PROVO -- The BYU women’s basketball team hosted the nation's best on Tuesday, falling to No. 1 Connecticut 96-47 in front of a season-high Marriott Center crowd of 3,109. With the loss the Cougars fall to 2-2 on the season. UConn is the highest ranked team BYU has ever faced at home in the Marriott Center.
“This team’s still got fire,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “We feel this was a good thing for us to get better and realize what we have to aim for, that’s why we scheduled this game. You can really find what your team’s all about by playing a team like this.”
Sophomore Mindy Nielson led all Cougar scorers with 14 points while fellow sophomore Keilani Moeaki also scored in double-figures for BYU with 10 points. Sophomore point guard Jazmine Foreman’s six assists led the Cougars.
As a team the Cougars knocked down 7-of-8 free throws (87 percent), the second best free-throw percentage for BYU this season.
After quickly finding themselves down 5-0 in the opening minute of the game, the Cougars got on the scoreboard after a make by Moeaki. Foreman’s steal a few possessions later resulted in a UConn foul on the opposite end of the floor. On the ensuing play, BYU tied the game at 7-7 on a layup by Nielson.
The Cougar defense held the Huskies scoreless for over two minutes, until a UConn three-pointer with 15:23 remaining in the first half. Trips to the free-throw line for both teams kept the point differential to only three points. The Huskies followed with a 16-4 run to put them up 28-13 with just over six minutes to play in the half.
Back-to-back makes from beyond the arc by Foreman and Nielson closed the Husky lead to 13 points, but consecutive steals by UConn resulted in two fast-break layups. Despite a 20-point lead, the Cougars continued to compete, closing the first half with a three-point buzzer-beater by Nielson. The teams entered the halftime break with the Huskies up 47-29.
“We did some really good things early in the game,” said Judkins. “I thought we competed well in the first half. The one thing about Connecticut that I was impressed with was they played 40 minutes. We couldn’t keep up with their intensity and what they do.”
Nielson scored the first basket of the second half but the Cougars couldn’t keep up as UConn went on a 31-4 run to get up 83-38. Sophomore Megan Marks scored from beneath the basket with 7:36 remaining in the game, and was soon followed by a three-pointer by sophomore Coriann Wood.
The Cougars will resume their schedule after the Thanksgiving holiday, hosting Southern Utah on Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center.
Official Basketball Box ScoreUCONN Huskies vs Brigham Young
11-25-08 7:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR BYU PROVO UT
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VISITORS: UCONN Huskies 4-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
23 MOORE, Maya......... f 7-9 3-4 0-0 3 11 14 2 17 7 1 3 2 24
31 CHARLES, Tina....... c 6-8 0-0 1-1 1 3 4 3 13 0 3 1 0 17
05 DOTY, Caroline...... g 2-5 1-4 0-0 0 2 2 1 5 4 0 0 1 18
20 MONTGOMERY, Renee... g 7-10 5-6 0-0 1 1 2 2 19 2 1 0 0 25
32 GREENE, KALANA...... g 5-9 1-3 0-1 1 2 3 1 11 2 3 0 1 21
02 WILLIAMS, Tahirah... 1-3 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 3 2 3 1 0 0 14
03 HAYES, Tiffany...... 2-4 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 5 3 1 1 0 23
13 FERNANDES, Jacquie.. 0-2 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 8
22 GARDLER, Meghan..... 0-1 0-1 1-2 1 4 5 1 1 1 1 0 0 12
30 DIXON, Lorin........ 3-5 1-1 4-5 1 3 4 2 11 2 2 0 0 16
41 MCLAREN, Kaili...... 4-5 0-0 2-3 1 0 1 1 10 1 1 0 0 13
51 KERNS, Cassie....... 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 1 1 1 1 9
TEAM................ 1 3 4
Totals.............. 38-63 12-23 8-12 13 33 46 16 96 26 17 6 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 19-35 54.3% 2nd Half: 19-28 67.9% Game: 60.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-15 46.7% 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 52.2% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 6-7 85.7% Game: 66.7% 0
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young 2-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... f 1-9 1-2 0-0 2 2 4 0 3 2 1 0 0 24
45 MOEAKI, Keilani..... f 4-8 0-2 2-3 0 1 1 2 10 0 4 0 0 23
54 KING, Cassie........ c 1-3 0-0 1-1 1 2 3 2 3 0 2 1 0 16
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine.... g 2-7 2-3 0-0 1 2 3 2 6 6 3 0 1 28
22 NIELSON, Mindy...... g 6-11 2-4 0-0 0 1 1 2 14 0 4 0 1 29
01 JACKSON, Jenteal.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 9
13 JUDKINS, Jaime...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 9
14 HOSTETTER, Sarah R.. 0-3 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 11
21 BUHLER, Stephanie... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 5
23 WOOD, Coriann....... 2-6 1-3 4-4 2 1 3 4 9 0 0 0 0 18
24 PETERSON, Dani...... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5
35 RILEY, Kristen...... 0-9 0-3 0-0 1 1 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 18
55 MARKS, Megan........ 1-2 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 2 2 0 2 0 0 5
TEAM................ 4 3 7
Totals.............. 17-60 6-19 7-8 11 16 27 20 47 11 20 3 4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-29 34.5% 2nd Half: 7-31 22.6% Game: 28.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 2-10 20.0% Game: 31.6% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 2-2 100 % Game: 87.5% 0
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Officials: MELISSA BARLOW, CLARKE STEVENS, LISA JONES
Technical fouls: UCONN Huskies-None. Brigham Young-None.
Attendance: 3109
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
UCONN Huskies................. 47 49 - 96
Brigham Young................. 29 18 - 47
OFFICIAL FINAL
After a decisive 67-45 win over Pac-10 foe Oregon, BYU’s women’s basketball team (2-1) gets set to host the nation’s No. 1 ranked UConn Huskies (3-0), Tues. Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. Then on Fri., Nov. 28 instate foe Southern Utah (0-3) comes to the Marriott Center for a 7 p.m. contest.
Game Information
When: 11/25/08 vs: UConn Tip: 7 p.m. Arena: Marriott Ctr.
When: 11/28/08 vs: SUU Tip: 7 p.m. Arena: Marriott Ctr.
Broadcast Plans
Television: Tuesday’ game vs. UConn will air live on BYUTV. Jarom Jordan and Kristin Kozlowski will call the action.
Internet: Audio streaming is available for both games via the internet at BYU Radio with Jay Monsen calling the action. A link is available by going to http://www.byucougars.com/basketball_w/
Stats: Live stats through GameTracker are available as well. A link is available by logging on to the BYU women’s basketball home page at http://www.byucougars.com/basketball_w/
BYU Probable Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
03 Jazmine Foreman G 5-5 So 7.3 2.7
22 Mindy Nielson G 5-10 So 14.3 3.0
32 Shawnee Slade F 5-11 Sr 13.0 4.7
45 Keilani Moeaki F 6-2 So 8.0 3.7
54 Cassie King C 6-3 Sr 7.3 7.0
Off the Bench
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
23 Coriann Wood F 6-1 So 6.0 3.7
14 Sarah Hostetter G/F 5-11 Sr 5.0 0.7
35 Kristen Riley C 6-3 Fr 3.3 3.7
24 Dani Peterson F 6-1 Fr 1.3 1.3
01 Jenteal Jackson G 5-7 Fr 1.0 2.5
13 Jaime Judkins G 5-6 Jr 0.7 0.3
55 Megan Marks F 6-3 So 0.0 0.7
21 Stephanie Buhler F 6-1 Fr (rs) 0.0 0.0
2008-09 Cougar Stats Summary --
-- Shooting from the field: (.418, 79-189)
-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.745, 35-47)
-- Shooting from three-point line: (.365, 19-52)
-- Average points per game: 70.7
-- Average assists per game: 14.0
-- Average steals per game: 9.7
-- Average blocks per game: 3.7
-- Average turnovers per game: 15.7
Team Summary for 2008-09
The Cougars return 12 letterwinners and two starters.
-- Three seniors: Shawnee Slade, Cassie King and Sarah Red Hostetter. Slade, who started in every game last year, was second on the team in both scoring and rebounding averaging 7.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. King, a 6-3 center played in all games with an average of 4.7 points and 2.7 boards per contest. Red-Hostetter played in 21 games last year and averaged 2.7 points per game.
-- Key returners include Mindy Nielson and Haley Hall. Nielson started in 19 games last year and averaged 7.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and led the team in assists with a total of 80 for an 2.8 average. Point-guard Haley Hall is out the rest of this season after suffering a torn ACL to her right knee at the Portland State game on 11/14/08. Hall played in seven games during the 2006-07 season before an ACL injury ended the season. After a year of rehabilitation, Hall was set to return to her point-guard spot in 2007-08, but reinjured the same knee and did not play last year.
-- Jaime Judkins is the lone junior on the squad. She will be relied on to continue her hard working attitude and strong play this year.
-- Four additional sophomores: Jazmine Foreman, Megan Marks, Keilani Moeaki and Coriann Wood. The four return after playing significant minutes as freshmen and learning to compete at the college level.
-- The six newcomers include Stephanie Buhler, a 6-0 freshman forward who redshirted last season.
-- 2008-09 Freshman Class:
Jenteal Jackson, a 5-7 guard from Salt Lake City and Skyline HS
Alexis Kaufusi, a 6-1 forward from Provo and Timpview HS
Dani Peterson, a 6-1 forward from Salt Lake City and Skyline HS
Kristen Riley, a 6-3 forward from San Clemente, CA and San Clemente HS. Riley’s older sister Lauren played four seasons on the BYU program, graduating in 2008.
Last Game
The 2008-09 campaign opened at home last Friday night as the Cougars hosted Pac-10 foe Oregon with BYU picking up the 67-45 victory. With the win, coach Jeff Judkins improved to 7-1 in home openers. It was a night for the three BYU seniors to shine as Shawnee Slade topped the leader board in scoring on the night with a game and team high 17 points. Cassie King grabbed a season and career high 10 boards, while Sara Hostetter contributed with 13 points for season and career highs. The Cougars enjoyed a 14-point 38-24 halftime lead and finished the game shooting 43 percent from the field and 44 percent from the free throw line. They held Oregon to 25 percent shooting from the field, and outrebounded the Ducks by two, 43 to 41.
Injury Report
Near the conclusion of the game at Portland St., sophomore point-guard Haley Hall suffered a season ending injury to her right knee. She has a torn ACL. Hall has had two other ACL injuries both on her left knee prior to the 2008-09 season.
-- Of Note in 2008-09 --
TEAM
-- The Cougars host the nation's No. 1 ranked UConn Huskies on Tuesday, Nov. 25. They will be the highest ranked women's basketball team to ever play in the Marriott Center and the highest ranked team that BYU has ever played.
-- Five players scored in double digits in the game at Nevada on Nov. 18.
-- Three players contributed with double figure scoring in two games to date; at Portland St., on 11/14/08 and vs. Oregon on 11/21/08.
-- So far this season, the Cougars have played three games with teams from three different conferences. Portland State, from the Big Sky; Nevada, from the WAC; and Oregon, from the Pac-10. Tuesday’s game vs. UConn will be the fourth team from the fourth conference. The Huskies are from the Big East Conference.
-- In the victory at Nevada, BYU was perfect from the line in the first half going 9-9, and finished the game making 17 of 18.
-- With the 67-45 victory over Oregon on Fri., Nov. 21, coach Jeff Judkins improved to 7-1 in home openers.
PLAYER
-- Sophomore guard Mindy Nielson picked up new season and career highs in points with 27 at Nevada on 11/18/08. She was also 9-10 from the free throw line.
-- Nielson leads the team in points with an average of 14.3 points per game. She also tops the leader board in assists, dishing out 11 to date.
-- Senior center Cassie King tops the team’s list in the rebound category, grabbing 7.0 boards per game.
Special Promotions for UConn Game on Tues., Nov. 25
All students from any institution, and children get in FREE. Adults get in for $1. Live Band. Acrobatic Dunking Team. Prizes will be given out at every time out. (IPods, BYU apparel, Papa John’s Pizzas, tickets to the men’s game against Wake Forest). Cougarettes. Cheerleaders. Cosmo. NCAA “Pack the House Night.”
This Week’s Cougar Opponents
UConn (Nov. 25, 2008) in Provo, Utah - 7 p.m.
Connecticut will be making its first ever appearance at the Marriott Center this Tuesday night. The Huskies are the nation’s No. 1 ranked women’s basketball team with a perfect 3-0 record. They advanced to the Final Four in last year’s NCAA tournament. UConn has six players scoring in double figures led by sophomore forward Maya Moore’s 18.0 points and a team high 8.3 rebounds per game. Tina Charles follows with 17.7 points and 7.3 boards a contest. Next is Renee Montgomery with 14.0, Caroline Doty with 11.3, Tiffany Hayes contributes with 10.7, and Kalana Greene with 10.0. Head Coach Geno Auriemma begins his 24th season with the Huskies.
UConn Probable Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
23 Maya Moore F 6-0 So 18.0 8.3
31 Tina Charles C 6-4 Jr 17.7 7.3
05 Caroline Doty G 5-10 Fr 11.3 4.3
20 Renee Montgomery G 5-7 Sr 14.0 1.7
32 Kalana Greene G 5-10 Jr 10.0 2.7
Stat Comparison
Category BYU UC
Points: 70.7 90.7
FG: .418 .579
FT: .745 .742
3FG: .365 .400
Reb: 37.3 37.7
Series Information
Record: UConn leads the series 1-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 29, 2007. The first meeting between these two school was played last year in Hartford, CT., at the XL Center. In that game, the Huskies defeated the Cougars by a score of 80-34.
Southern Utah University (Nov. 28, 2008) in Provo, Utah - 7 p.m.
SUU has compiled a 0-3 record to date. The team hosts Idaho State Tues., Nov. 25 before Friday night’s contest at the Marriott Center. Challis Pascucci and Caitlyn Sears top the leader board in scoring with each averaging 9.0 points per game. Cassie Jones tops the rebound category grabbing 7.3 boards per contest. Ann Westwood-Higbee leads the team in assists with a total of six so far this year.
SUU Probable Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG
21 Ann Westwood-Higbee F/C 6-1 Sr 7.0 5.7
42 Cassie Jones F 6-3 Fr 3.7 9.7
13 Kaila Goff G 5-8 So 4.7 1.7
23 Cassie Platt G 5-7 Fr 5.3 3.3
32 Caitlyn Sears G 5-10 So 9.0 4.7
Stat Comparison
Category BYU SUU
Points: 70.7 53.0
FG: .418 .345
FT: .745 .646
3FG: .365 .195
Reb: 37.3 48.3
Series Information
Record: BYU leads the series 15-3
Last Meeting: Nov. 19, 2004. These two instate foes last met in 2004 where BYU got the 20-point 76-56 victory. In Provo, the Thunderbirds have a 2-8 record with their last win at the Marriott Center on Dec.30, 2003, two-point 72-70 win. Head Coach Jeff Judkins has a 3-1 over SUU.
What’s Next
BYU begins the month of December on the road, playing in Hawaii on Dec. 5-6 at the Seasider Challenge. The Cougars will play Wright State on Fri., Dec. 5 and USC on Sat., Dec. 6. Both games will be played on the BYU-Hawaii campus at the Cannon Activity Center. Tip off for the games are at 1 p.m., and 4 p.m., respectively.