PROVO -- The BYU women's basketball team outrebounded the Lobos 39-34, but were unable to come up with a victory, as they dropped a heartbreaking three-point, 57-60 decision to New Mexico, Wednesday.

“We fought back three times but just couldn’t make it over the hump,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “We had some good opportunities to score, but we need to get more focused if we are to pull off big wins. We need to gather our thoughts and bounce back.”

Despite the loss, the Cougars (13-5, 4-2) were led by Mindy Bonham with 18 points; a season high in conference play. Alexis Kaufusi tallied her second career double-double as she scored 10 points and 11 rebounds. The 11 boards tie her season and career high.

BYU battled for every possession in the first half shooting 43 percent from the field and cutting a 15-point New Mexico lead to just six points at the end of the half, down 29-35.

Junior guard Bonham had ten points, four rebounds and two assists in the first period. Alexis Kaufusi also helped keep the Cougars energized with six points of her own and seven boards including three offensive snags. BYU scored 10 points in the paint to the Lobos two.

The second half began with a different pace as the Cougars came out and played with a new found ferocity and slowly closed the gap to two points with 8:47 left in the game. After a few possessions with back and forth scoring, New Mexico brought their lead back up to eight, but BYU didn’t give up.

With less than four minutes in the game, BYU took the momentum and forced New Mexico to take a time out. With less than two minutes left, Kristen Riley drove the lane and was fouled sending her to the line to shoot where she made one-of-two.

As the final minute wound down, New Mexico came out of the time out with 47.8 seconds left on the clock and after 30 seconds of fierce Cougar defense, the Lobos took a desperation shot to prevent a shot clock violation leaving 20.7 seconds left in the game for BYU to get another play.

BYU ran its play but the shot was no good. New Mexico’s Amanda Best pulled down the board and was fouled, forcing her to the line. Best made both her shots putting the Lobos ahead by three.

The Cougars play next at Utah on Saturday, and will return to the Marriott Center on Feb. 6 to face UNLV.

Official Basketball Box Score
New Mexico Lobos vs BYU Cougars
01/27/10 7:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO UTAH
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VISITORS: New Mexico Lobos 12-7;4-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
32 BEST, Amanda........ f  5-10   0-2    5-7    1  2  3   3  15  2  0  0  2  25
52 KIELPINSKI, Jessica. f  4-10   2-2    1-2    7  4 11   4  11  2  0  1  1  34
03 WEISSMANN, Eileen... g  1-4    1-4    4-5    1  5  6   1   7  0  1  0  1  23
10 BEGGIN, Amy......... g  2-12   2-4    2-2    1  3  4   1   8  4  2  0  2  40
20 HALASZ, Sara........ g  3-10   0-0    2-6    2  2  4   0   8  2  2  0  1  34
12 NELSON, Nikki.......    1-2    1-2    0-0    0  1  1   1   3  1  0  0  0  11
14 ERSKINE, Jourdan....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   6
22 JACKSON, Georonika..    0-2    0-1    2-2    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   4
23 TORRANCE, Porche....    2-3    1-2    0-0    0  0  0   2   5  2  0  1  1  17
34 KAST, Valerie.......    0-0    0-0    1-2    0  0  0   1   1  1  1  1  0   6
   TEAM................                            4  4
   Totals..............   18-54   7-17  17-26  12 22 34  13  60 14  6  3  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-27 37.0%   2nd Half:  8-27 29.6%   Game: 33.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  7-13 53.8%   2nd Half:  0-4   0.0%   Game: 41.2%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  8-12 66.7%   2nd Half:  9-14 64.3%   Game: 65.4%    4
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 13-5;4-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 RILEY,Kristen....... f  2-4    0-2    4-6    3  4  7   3   8  1  1  0  1  24
45 MOEAKI,Keilani...... f  1-2    0-0    1-2    0  1  1   1   3  0  1  0  0  12
03 FOREMAN,Jazmine..... g  4-10   1-6    0-0    1  2  3   2   9  3  4  0  0  36
22 BONHAM,Mindy........ g  7-13   2-5    2-2    0  5  5   2  18  3  2  0  1  40
33 HALL, Haley......... g  0-4    0-2    0-0    1  3  4   5   0  3  2  0  2  31
10 KAUFUSI, Alexis.....    4-6    0-0    2-2    4  7 11   2  10  1  2  2  0  28
13 JUDKINS,Jaime.......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  0  0  0  0   3
23 WOOD,Coriann........    2-6    0-2    0-2    0  2  2   2   4  1  0  1  0  11
32 PETERSON,Dani.......    1-5    1-2    0-0    0  2  2   2   3  1  2  1  0  15
   TEAM................                         1  3  4
   Totals..............   22-51   4-19   9-14  10 29 39  20  57 13 14  4  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-28 42.9%   2nd Half: 10-23 43.5%   Game: 43.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-8  25.0%   2nd Half:  2-11 18.2%   Game: 21.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half:  6-9  66.7%   Game: 64.3%    2
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Officials: JACK JONES, SCOTTY HERMANN, MICHOL MURRAY
Technical fouls: New Mexico Lobos-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 775
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
New Mexico Lobos..............   35   25  -   60
BYU Cougars...................   29   28  -   57
OFFICIAL FINAL
Points in the paint-NM 10,BY 20. Points off turnovers-NM 10,BY 6.
2nd chance points-NM 7,BY 10. Fast break points-NM 4,BY 2.
Bench points-NM 11,BY 19. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-NM 2nd-03:58, BY 2nd-02:51.
Largest lead-NM by 15 1st-06:06, BY None.

Tied for first place entering this week’s MWC action, the Cougar women (13-4, 4-1) continue league play hosting New Mexico Wed., and playing at Utah Saturday.

The (11-7, 3-3) Lobos visit the Marriott Center on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. That contest can be seen live worldwide on BYU TV.

On Jan. 30, BYU travels to instate rival Utah for a 3 p.m. matchup. It will be the first game in the 2009-10 Deseret First Duel series in women’s basketball.

BYU Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

03 Jazmine Foreman G 5-5 Jr 10.3 3.6

22 Mindy Bonham (Nielson) G 5-10 Jr 11.5 3.9

33 Haley Hall G 5-4 Jr 8.2 3.3

45 Keilani Moeaki F 6-2 Jr 5.0 2.4

35 Kristen Riley C 6-3 So 8.9 5.5

2009-10 Stats Summary

-- Shooting from field: (.440, 442-1004)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.361, 117-324)

-- Shooting from free-throw line: (.646, 173-268)

-- Average points per game: 69.1

-- Average rebounds per game: 39.2

-- Average assists per game: 17.0

-- Average steals per game: 10.4

-- Average blocks per game: 3.4

-- Average turnovers per game: 18.1

Team Starts MWC Race Strong

With a 4-1 record in league play, the Cougar women are off to their best start since the 2006-07 campaign when they began conference play with a 7-1 record, eventually winning the regular season crown with a 12-4 finish. That year they went on to play in the title game before losing to New Mexico. The team went on to play a first round game in the NCAA Tournament.

Cougars in the NCAA Stats (as of Jan. 24, 2010)

Team

-- Scoring Defense - 28th (56.3)

-- Field Goal Percentage - 30th (.443)

-- Rebound Margin - 29th (+6.4)

-- Assists Per Game - 12th (17.1)

-- Assist/Turnover Ratio - 30th (0.94)

Player

-- Assist/Turnover Ratio - Haley Hall, 16th (2.29)

Tracking BYU Bench (as of 1/24/10)

- The Cougar bench continues to play a key role on the team this season. In points, the BYU bench has scored a total of 226 points to opponents 121. In the rebound category, the Cougar reserves have grabbed a total of 329 boards compared with 213 for the opponents.

- In the nonconference games, the most points scored by the BYU bench were 18 vs. SUU on 11/24/09. In that game the Thunderbirds bench scored seven points. In the steals category, the Cougar bench had seven while SUU had none.

- In nonconference contests, the Cougar bench grabbed 37 rebounds vs. Hawaii on 12/5/09. The Rainbow Wahine bench grabbed 17, and in that same game BYU had seven assists to Hawaii’s five.

- After five league games, the BYU reserves have scored 110 points to 49 for conference foes. In the rebound category, the Cougars grabbed 53 to 32 boards.

Player Injury Report

Freshman guard Kim Parker suffered a season ending injury in the game at Weber State. She has torn ligaments in her left foot.

Sophomore guard Jenteal Jackson will apply for a medical redshirt for this year due to an on-going back problem.

Freshman To Redshirt

Stephanie Vermunt, a 6-0 freshman guard/forward from Airdrie, Alberta, Canada will redshirt the 2009-10 season.

Team Captains

Senior Jaime Judkins and junior Haley Hall have been selected by their teammates as co-captains for the 2009-10 season.

THIS WEEK’S MWC COUGAR OPPONENTS

UNIV. OF NEW MEXICO - Wed. Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. MST (Provo, UT) - Marriott Center

The University of New Mexico comes to Provo with an 11-7, 3-3 record and is in fifth place in this week’s MWC standings. In league play they’ve captured wins over UNLV, Wyoming and Air Force. Two players are putting up double digit scoring for the Lobos with senior guard Amy Beggin 13.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. She’s followed by sophomore guard/forward combo Lauren Taylor who tallies 11.1 points and 3.6 boards per game. Jessica Kielpinski tops the leader board in the rebound category grabbing a team high 5.6 boards per contest. Beggin also ranks first in assists with a total of 65 to date and while Kielpinski has the most steals on the team with 30. Head coach Don Flanagan is in his 15th season with the women’s basketball program at New Mexico

Stat Comparison

Category BYU UNM

FG: .440 .403

3FG: .361 .334

FT: .646 .757

Points: 69.1 67.3

Reb: 39.2 37.4

Series Information

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 38-28

BYU Record in Provo: 22-7

BYU Record in Albuquerque: 12-16

BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 4-3

BYU Record under Jeff Judkins: 6-14

BYU Record in Overtime Games: 0-1

Longest BYU Win Streak: 9 (1987-1994)

Longest UNM Win Streak: 5 (2003-2005)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 39, 100-61 in ‘83

Largest UNM Margin of Victory: 49, 100-51 in ‘96

A Look Back at the Series during the 2009 MWC Race

During last season’s league games the University of New Mexico swept the series winning both contests. The Lobos have a 7-22 record when playing at the Marriott Center, but they’ve picked up victories in Provo the previous two seasons.

UNIV. OF UTAH - Sat. Jan. 30 at 3 p.m. MST (Salt Lake City, UT) - Huntsman Center

The Utes are currently in sixth place entering this week’s MWC action with a 2-3 record and are 11-7 overall. Before the matchup with the Cougars on Saturday, Utah hosts Wyoming on Wed. Jan. 27. Three players on the Utah roster are scoring in double figures led by senior Kalee Whipple’s 15.4 points. Taryn Wicijowski is next with 14.4 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Janita Badon, a sophomore guard rounds out the double digit scoring with 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds. Halie Sawyer, a 6-1 senior forward leads the team in the rebounds category grabbing 8.2 boards a game. Badon has the most assists and steals on the team with 84 and 41 respectively. Elaine Elliott is in her 26th season at the helm of the Utah women’s basketball program.

Stat Comparison

Category BYU UT

FG: .440 .408

3FG: .361 .311

FT: .646 .690

Points: 69.1 57.2

Reb: 39.2 39.1

Series Information

Overall Series Record: Utah leads 60-33

BYU Record in Provo: 16-21

BYU Record in Salt Lake CIty : 8-30

BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 9-9

BYU Record under Jeff Judkins: 6-13

BYU Record in Overtime Games: 0-3

Longest BYU Win Streak: 4 (1979-1980)

Longest Utah Win Streak: 10 (1995-1998)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 22, 87-65 in 1985

Largest Utah Margin of Victory: 35, 93-58 in 1991

A Look Back at the Series during the 2009 MWC Race

In last season’s conference battle, Utah came away with both wins to sweep the series vs. BYU. When playing at the Huntsman Center, the Cougars have compiled an 8-30 record. Their last win there was on Jan. 7, 2006 a 61-60 Cougar victory.

DESERET FIRST DUEL GAME

On Sat. Jan. 30, the Cougars and Utes will not only battle in MWC action, but they will each look to add points to their respective schools in the annual Deseret First Duel in women’s basketball.

HOW DOES THE DUEL WORK?

BYU and Utah compete head-to-head in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, football, women’s gymnastics, women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s volleyball, and men’s and women’s swimming. Points are awarded to the school that wins each game, meet, or match. A team trophy is also presented to the winner in each sport. BYU won the inaugural Deseret First Duel in 2007-08, while Utah claimed the title in 2008-09. So far during the 2009-10 campaign, the Cougars are ahead in points 16-6.

WHAT’S NEXT

After Saturday’s game at Utah, the Cougars continue MWC action with a game at TCU on Feb. 3, before returning home to host UNLV on Sat. Feb. 6. The game against the Rebels tips off at 2 p.m., and will air live worldwide on BYU TV.