LAS VEGAS- (Mar. 8, 2002) Three Cougars score in double digits to lead BYU to a 71-59 victory over New Mexico in the first of two semifinal games from the Thomas & Mack Center Friday, site of this year's EAS MWC Championships.

New Mexico jumped out early with a 7-0 start in the early minutes of play, but BYU answered with an 18-3 run to take a 19-10 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half. The Cougars never trailed the rest of the game, stretching their lead to as many as 19 points in the second half.

Erin Thorn topped 20 points for the third straight game and 12th time this season as she finished with 22 points to lead all scores in the game. Teammate Melanie Pearson contributed 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench while freshman forward Danielle Cheesman tallied14 points, 12 of which came in the first half of action.

"I thought this was one of our better games we've play all year," commented BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "We knew they (New Mexico) would come out early on us, but we didn't let that affect us and just kept to our game plan."

"We changed our defense a little especially in the second half just to keep them on their toes and I think that worked for us," commented Judkins. "We have a very unselfish team who love to be challenged and we knew this was going to be a big challenge for us.

It's good to get a win after they beat us during the regular season."

Jordan Adams was the lone New Mexico player to score in double figures with her 11 points and four rebounds as the Cougars held the Lobos to just under 30 percent shooting from the field in the game.

BYU finished the game shooting 43 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line.

The Cougars are in the final of the MWC tournament for the third straight year. The Cougars are 0-2 in Mountain West Tournament title games and have an overall record of 1-2 in conference tournament finals, winning the WAC title in 1993 (53-50 over Utah).

BYU will play the winner of the CSU vs UNLV semifinal game. The Cougars swept UNLV during the regular season and were swept by CSU during league play.

The Championship game tips off at 3:30 (PT) and will air tape delay on ESPN2 at 9:30 p.m Pacific Time. Fans can also listen to live on the Internet at TheMWC.com

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
BYU vs New Mexico
03/08/02 12:00 N at Las Vegas, Nevada
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VISITORS: BYU 21-8,8 10-4 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 LEITNER, Jennifer... f  3-7    0-2    2-3    0  6  6   4   8  1  2  1  1  36
31 OSGUTHORPE, Lisa.... f  0-2    0-0    2-2    2  3  5   2   2  1  1  0  0  20
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. f  6-11   0-0    2-2    1  5  6   4  14  1  1  1  2  26
11 THORN, Erin......... g  5-15   2-7   10-11   2  3  5   2  22  4  2  0  0  38
22 JENSEN, Stacy....... g  3-8    2-4    0-0    0  2  2   1   8  1  2  0  1  38
05 LEWIS, Amy..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  2  0  0   1
12 PEARSON, Melanie....    6-10   1-3    4-6    3  5  8   3  17  0  0  0  0  25
20 LARSON, Brittany....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
23 ROSE, Chanell.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   2   0  0  0  0  0  12
25 TAYLOR, Kali........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
45 HANSEN, Lisa........    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
   TEAM................                         1  1  2             1
   Totals..............   23-54   5-16  20-24  10 29 39  18  71  8 11  2  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-27 59.3%   2nd Half:  7-27 25.9%   Game: 42.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-8  37.5%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 31.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-7  57.1%   2nd Half: 16-17 94.1%   Game: 83.3%    2
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HOME TEAM: New Mexico 22-8, 10-4 MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
30 GREAR, Chelsea...... f  4-10   1-4    0-0    2  3  5   1   9  2  1  0  2  32
42 ARNDT, Lindsey...... f  1-8    1-4    6-6    0  5  5   4   9  1  0  0  0  26
40 ADAMS, Jordan....... c  3-10   0-0    5-6    1  3  4   1  11  0  1  0  0  27
12 McKINNON, Molly..... g  3-7    1-3    1-1    1  1  2   1   8  2  2  0  1  22
21 MOORE, Mandi........ g  1-5    0-1    1-2    0  5  5   4   3  3  2  0  0  27
03 SHAW, Stephanie.....    2-6    1-3    3-3    3  1  4   2   8  1  2  0  1  23
31 GARCIA, Cristal.....    0-3    0-2    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   6
32 SCAGLIONE, Tiffany..    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  1  0  0   2
33 FOREST, Melissa.....    2-4    0-0    2-2    3  1  4   1   6  0  3  0  0  14
44 ADAMS, Daja.........    1-2    0-0    0-2    1  3  4   1   2  0  1  0  0  13
50 McLEOD, Lauren......    0-1    0-1    2-2    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   8
   TEAM................                         3  1  4
   Totals..............   17-57   4-19  20-24  14 23 37  17  58  9 13  0  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  8-24 33.3%   2nd Half:  9-33 27.3%   Game: 29.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-6  33.3%   2nd Half:  2-13 15.4%   Game: 21.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-11 90.9%   2nd Half: 10-13 76.9%   Game: 83.3%    1
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Officials: Eric Larson, Robert Strong, Marianne Karp
Technical fouls: BYU-None. New Mexico-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
BYU...........................   39   32  -   71
New Mexico....................   28   30  -   58
Statistics provided by Jim Shaffer & crew (702) 896-5677 statman@winning.com