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LAS -- A tough comeback almost succeeded, but the Cougars fell to UNLV in the first round of the Mountain West Conference championship tournament 66-58 in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

“I want to give UNLV a lot of credit,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “They came out early and were crisp attacking the basket. We got ourselves in a hole but I’m proud of my team for coming back, not just once but several times.”

UNLV scored first and led the entire game, though the Cougars would keep it close throughout the first twenty minutes. BYU cut the Rebel lead to two, 19-17, at the 8:27 mark of the first half, but went into halftime trailing 31-26.

The Rebels slowly stretched their lead in the second half, going up by as many as 16 points. BYU would cut the lead to four, 61-57 with just over a minute left on a Coriann Wood free-throw, but was not able to catch UNLV.

“We came back and had a chance to win this game,” said Judkins. “We’ve done a great job fighting back and showing a lot of character but we haven’t been able to finish. I’m proud of my team and their effort.”

Rebels Shamela Hampton and Jamie Smith each had a game-high 18 points. Shawnee Slade led BYU with 15 points. Smith also had 15 rebounds to lead all players. Cassie King had seven boards, a team-high for the Cougars. Stephanie Buhler tied a career-high with nine points on 3-of-8 eight shooting from behind the three-point arc.

Slade was the only Cougar in double-figures. Jazmine Foreman had four steals for BYU.

BYU outscored UNLV in the paint 22-10. The Rebels out-rebounded the Cougars 40-31.

Official Basketball Box Score
UNLV vs Brigham Young
03/10/09 7:00 PM at Las Vegas, Nev. (Thomas and Mack Center)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: UNLV 13-17
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
11 SMITH, Jamie........ f  4-9    3-6    7-8    8  7 15   3  18  2  2  1  1  40
24 HAMPTON, Shamela.... c  4-10   0-0   10-12   1  6  7   3  18  1  4  0  1  33
05 HALBERG, Brittany... g  1-5    1-4    0-0    1  3  4   2   3  3  3  0  1  31
15 HELMS, Erica........ g  4-11   2-6    4-6    0  0  0   1  14  3  2  0  5  35
32 CHANEY, India....... g  4-10   1-2    1-1    0  4  4   2  10  2  1  0  1  25
10 HOLIDAY, Allison....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  1  0  0   8
25 JUPITER, Raquel.....    0-2    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   1   0  0  1  0  0   8
33 OBERG, Shannon......    1-5    1-4    0-0    2  2  4   2   3  0  1  0  0  20
   TEAM................                         1  3  4             2
   Totals..............   18-53   8-22  22-27  15 25 40  14  66 12 17  1  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-33 36.4%   2nd Half:  6-20 30.0%   Game: 34.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-11 27.3%   2nd Half:  5-11 45.5%   Game: 36.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-5  80.0%   2nd Half: 18-22 81.8%   Game: 81.5%    4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Brigham Young 18-11
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
45 MOEAKI, Keilani..... f  2-4    0-0    0-0    2  0  2   0   4  0  1  0  0  19
54 KING, Cassie........ c  2-9    0-0    3-4    1  6  7   3   7  0  0  1  0  26
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine.... g  2-5    1-3    2-3    0  1  1   5   7  4  6  0  4  31
22 NIELSON, Mindy...... g  2-5    0-2    0-0    0  6  6   0   4  1  5  1  2  32
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... g  6-13   1-3    2-2    2  1  3   4  15  3  0  1  1  34
01 JACKSON, Jenteal....    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
14 HOSTETTER, Sarah R..    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   7
21 BUHLER, Stephanie...    3-9    3-8    0-0    0  1  1   0   9  0  2  0  1  13
23 WOOD, Coriann.......    2-6    1-4    4-4    1  1  2   4   9  2  2  2  2  21
35 RILEY, Kristen......    1-2    0-1    1-2    2  3  5   3   3  1  0  1  0  14
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   20-54   6-22  12-15  10 21 31  20  58 11 16  6 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-24 45.8%   2nd Half:  9-30 30.0%   Game: 37.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-9  33.3%   2nd Half:  3-13 23.1%   Game: 27.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  1-2  50.0%   2nd Half: 11-13 84.6%   Game: 80.0%    2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Shelly Nakazone, Michael Price, Clarke Stevens
Technical fouls: UNLV-None. Brigham Young-None.
Attendance: 4113
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
UNLV..........................   31   35  -   66
Brigham Young.................   26   32  -   58
Points in the paint-UNLV 10,BY 22. Points off turnovers-UNLV 19,BY 16.
2nd chance points-UNLV 14,BY 9. Fast break points-UNLV 0,BY 2.
Bench points-UNLV 3,BY 21. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-UNLV 2nd-02:22, BY 2nd-04:33.
Largest lead-UNLV by 16 2nd-10:00, BY None.

Colorado Spring, Colo. (Mar. 8, 2009) – BYU’s women’s basketball team will enter the 2009 Conoco Women’s Basketball Championships as the No. 6 seed and will battle No. 7 seed UNLV in First Round action Tuesday, Mar. 10 at 7 p.m. PDT.

The Cougars (18-10) tied with Wyoming (16-13) for fifth place with identical 8-8 records. Due to the tie-breaking procedures, the Cowgirls got the fifth seed. The teams split in the regular season, but Wyoming posed at 1-1 mark vs. San Diego State, compared to BYU’s 0-2 record vs. the Aztecs.

UNLV finished the regular season with a (12-11, 5-11) record and comes into the championship as the No. 7 seed.

Cougar fans can purchase All Session and Single Session tickets for the Mountain West Conference Women’s Basketball Championship at the Thomas & Mack Center box office or by going online to www.unlvtickets.com

Battle For MWC Championship Title Begins vs. UNLV

BYU’s women’s basketball team begins its chase for the 2009 Conoco MWC Championships crown on Tues. Mar. 10. The Cougars (18-10, 8-8) are the No. 6 seed and will play UNLV (12-17, 5-11), the No. 7 seed at 7 p.m. PDT at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Game Information

When: 3/10/09 Where: @ UNLV Tip: 7 p.m.PDT Arena:Thomas & Mack Ctr.

Broadcast Plans

Internet: Live audio streaming is available on the internet for all of the games from the MWC Tournament 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 6.8 4.1

22 Mindy Nielson G 5-10 So 10.7 3.9

32 Shawnee Slade F 5-11 Sr 9.6 4.0

23 Coriann Wood F 6-1 So 6.4 4.9

54 Cassie King C 6-3 Sr 7.9 6.0

Off the Bench

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

45 Keilani Moeaki F 6-2 So 5.4 2.8

35 Kristen Riley C 6-3 Fr 3.4 3.6

14 Sarah Hostetter G/F 5-11 Sr 2.6 1.0

24 Dani Peterson F 6-1 Fr 2.0 1.5

21 Stephanie Buhler F 6-1 Fr (rs) 2.0 0.1

55 Megan Marks F 6-3 So 1.4 1.6

01 Jenteal Jackson G 5-7 Fr 1.0 0.6

13 Jaime Judkins G 5-6 Jr 0.9 0.3

2008-09 Cougar Stats Summary --

-- Shooting from the field: (.372, 615-1652)

-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.688, 253-368)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.274, 136-496)

-- Average points per game: 57.8

-- Average rebounds per game: 37.8

-- Average assists per game: 13.6

-- Average steals per game: 9.3

-- Average blocks per game: 3.5

-- Average turnovers per game: 16.4

BYU History In MWC Championships

-- The Cougar women have advanced to the championship game in six of the 10 years of the conference tournaments. BYU won the title in 2002 defeating UNLV 61-46 at the Thomas & Mack Center. That same year, the team went on to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.

-- BYU has never entered the MWC Championships lower than the six seed.

-- During last year’s MWC tournament in Las Vegas, the Cougars were the No.5 seed and lost to eventual tournament champions New Mexico in the quarterfinals by a 41-59 score.

-- Overall MWC Tournament Record: 14-8 (.605)

-- Championships won: One (2002)

-- Head Coach Jeff Judkins record in MWC Championships: 10-6 (.625)

Previous Seeds:

BYU in 2008 – 5th

BYU in 2007 – 1st

BYU in 2006 - 1st

BYU in 2005 - 1st

BYU in 2004 - 6th

BYU in 2003 - 5th

BYU in 2002 - 3rd

BYU in 2001 - 4th

BYU in 2000 - 2nd

Record based on tournament seed:

Seed Record

No. 1 4-2

No. 2 2-1

No. 3 4-1

No. 4 2-1

No. 5 2-2

No. 6 0-1

Record by round:

In first round: 5-1*

Semifinals (pre-2006): 4-1

In Second Round (since 2006): 2-1

In Semifinals (since 2006): 2-0

In Championships: 1-5

*Prior to three-round format instituted in 2006

Record vs. MWC Foes

Team Record

Air Force Academy: 1-0

Colorado State: 3-1

New Mexico: 1-3

San Diego State: 1-0

TCU: 1-0

UNLV: 3-1

Utah: 3-3

Wyoming: 1-0

2009 Conoco MWC Women’s Basketball Champs.

March 10 (Tuesday) Time (TV)

Gm #1 - #4 UNM vs. #9 AFA 2:05 p.m.

Gm #2 - #5 WY vs. #8 CSU 4:35 p.m.

Gm #3 - #6 BYU vs. #7 UNLV 7:05 p.m.

March 11 (Wednesday) Time (TV)

Gm #5 - Gm#1 & Gm#2 Winners 4:35 p.m. (The Mtn.)

Gm #6 - Gm#3 Winner vs. #3 TCU 7:05 p.m. (The Mtn.)

March 13 (Friday) Time (TV)

Gm #11 - Gm5 winner vs. #1 Utah 12:05 p.m. (The Mtn.)

Gm #12 - Gm6 winner vs. #2 SDSU 2:35 p.m. (The Mtn.)

March 14 (Saturday) Time (TV)

Gm #15 Championship 1:05 p.m. (Versus)

2009 MWC Championships First Round Opponent

UNLV

The UNLV Rebels are the no. 7 seed with a 12-17, 5-11 record under first-year head coach Kathy Olivier. Topping the list in scoring is senior center Shamela Hampton who is averaging 14.1 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. She’s followed by Erica Helms who contributes an average of 10.4 points and 2.1 boards with Jamie Smith tallying 10.1 points and a team high 9.2 boards per contest. Helms leads the team assists dishing out 81 to date. Smith has team highs in steals and blocks with 48 and 25 respectively.

UNLV Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

11 Jamie Smith F 6-0 Fr 10.1 9.2

24 Shamela Hampton C 6-3 Sr 14.1 8.4

01 Dominique Harris G 5-7 Sr 7.0 4.0

05 Brittany Halberg G 5-7 Sr 7.3 2.0

15 Erica Helms G 5-7 So 10.4 2.1

Stat Comparison

Category BYU LV

Points: 57.8 63.3

FG: .372 .376

FT: .688 .679

3FG: .274 .309

Reb: 37.8 39.8

Series Information

Record: BYU leads the series 23-11. In the MWC tournament, BYU edges UNLV 3-1. The two teams played in first round action in 2001 with a 62-54 Cougar victory. In the 2002 championship game, BYU won 61-46. At the 2003 tournament, the Cougars picked up a 66-64 (ot) win in first round play. UNLV’s lone win in the championships was in 2004 where the Rebels won 60-57 in first round action.

First Meeting in 2009 - Las Vegas, NV on 1/21/09.

Score: 67-62 in favor of BYU

Cassie King’s career-high 19 points and 13 rebounds helped the Cougars come from behind to defeat UNLV 67-62. The double-double was King’s first ever. BYU’s tough defense held UNLV without a bucket for nearly four minutes down the stretch. Nielson hit a three-point shot to put the Cougars up three, 63-60, with 1:24 left.

Key Stats in 1st game BYU UNLV

Field Goal Percentage 26-of-71 (37%) (23-of-54) 43%

Free-Throw Percentage 10-of-12 (83%) 12-of-19 (63%)

Three-point Percentage 5-of-19 (26%) 4-of-13 (31%)

Rebounds 44 39

Second Meeting in 2009 - Provo, Utah on 2/21/09

Score: 53-52 for the Cougars

A big halftime lead for BYU was cut by a determined UNLV squad but the Cougars prevailed as a Cassie King putback sealed the 53-52 victory. Down 51-52 following a three-pointer by the Rebels’ Brittany Halberg with just 11 seconds left, BYU guard Jazmine Foreman drove to the basket and missed the layup, but King found position under the hoop to pull down the rebound and flip it over her shoulder for the game-winning shot. Mindy Nielson led the Cougars with 13 points with Coriann Wood and King contributing 10 and 9 points, respectively.

Key Stats in 2nd game BYU UNLV

Field Goal Percentage 21-of-56 (38%) 17-of-47 (36%)

Free-Throw Percentage 7-of-10 (70%) 13-of-19 (68%)

Three-point Percentage 4-of-17 (24%) 5-of-12 (42%)

Rebounds 39 33

2009 MWC Championships Quarterfinal Opponent

TCU

The Horned Frogs are the third seed in the tournament and get a first round bye. They finished the MWC race with a 20-9, 12-4 record. Three players score in double digits for TCU led by Helena Sverrisdottir’s 16.0 points and a team high 7.2 rebounds per game, and has dished out a record 137 assists on the season. She’s followed by TK LaFleur who puts in 14.7 points, grabs 5.6 boards a game and has a strong defensive presence getting 60 steals to date. Rounding out the double scoring threat is Emily Carter who contributes 11.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest.

TCU Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

15 Emily Carter F 6-1 So 11.4 3.7

55 Micaela Younger C 6-3 Sr 1.6 1.8

41 Rachel Rentschler F 6-2 So 7.9 5.4

04 Helena Sverrisdottir F 6-1 So 16.0 7.2

12 TK LaFleur G 5-8 Jr 14.7 5.6

Stat Comparison

Category BYU TCU

Points: 57.8 69.5

FG: .372 .404

FT: .688 .778

3FG: .274 .373

Reb: 37.8 37.4

Series Information

Record: BYU leads the series 8-6. When playing on a neutral court, the record favors BYU 1-0. The last time these two met in the MWC tournament, the Cougars won 63-53 in a 2006 semifinal game.

First Meeting in 2009 - Ft. Worth, TX on 1/13/09

Score: 62-46 in favor of BYU

Consistently strong defense and another strong offensive performance from Mindy Nielson helped BYU win their tenth-straight game, as they beat TCU 62-46. Nielson led all scorers with 22 points. Guard Jazmine Foreman had nine boards, a new career high, to go with her nine points and six assists. Stephanie Buhler went 2-of-7 from the three-point arc; her six points also tied a career-high.

Key Stats in 1st game BYU TCU

Field Goal Percentage: 25-of-62 (40%) (11-of-49) 22%

Free-Throw Percentage: 7-of-10 (70%) 21-of-27 (71%)

Three-point Percentage: 5-of-24 (21%) 3-of-16 (19%)

Rebounds: 43 35

Second Meeting in 2009 - Provo, Utah on 2/14/09

Score: 75-55 in favor of TCU

Despite recording a season-high nine three-pointers, BYU dropped a 75-55 contest to TCU. Freshman Stephanie Buhler led BYU with a career-high nine points, all three-point shot attempts. Sophomore point guard Jazmine Foreman brought down nine rebounds to lead the Cougars. Field goals by King and Mindy Nielson brought the Cougars to within four points, before TCU scored 16 unanswered points over the next five minutes, building its largest lead of the game—20 points.

Key Stats in 2nd game BYU TCU

Field Goal Percentage 19-of-60 (32%) 22-of-59 22%

Free-Throw Percentage 8-of-11 (73%) 22-of-26 (85%)

Three-point Percentage 9-of-34 (27%) 9-of-19 (47%)

Rebounds 39 44

Travel Itinerary - to Las Vegas

The Cougar team departs for Las Vegas on Mon. Mar. 9 via bus at approximately 1 p.m.

Team Hotel: Marriott Courtyard Las Vegas Convention Center, 3275 Paradise Road, 702-791-3600, 702-796-7981.

What’s Next

With wins over UNLV and TCU, the women’s team would next play No. 2 seed SDSU on Fri., Mar. 13 at 2:30 p.m.

The winner of the women’s championship gets an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.