NCAA Run Ends with Sweet 16 Loss to Tennessee

AMES -- The BYU women's basketball team put a scare into Pat Summit and the Tennessee Volunteers through most of the first half but couldn't hold on as Tennessee took over to win 68-57.

Through the first 15 minutes of the game, BYU looked as if they were going to continue their Cinderella run, leading by as many as nine points on perennial powerhouse Tennessee.

The Cougars' motion offense confused the Vols while BYU played smothering defense to keep the Tennessee offense off-balance. Lisa Hansen came off the bench for the Cougars and stuffed the Vols' post players for three blocked shots over a five-minute span.

BYU led 29-20 with 5:22 left in the first before the Tennessee offense came alive. Sparked by the play of Shyra Ely, the Vols went on a 15-1 run in the closing minutes of the first half to take a 35-30 lead into the break.

Tennessee continued its strong play through the opening minutes of the second period and looked as if they were going to run away with the game before BYU's offense got back on track.

Led by Melanie Pearson, the Cougars were able to close to within five points with just under nine minutes left. Despite Tennessee's effort to stretch the lead and put the game away, the Cougars kept fighting and were within six points with 3:05 left in the game.

With the clock against them, BYU was forced to put Tennessee on the foul line but was unable to get anything going offensively as the Vols scored their final six points off free throws.

"I knew we had to shoot the ball well tonight and we had our chances," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "We just didn't hit our shots when we had to."

Pearson led all players with 23 points for the Cougars, tying her second best effort on the season before fouling out with 1:41 left. Jennifer Leitner tallied eight points and 11 rebounds. All-American Erin Thorn contributed eight points, four rebounds and five assists while attempting a record 18 three-pointers.

BYU finished the night shooting 83 percent from the free throw line, 32 percent from the field but only 19 percent from behind the arc.

Shyra Ely scored 21 points for the Vols and added seven rebounds. Twelve of Ely's 21 points came during Tennessee's 15-1 run at the end of the first half.

BYU ends the year 24-9 overall and 10-4 in the conference. The Cougars improve to 2-5 in NCAA Tournament play after this year's run to the Sweet 16. BYU out-rebounded the Vols 45-43 and finished the year 14-2 when out-rebounding their opponents.

"We've had a great run here in Ames this year and I'm very proud of our team," said Judkins. "I'm proud of our seniors and their leadership. They showed a lot of character today."

Although they are coming home from the tournament early, the Cougars are looking to take this year's success into next year's season.

"This was a great building stone for our program," said Judkins. "We're heading in the right direction."

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Brigham Young Cougars vs Tennessee Lady Vols
3-23-02 6 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
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VISITORS: Brigham Young Cougars 24-9 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  2-6    0-2    4-4    2  9 11   4   8  1  0  2  1  29
31 OSGUTHORPE, Lisa.... f  3-6    0-0    1-2    0  2  2   1   7  4  2  0  0  26
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. c  3-12   0-0    0-0    2  7  9   3   6  0  2  0  0  33
11 THORN, Erin......... g  3-22   2-18   0-0    1  3  4   2   8  5  1  0  1  34
22 JENSEN, Stacy....... g  1-4    0-0    3-4    2  2  4   4   5  4  5  0  1  37
12 PEARSON, Melanie....    9-15   3-7    2-2    1  4  5   5  23  0  3  0  1  28
23 ROSE, Chanell.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2   0  0  0  0  0   4
45 HANSEN, Lisa........    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   1   0  0  0  4  0   9
   TEAM................                         5  1  6             1
   Totals..............   21-65   5-27  10-12  14 31 45  22  57 14 14  6  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-31 35.5%   2nd Half: 10-34 29.4%   Game: 32.3%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-13 23.1%   2nd Half:  2-14 14.3%   Game: 18.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  5-6  83.3%   2nd Half:  5-6  83.3%   Game: 83.3%   2,1
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HOME TEAM: Tennessee Lady Vols 28-4 14-2 SEC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
13 Jackson, Gwen....... f  1-7    0-0    2-2    1  1  2   1   4  0  1  1  0  12
25 Jackson, Brittany... f  2-6    2-3    0-0    0  4  4   0   6  0  2  0  1  22
00 Snow, Michelle...... c  1-6    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   1   2  1  0  3  1  24
10 McDivitt, April..... g  2-3    0-0    4-4    0  5  5   0   8  1  0  0  1  23
20 Lawson, Kara........ g  1-12   0-3    3-6    1  1  2   0   5  3  2  0  0  33
03 Butts, Tasha........    3-4    0-1    0-0    2  1  3   0   6  1  0  0  1   9
14 Munoz, Michelle.....    2-3    1-2    3-3    1  3  4   1   8  0  0  0  0  11
21 Moore, Loree........    1-6    1-1    3-4    2  0  2   3   6  3  0  0  2  23
33 Robinson, Ashley....    0-2    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   1   0  0  2  0  0   8
42 McDaniel, Courtney..    1-2    0-0    0-0    1  2  3   1   2  1  0  2  1   9
43 Ely, Shyra..........    6-12   0-0    9-11   2  5  7   3  21  0  2  0  1  26
   TEAM................                         1  4  5
   Totals..............   20-63   4-10  24-30  13 30 43  11  68 10  9  6  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-39 35.9%   2nd Half:  6-24 25.0%   Game: 31.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half:  1-5  20.0%   Game: 40.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-5  80.0%   2nd Half: 20-25 80.0%   Game: 80.0%    4
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Officials: Sally Bell, Dennis Mayer, Clarke Stevens
Technical fouls: Brigham Young Cougars-None. Tennessee Lady Vols-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young Cougars.........   30   27  -   57
Tennessee Lady Vols...........   35   33  -   68
NCAA Midwest Region Semifinals