wright and Lauren Riley. BYU is now 8-1 on the season when outrebounding its opponents.

New Mexico's Montgomery led all scorers with a game-high 19 points. Gillespie and Slade led the way for the Cougars, while Wright and Riley chipped in eight points apiece.

BYU will look to remain undefeated in conference play when it hosts Wyoming Saturday at 2 p.m., in the Marriott Center.

Official Basketball Box Score
BYU vs New Mexico
1-10-07 7:05 PM at Albuquerque, N.M. The Pit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: BYU 11-4, 2-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f  1-2    1-2    1-2    0  3  3   1   4  5  2  1  2  38
45 WRIGHT, Dani........ f  3-9    0-1    2-5    3  5  8   4   8  0  3  1  1  29
52 RILEY, Lauren....... c  4-7    0-0    0-0    4  4  8   4   8  2  1  0  1  27
15 KEELE, Jennie....... g  1-6    0-3    1-2    1  1  2   2   3  3  5  0  1  24
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g  5-12   4-8    4-4    1  3  4   4  18  3  2  0  0  37
05 CHEESMAN, Ashley....    2-4    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   0   4  1  0  1  0   8
22 FADDIS, Brittany....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
32 SLADE, Shawnee......    6-8    4-4    0-0    0  2  2   4  16  2  1  0  1  28
54 KING, Cassie........    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  1  0  1  0   9
   TEAM................                         1  3  4             1
   Totals..............   23-50   9-18   8-13  11 22 33  20  63 17 15  4  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-26 42.3%   2nd Half: 12-24 50.0%   Game: 46.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-6  33.3%   2nd Half:  7-12 58.3%   Game: 50.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-4  50.0%   2nd Half:  6-9  66.7%   Game: 61.5%    1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: New Mexico 10-6, 0-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
15 E-NUNU, Timi........ f  1-2    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   2  0  4  1  2  16
33 MARSH, Dionne....... f  0-6    0-0    2-4    1  1  2   2   2  4  1  1  2  29
13 MONTGOMERY, Katie... g  7-12   4-5    1-1    1  2  3   1  19  1  0  0  1  38
40 BRIODY, Julie....... g  1-7    0-2    5-6    2  4  6   2   7  3  3  0  2  32
41 KIMBLE, Brandi...... g  0-5    0-3    2-2    3  4  7   1   2  2  0  0  1  23
03 WEISSMANN, Eileen...    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   4
10 BEGGIN, Amy.........    3-5    1-1    2-3    0  0  0   2   9  1  1  0  0  25
34 KAST, Valerie.......    2-5    0-0    4-7    0  2  2   0   8  1  1  4  0  12
44 HARTILL, Angela.....    4-6    0-1    2-2    1  1  2   2  10  0  1  0  1  21
   TEAM................                         3  4  7
   Totals..............   18-48   5-12  18-25  11 20 31  11  59 12 11  6  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-26 42.3%   2nd Half:  7-22 31.8%   Game: 37.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-6  50.0%   2nd Half:  2-6  33.3%   Game: 41.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-12 50.0%   2nd Half: 12-13 92.3%   Game: 72.0%    4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Clarke Stevens, Eric Larson, Shelley Nakasone
Technical fouls: BYU-None. New Mexico-None.
Attendance: 8454
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BYU...........................   26   37  -   63
New Mexico....................   31   28  -   59
ID-467262

Defending Champion BYU (10-4, 1-0) continues league play this week with a Wednesday night game at UNM (10-5, 0-2) and hosting Wyoming (10-3, 1-0) on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Complete Broadcast Plans

On the internet - For the game at New Mexico on Jan. 10, a tape delayed audio stream of the game will be available on BYU Radio. Veteran broadcaster Jay Monsen will call the action. To listen log on to: http://www.byuradio.org

Live stats - fans can follow the game action via stats by clicking on:

http://www.byucougars.com/Schedule.jsp?SP=112&YR=2006

BYU Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

G/F 15 Jennie Keele 5-10 Sr 6.9 3.6 vs. UCR, @ Oregon, @ AF).

-- BYU is 7-1 when outrebounding opponents. (Outrebounded Oregon 37-29 but loss the game by nine points).

-- The Cougars picked up season bests in 3-point field goal percentage .542 (13-24) in the Weber State game on 12/14/06.

-- To date, BYU has shot over 50 percent from the field in two games (vs. Weber State .542 on 12/14/06 and vs. UCR .521 on 12/20/06)

-- The Cougars have had four players score in double figures three times this year: (vs. SCU, @ Harvard, and @ UVSC).

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

-- Team's assist leader - Melinda Johnsen (246), as of 01/07/07

-- 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, the .839 (26-31) free throw percentage was the best for the team so far this season.

-- The 55 total rebounds grabbed in the game vs. CSUN on 12/09/06 are a new season high for the team.

Injury Update -

Freshman point guard Haley Hall is out for the rest of the season. She tore her ACL in her left knee at the New Mexico State game on 12/06/06.

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 the 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:113-56

2006-07: 10-4, 1-0

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

IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE THIS WEEK -

January 10 (Wednesday)

BYU @ UNM - 7 p.m.

January 11 (Thursday)

TCU @ AF - 7 p.m.

Utah @ CSU - 7 p.m.

Wyoming @ UNLV - 7 p.m. (cstv)

January 13 (Saturday)

UNM @ CSU - 2 p.m.

Utah @ UNLV - 3 p.m.

WY @ BYU - 2 p.m.

January 14 (Sunday)

AF @ SDSU - 2 p.m. (mtn.)

Cougar MWC Season Honors to date for 2006-07

Player of the Week - Mallary Gillespie (Dec. 18, 2006)

Player of the Week - Shawnee Slade (Nov. 12, 2006)

Cougars in the MWC Stats (as of 01/07/07)

Team Stats All Games MWC Games

Scoring Offense 6th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd

Scoring Defense 2nd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

Scoring Margin .4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd

Free Throw % . 8th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9th

Field Goal % . 3rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd

Field Goal % Defense . . .1st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4th

3-PT Field Goal % . . . 4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4th

3-PT Field Goal % Defense 4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

Rebounding Offense . . 4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8th

Rebounding Defense 3rd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5th

Rebounding Margin . 2nd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7th

Blocked Shots .3rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

Assists . . . 1st . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd

Steals . . . . 4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4th

Turnover Margin . 8th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

Assist/Turnover Ratio . .5th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rd

Offensive Rebounds . . .6th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5tht

Defensive Rebounds . . .4th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8tht

3-PT Field Goals Made . .3rd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st

Individual Stats All Games MWC Games

Scoring . . .11th D. Wright (12.9) . . . . . . . . . 10tht D. Wright (13.0)

16th M. Gillespie (11.8). . . . . . . . . . . . 10tht S. Slade (13.0)

Rebounding . . 9th D. Wright (6.2) . . .n/a

n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2ndt L. Riley (11.0)

Field Goal % .1st D. Wright (.655) . . . . . . 1st D. Wright (.75

n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6tht J. Keele (.600)

n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11tht S. Slade (.500)

Assists . . . 4th M. Johnsen (3.71) . . . . . . n/a

13th M. Gillespie (2.79) . . . . . . . . .6tht M. Gillespie (3.00)

15th J. Keele (2.64) . . . . . . 2ndt J. Keele (5.00)

. n/a . . . . . . . . .. . 6tht S. Slade (3.00)

Free Throw % . 13th D. Wright (.638) . . . . n/a

n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15tht M. Gillespie (.667)

Steals . . .6th M. Johnsen (1.71) . . . n/a

. 7th S. Slade (1.64) . . . . . .1st S. Slade (4.00)

15th Jennie Keele (1.43) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7tht J. Keele (2.00)

3-PT Field Goal % 12th M. Gillespie (.337). . n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st M. Johnsen (1.000) . . . . n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3rdt J. Keele (.500). . . n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15tht S. Slade (.250)

3-PT Field Goals Made .4th M. Gillespie (2.07) . 1tht M. Gillespie (1.00) n/a . . . . . . . . 3rdt J. Keele (2.00)

n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11tht S. Slade (1.00)

n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11tht M. Johnsen (1.00)

Blocked Shots 10tht L. Riley (0.79) . . . . . . . . . 1stt L. Riley (2.00)

10tht D. Wright (0.79) . . . . . . . . . 1stt D. Wright (2.00)

. . n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5tht S. Slade (1.00)

. n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5tht C. King (1.00)

Assist/Turnover Ratio . . .1st M.Johnsen (1.68) . . . .n/a

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1st J. Keele (5.00 . . . . . n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6tht S. Slade (1.5. . . n/a . . . . .10tht M. Gillespie (1.00)

Offensive Rebounds . 4th D. Wright (2.86) . . . . . . 8tht D. Wright (2.0 . . . . 11th L. Riley (2.21) . . . . . . . . . . 2nd L. Riley (4.00)

Defensive Rebounds .12th S. Slade (3.86) . n/a

. . n/a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3rdt L. Riley (7.00)

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S MWC OPPONENTS

NEW MEXICO - Albuquerque (01/10/07)

In the first week of the league play the Lobos have narrowly lost both conference games a three-point 54-51 loss at Wyoming and then just a one-point 49-48 deficit hosting Utah on Sunday. On the year, New Mexico has compiled a 10-5 record and is 7-1 at home. The team returns three starters and a total of seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 22-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Two players are scoring in double figures for New Mexico so far this year. Senior guard Julie Briody leads the way with 17.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. She's followed by 6-1 junior forward Dionne Marsh who is contributing to the scoring effort with 14.1 points and grabs a team high 6.1 boards a game. Don Flanagan begins his 12th season with the Lobos.

NEW MEXICO Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 15 Tomo E-Nunu 6-0 Sr 2.2 4.3

F 33 Dionne Marsh 6-0 Jr 14.1 6.1

G 13 Katie Montgomery 5-11 Sr 9.9 4.6

G 40 Julie Briody 6-0 Sr 17.0 5.2

G 41 Brandi Kimble 5-8 Jr 7.7 5.8

Stat Comparisons BYU NM

Field Goals: .431 .397

Free Throws: .613 .717

Three-Pointers: .319 .322

Points Per Game: 62.4 65.1

Rebounds Per Game: 39.2 38.5

Series Record

The series between these two league teams stands at 36-20 in favor of BYU. When playing at "The Pit" the Cougars have a 10-15 record, not having won there since a 79-72 victory on Feb. 3, 2001 during the 2000-01 regular season.

Last Meeting

In last year's conference race, each team won on their home courts. In Provo on Feb. 2, the Cougar victory was 60-55 while in Albuquerque, the Lobos won 74-49.

WYOMING - Provo (01/13/07)

With the first week of league play concluded, the Cowgirls are 1-0 in conference games and 10-3 overall. They upset New Mexico 54-51 in Laramie on Jan. 4. This week they are at UNLV on Thurs., Jan. 11 before making the trip to Provo for Saturday's game with the Cougars. On the season, Wyoming has an explosive offensive presence with four players scoring in double figures. Junior forward Justyna Podziemska leads the way with team highs in points 15.3 and in rebounds with 7.1 per contest. Another junior forward Hanna Zavecz follows with 14.8 points and 4.3 boards. Close behind is Jodi Bolerjack who contributes 12.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Rounding out the double figure scoring is Megan McGuffey who is tallying 10.6 points and 3.6 rebounds a contest. The Cowgirls are coached by Joe Legerski who is in his fourth season with the women's program.

WYOMING Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 05 Hanna Zavecz 6-0 Jr 14.8 4.3

F 25 Justyna Podziemska 6-2 Jr 15.3 7.1

C 33 Elizabeth Dissen 6-1 So 3.9 4.5

G 02 Jodi Bolerjack 5-9 Jr 12.5 3.5

G 12 Dominique Sisk 5-10 Jr 7.7 3.1

Stat Comparisons BYU WY

Field Goals: .431 .447

Free Throws: .613 .777

Three-Pointers: .319 .386

Points Per Game: 62.4 69.0

Rebounds Per Game: 39.2 34.2

Series Record

The series between these two teams is 41-18 favoring BYU. At the Marriott Center, the Cowgirls have a 7-15 record.

Last Meeting

Last season each team won on the opponents home court. In the first meeting in Laramie, BYU won 60-44 on Jan. 18. Then in Provo, Wyoming won 57-56 on Feb. 18.

Cougar Travel Plans - Albuquerque, NM

Flights: Tues., Jan. 9 - Delta #3802, departs SLC at 4:47 p.m., arrives in Albuquerque at 6:21 p.m.

Thurs., Jan. 11 - Delta #3981, departs Albuquerque at 10:35 a.m., arrives in SLC at 12:11 p.m.

Hotel: Albuquerque Marriott, 2101 Louisiana Blvd., NE, 505-881-6800, 505-888-2982, 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 emaill. She travels to all of the away games. Office phone is 801-422-4908, cell phone is 801-372-0989 and email is norma_collett@byu.edu

Up Next

The defending 2006 MWC Regular Season Champs Cougars continue MWC action hosting Colorado State on Thurs., Jan. 18 at 7 p.m., and UNLV on Sat., Jan. 20 in a 2 p.m., tip off.