BYU Stuns No. 3 Seed Iowa State to Advance to

AMES -- Overcoming a 13-point deficit in front of a hostile crowd, the BYU women's basketball team pulled off its second straight upset, beating the No. 3 seed Iowa State Cyclones 75-69 to earn its first trip to the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament.

BYU got off to a quick defensive start as Lisa Osguthorpe nabbed three steals in the opening minutes to stall the Iowa State offense. The Cougar defense gave the Cyclones fits all night long as the home team tallied 20 turnovers on the night. BYU led by as many as seven points in the first half before Iowa State came alive.

Despite BYU's defensive effort, the Cyclones shot an amazing 61 percent from the field in the first half while the Cougars shot 47 percent from the field and were 6 of 13 from behind the arc at the break. Three-point shooting and Iowa State turnovers kept the game close as BYU trailed 36-34 at halftime.

Iowa State came out of the locker room on fire and looked poised to run away with the game as they built a 13-point lead eight minutes into the second period. Angie Welle seemed to score at will inside the paint for the Cyclones while teammate Tracy Gahan amassed 15 of her 20 points in the second half.

BYU kept its composure and made some adjustments to force Welle out from under the basket and into bad shots. The Cougars began smothering the Iowa State shooters and gave themselves a chance to get back into the game. The offense awoke as the defense made stops and with 5:12 remaining, Danielle Cheesman tied the game at 60.

"This was a great team effort," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "The team stayed focused and they did what I've been preaching to them all year long, to be patient and take it one possession at a time. This was a great win for our program."

The second half featured three ties and six lead changes, most coming in the final five minutes as the Cougars and Cyclones traded shots and free throws. The Cougars, who didn't reach the free throw line until less than six minutes remained in the game, were 9- 10 from the charity stripe.

Five players scored in double figures in BYU's come-from-behind victory. Jennifer Leitner led the Cougars with 17 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Leitner's biggest points came from the free throw line where she was a perfect 4-4, her final free throw giving the Cougars the lead for good.

All-American Erin Thorn made her presence felt with 16 points. Stacy Jensen opened the game with a three-pointer to the give the Cougars an early lead and finished the game with 13 points and seven assists. Melanie Pearson chipped in 12 points while Cheesman added 10. Pearson and Cheesman garnered five rebounds apiece.

Osguthorpe's tough defense earned her a career-high five steals. She also ties a school record 124 games played set by both Jeanette Weston and Jackie McBride. Weston and McBride played for BYU from 1979 to 1982.

Welle led all scorers with 22 points while snatching 13 rebounds to earn a double double. Gahan followed with 20 points and nine rebounds, while point guard Lindsey Wilson contributed 14 points and eight assists.

No. 11 seed BYU is the lowest seeded team to advance to the "Sweet 16" in this year's NCAA Tournament. With the win, the Cougars improve to 24-8 on the year and 2-4 in NCAA post-season play.

BYU returns to action at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames on Saturday, March 23 where the Cougars will face the No. 2 seed Tennessee Volunteers, game time to be announced. Tennessee is 27-4 on the year and is ranked sixth in both the USA Today/ESPN poll and the AP poll. The Vols defeated Georgia State and Notre Dame to reach the Midwest Regional semi-final.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Brigham Young Cougars vs Iowa State Cyclones
3-18-02 9:30 pm at Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
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VISITORS: Brigham Young Cougars 24-8, 12-4 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  6-10   1-2    4-4    2  7  9   3  17  3  2  0  1  37
31 OSGUTHORPE, Lisa.... f  2-6    0-2    1-2    0  2  2   4   5  4  1  0  5  24
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. c  5-11   0-0    0-0    1  4  5   4  10  0  1  0  0  21
11 THORN, Erin......... g  6-8    2-4    2-2    0  3  3   1  16  3  1  0  1  40
22 JENSEN, Stacy....... g  4-7    3-5    2-2    0  1  1   2  13  7  4  1  1  40
12 PEARSON, Melanie....    5-15   2-9    0-0    0  5  5   0  12  4  0  0  2  29
23 ROSE, Chanell.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
45 HANSEN, Lisa........    1-3    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   4   2  0  0  0  1   8
   TEAM................                         1  1  2             1
   Totals..............   29-61   8-22   9-10   6 24 30  18  75 21 10  1 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-30 46.7%   2nd Half: 15-31 48.4%   Game: 47.5%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  6-13 46.2%   2nd Half:  2-9  22.2%   Game: 36.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  9-10 90.0%   Game: 90.0%   0,2
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HOME TEAM: Iowa State Cyclones 24-9, 9-7 Big12
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
22 Gahan, Tracy........ f  6-11   2-5    6-8    1  8  9   2  20  3  6  0  2  39
43 Cofield, Mary....... f  3-4    2-2    0-0    0  4  4   2   8  0  2  0  2  31
32 Welle, Angie........ c 10-16   1-1    1-5    3 10 13   4  22  3  6  1  0  40
10 Junod, Erica........ g  2-4    1-3    0-0    0  1  1   1   5  3  2  0  0  29
13 Wilson, Lindsey..... g  5-15   2-7    2-5    0  3  3   3  14  8  4  0  0  40
11 Fox, Mary...........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0  11
50 Bremer, Melanie.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  1  0  0  0  10
   TEAM................
   Totals..............   26-50   8-18   9-18   5 26 31  12  69 19 20  1  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-23 60.9%   2nd Half: 12-27 44.4%   Game: 52.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-7  57.1%   2nd Half:  4-11 36.4%   Game: 44.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-6  66.7%   2nd Half:  5-12 41.7%   Game: 50.0%   2,1
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Officials: Joe Cunningham, Wesley Dean, Connie Pardue
Technical fouls: Brigham Young Cougars-None. Iowa State Cyclones-None.
Attendance: 7621
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young Cougars.........   34   41  -   75
Iowa State Cyclones...........   36   33  -   69
NCAA Midwest Region second round

PROVO -- After winning the MWC Women's Basketball Championship crown, BYU's women's basketball team starts March Madness in Iowa against Florida, Mar.16. The Cougars are making their fifth appearance as one of 64 teams in the 2002 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championships.

BYU was the automatic qualifier from the Mountain West Conference after defeating UNLV in the league championship in Las Vegas Saturday.

The Cougars (22-8), the no. 11 seed in the Midwest Sub Regional, hosted by Iowa State will face the University of Florida (18-10), the no. 6 in the early game on Sat. Mar. 16. Hosts Iowa State (23-8) and the no. 3 seed in the region will battle Temple (20-10), the no. 14 seed in the second game.

"We're excited for the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "We feel every team in our bracket is very good and we should match up well with each one, as long as we can play our best basketball."

The NCAA selected three other MWC teams to the national tournament. UNLV, New Mexico and regular season champions CSU will also participate.

BYU's last trip to the NCAA Tournament came in 1999-2000 when they lost in the first round to Oklahoma 86-81. The Cougars enter the tournament on a six-game win streak, its best since taking a nine-game win streak into the 1983-84 NCAA Tournament.