Iowa State Next For Cougars At NCAA Tournament

BYU's women's basketball team picked up its first NCAA Tournament win, defeating Florida 90-52 to advance to the Second Round of the national tournament. In Second Round action the BYU women (23-8) will face Iowa State ( 24-8) the no.3 seed in the Midwest Region. The Cougars and Cyclones matchup is set for Mon. Mar.18 at 9:36 p.m. Central Time.

Tip off: BYU (23-8) vs Iowa State (24-8) 9:36 p.m.(CT) Arena: Hilton Coliseum

BYU vs. Iowa State On National Television

Monday night's game between the Cougars and Cyclones will air live on ESPN2 nationally. The contest can also be heard live on KOVO 960 AM Radio. Veteran sportscaster Chris Tunis will call the action from Ames, Iowa.

BYU's Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 Jr 12.3 8.9

F 31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Sr 5.1 3.4

F 51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Fr 8.6 4.2

G 11 Erin Thorn 5-10 Jr 17.7 4.0

G 22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Sr 9.7 2.9

Cougar Players Off The Bench

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F/G 12 Melanie Pearson 6-1 Sr 10.8 3.5

F 23 Chanell Rose 6-0 Jr 3.0 2.4

F 45 Lisa Hansen 6-5 Jr 2.6 2.3

G 25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Fr 1.2 0.4

F 20 Brittany Larson 6-0 Jr 1.6 0.9

G 05 Amy Lewis 5-6 Jr 0.5 0.5

Quickie BYU Stats

l Shooting from the field - .451 (805-1785)

l Shooting from the free-throw line - .748 (404-540)

l Shooting from the three-point arc - .411 (251-611)

l Averaged 73.1 points per game

Cougars In NCAA - History

6 The Cougars earned the right to be in the 2002 NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship after a decisive 61-46 victory over UNLV in the championship game of the MWC on Mar.9.

6 This is BYU's fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament.

6 The team's last appearance came in 1999-2000 when they lost in the first round to Oklahoma, 81-86.

6 In this year's field of 64, there are eight teams the Cougars played this season.

Year Record @ NCAA First Round

1999-00 21-8, 10-4 0-1 (lost to Oklahoma 81- 86 @ Purdue)

1992-93 24-5, 13-1 0-1 (lost to UCSB 79-88 in Santa Barbara)

1984-85 19-1, 11-1 0-1 (lost to Long Beach State 85-112 )

1983-84 18-8, 9-1 0-1 (lost to USC 72-97 in Los Angeles)

Total NCAA Appearances: Four, with a 0-4 record in First Round Action

Last Game Recap

BYU's women's basketball team won its first post season NCAA Championship game with the 90-52 victory over the Florida Gators. It was coach Jeff Judkins first tournament win as a head coach. All-American Erin Thorn toped the leader board in scoring in the contest with 28 points and four rebounds. Junior forward Jennifer Leitner recorded her 10th double-double of the season and13th of her career with 17 points and 17 rebounds. The 17 boards (five offensive and 12 defensive) set a new season and career high for Leitner. The Cougars balanced scoring continued in the game against the Gators as three players scored in double digits. Freshman Danielle Cheesman contributed to the victory with 13 points and seven rebounds. BYU's three-point shooting was also impressive tallying 10 of 21 from behind the arc.

Cougars Enjoy Record Performances At MWC Champs

6 Thorn- 8 treys in a game, vs Wyoming 3/6/02

6 Thorn- 13 3-pt field goals att. in a game, vs Wyoming 3/6/02

6 Thorn- 60 points, for 2002 tournament, in three games

6 BYU- 82 points, vs Wyoming 3/6/02

6 BYU- 12 3-pt field goals made, vs Wyoming 3/6/02

6 BYU- 23 assists, vs Wyoming 3/6/02

6 BYU- 15-point margin of victory, vs UNLV 3/9/02

Thorn Tournament MVP

All-American Erin Thorn was named the MWC Championship MVP after her stellar performances in the annual tournament.

Erin Thorn and Jennifer Leitner also named to All Tournament Team.

Four Cougs Garner All-Conference Team

Erin Thorn - First Team

Jennifer Leitner - Second Team

Stacy Jensen - Third Team

Melanie Pearson - Third Team

BYU Is Lone Team From MWC Still Alive In NCAA Tourney

The Cougar women are the only team from the Mountain West Conference that is still alive in this year's Big Dance. The three other teams from the conference lost in first round action.

Leitner/Pearson/Thorn Pick Up MWC Player of the Week Honors

Jennifer Leitner's stellar performance against Utah on Sat. Feb. 23 that included her eighth double-double of the year with a team high 18 points and 12 rebounds garnered her the weekly honor for Feb. 25.

Melanie Pearson garnered the honor for the week of Jan. 28 after her 28-point performance in the conference game at Utah where the Cougars defeated the Utes 77-65.

Erin Thorn picked up the weekly MWC honor for the week of Dec. 17 after her strong performance in the University of Denver Pioneer Classic. Thorn picked up a season, career record 9-three pointers in the game against Arkansas Pine Bluff.

MWC Preseason Media Poll

Team (1st place votes) Points

1. Colorado State (9) 105

2. Utah (5) 96

3. BYU 81

4. UNLV 68

5. New Mexico 62

6. Wyoming 40

7. San Diego State 35

8. Air Force 14

Thorn/Leitner/Pearson Honored At Pioneer Classic

In the only tournament the Cougar team participated this season, BYU's All-American Erin Thorn was named MVP at this year's University of Denver Pioneer Classic. Jennifer Leitner and Melanie Pearson were named to the All-Tournament Team. In that tournament, the Cougars beat Arkansas Pine-Bluff 90-50 and also defeated the University of Denver 81-67.

Thorn picked up a season, career record 9-three pointers in the game against Arkansas Pine Bluff. The nine treys were a new school record for treys in a game for both men's and women's teams.

BYU Notes

Saturday's win over Florida marked the first victory for the Cougar program in the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars are on a seven-game winning streak and have won 13 of their last 15 games going into Monday night's game against Iowa State. All-American Erin Thorn continues to lead the BYU team with an average of 17.7 points a game. The team's leading rebounder is junior forward Jennifer Leitner who's averaging 8.9 boards a game. She's also averaging 12.3 points a game. Senior guard Stacy Jensen leads in the assist category tallying 134 to date. Jensen is also a main contributor in scoring with an average of 9.7 points a game. Senior transfer Melanie Pearson continues to come off the bench to score in double digits, tallying 10.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Danielle Cheesman is contributing 8.6 points and is the second leading rebounder with an average of 4.2 boards a game.

Injury Update

Sophomore forward Heather Cheesman was hit in the head during practice on Jan. 24. She suffered a bruised spinal chord and after a stay in the hospital she's at home recuperating and is also doing rehabilitation to strengthen her back and neck. Chessman will not return to action this season.

2001-02 Season Highlights

TEAM

4 Points - 94 vs Washington State 11/24/01

4 Field Goals Made - 36 vs Washington State 11/24/01

4 3 PT Field Goals Made - 20 vs Arkansas Pine-Bluff 12/14/01

4 Free Throws Made - 22 vs SDSU on 1/31/02

4 Rebounds - 53 vs SDSU on 1/31/02

4 Assists - 32 vs Washington State 11/24/01

4 Steals - 14 @ Weber State 12/01/01

Player Season Highs

Name Category Stat Game

Leitner Points 18 @ UNLV (2/28/02)

FG's Made 8 @ UNLV (2/28/02)

Rebounds 17 vs Florida (3/16/ 02)

Assists 5 @ TCU (12/22/01)

Steals 4 vs New Mexico (2/ 26/02)

Blocked Shots 3 @ Utah(1/26/02)

Name Category Stat Game

Osguthorpe Points 17 @ Boise State (11/ 16/01)

FG's Made 7 @ Boise State (11/ 16/01)

Rebounds 8 vs Oregon (12/12/01)

Assists 7 vs Wyoming (3/6/02)

Steals 5 @ TCU (12/22/01)

Blocked Shots 2 vs Washington State (11/24/01)

Name Category Stat Game

Cheesman, D. Points 16 vs New Mexico (2/ 16/02)

FG's Made 8 @ Southern Methodist (12/8/01)

Rebounds 12 vs New Mexico (2/ 16/02)

Assists 3 @ University of Texas (11/20/01)

Steals 2 vs New Mexico (3/8/ 02)

Blocked Shots 2 vs UNLV (3/9/02)

Name Category Stat Game

Thorn Points 29 vs Arkansas P-B (12/14/01)

FG'sMade 10 vs Wyoming (3/6/02)

Rebounds 8 @ Boise State (11/ 16/01)

Assists 9 vs Colorado State Uni. (1/10/02)

Steals 5 vs Washington State (11/24/01)

Blocked Shots 2 @ Wyoming (2/7/02)

Name Category Stat Game

Jensen Points 20 vs Colorado State Univ. (1/10/02)

FG's Made 6 vs Colorado State Univ. (1/10/02)

Rebounds 6 @ TCU (12/22/01)

Assists 11 @ San Diego State (3/2/02)

Steals 3 @ UNLV (2/28/02)

Name Category Stat Game

Pearson Points 28 @ Utah (1/26/02)

FG's Made 8 @ San Diego (3/2/ 02)

Rebounds 9 @ New Mexico (1/17/ 02)

Assists 4 vs Washington State (11/24/01)

Steals 2 @ Wyoming (2/7/02)

Blocked Shots 1 @ San Diego State (3/2/02)

Name Category Stat Game

Hansen Points 10 @ Weber State (12/1/01)

FG's Made 5 @ Weber State (12/ 1/01)

Rebounds 6 @ Weber State (12/ 1/01)

Assists 1 vs New Mexico (2/ 16/02)

Steals 2 vs Air Force (2/14/ 02)

Blocked Shots 4 @ San Diego State (3/2/02)

Name Category Stat Game

Rose Points 9 vs Wyoming (1/12/ 02)

FG's Made 4 vs Wyoming (1/12/ 02)

Rebounds 6 @ San Diego State (3/2/02)

Assists 4 vs Southern Utah (12/29/01)

Steals 3 @ Air Force (1/19/ 02)

Blocked Shots 2 @ Air Force (1/19/ 02)

Name Category Stat Game

Larson Points 8 vs Washington State (11/24/01)

FG's Made 3 vs Washington State (11/24/01)

Rebounds 4 vs San Diego State (1/31/02)

Assists 2 vs Wyoming (1/12/ 02)

Steals 1 vs Air Force (2/14/ 02)

Name Category Stat Game

Taylor Points 11 vs Washington State (11/24/01)

FG's Made 3 vs Washington State (11/24/01)

Rebounds 2 vs Arkansas Pine Bluff (12/14/01)

Assists 6 vs Arkansas Pine Bluff (12/14/01)

Steals 1 vs Arkansas (1/2/02)

Name Category Stat Game

Lewis Points 3 @ University of Denver (12/15/01)

FG's Made 3 @ Weber State (12/ 1/01)

Rebounds 4 vs Arkansas Pine Bluff (12/14/01)

Assists 2 vs Arkansas Pine Bluff (12/14/01)

Scouting Iowa State

Iowa State advanced into the Midwest Regional Second Round after defeating Temple 72-57 in the second game of Saturday's first round game from Hilton Coliseum on the Iowa State campus. The team comes into this year's championships as one of 32 at-large schools after losing to Baylor in the title game of the Big 12 tournament. This is the Cyclones sixth appearance in the national basketball tournament where they compiled an 8-5 record that includes last season's performance where they finished in the round of sixteen. The leading scorer for Iowa State is 6-4 senior Angie Welle who's averaging 20.5 points and tops the list in the rebound category as well with 11.1 rebounds a game. Teammate Lindsey Wilson, a 5-9 junior guard also scores in double figures with 19.6 points and 2.9 boards. Guard Tracy Gahan also contributes in double digit scoring with her average of 14.8 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. Team stats for the Cyclones include 49 percent shooting from the field, 72 percent from the free throw line and 38 percent from the three-point line. As a team, Iowa State shoots 77.7 points a game vs 67.6 for opponents.

Series Record: 1-0. The two teams have had one previous meeting, in Provo in 1992 where the Cougars picked up the 77-54 win.

Iowa State Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

F 32 Angie Welle 6-4 Sr 20.5 11.1

F 50 Melanie Bremer 6-1 Jr 6.4 4.1

F 43 Mary Cofield 6-0 Jr 6.3 3.8

G 13 Lindsey Wilson 5-9 Jr 19.6 2.9

G 22 Tracy Gahan 6-0 Sr 14.8 7.5

Head Coach Jeff Judkins

Jeff Judkins, an assistant during the 2000-01 season is this year's head coach for the Cougar women. Judkins, a longtime University of Utah coach and player takes over the BYU program with a proven record of success dating back to his high school days at Highland HS in Salt Lake City.

An all-state selection in basketball, football and baseball, Judkins went on to play for Utah from 1974-78. While playing for the Utes, he helped the team win one conference championship and two berths in the NCAA Tournament. He was a second-team academic All-American and three-time first-team District VII academic selection. Judkins earned three first-team All-WAC honors and was a member of the 1977 United States World Games team that captured the gold medal.

He played five years in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Portland Trailblazers, Detroit Pistons and the Utah Jazz. He was a second-round pick by the Celtics in 1978, the same year the Celtics selected Larry Bird with the sixth pick overall.

After his NBA career, he returned to the U of U in 1989, and remained with the men's program for 10 years. Judkins, a Salt Lake City native, graduated from Utah in 1978 with a degree in health and physical education. He is a member of the Utah Sports Hall of Fame and the Crimson Club Hall of Fame.

He and his wife Mary Kay, are the parents of five children: Jessica (20), Jordan (19) who's currently serving and LDS mission in Osorno, Chile, Jenna (16), Jaime (13), Jaxson (10).

2001-02 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - NUMERICAL ROSTER

No. Name Ht. Cl. Pos. Exp. Hometown/School

11 Erin Thorn 5-10 Jr. G 2V Orem, UT/Mountain View H.S.

12 Melanie Pearson 6-1 Sr. G 3V Irvine, CA/Woodbridge HS/UCLA

20 Brittany Larson 6-0 Jr. F 2V Chicago, IL/New Trier HS

21 Jennifer Leitner 6-1 Jr. F 2V Chico, CA/Pleasant Valley HS

22 Stacy Jensen 5-6 Sr. G 3V West Jordan, UT/West Jordan HS

23 Chanell Rose 6-0 Jr. F 2V Orem, UT/UVSC

25 Kali Taylor 5-11 Fr. G HS Lyman, UT/Wayne HS

31 Lisa Osguthorpe 6-0 Sr. F 3V Orem, UT/Mountain View HS

45 Lisa Hansen 6-5 Jr. C 2V/RS Bakersfield, CA/Centennial HS/UCSB

50 Heather Cheesman 6-1 So. F 1V Orem, UT/Mountain View HS

51 Danielle Cheesman 6-2 Fr. F HS Orem, UT/Mountain View HS

HEAD COACH: Jeff Judkins (1st Year)

ASSISTANT COACHES: Alli Bills, Trent Shippen

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Jonas Chatterton

ATHLETIC TRAINER: Carolyn Billings

2001-02 Walk-On Players:

05 Amy Lewis 5-6 Jr. G Jefferson City, MT/Jefferson City HS

30 Melissa Brown 5-8 So G University Place, WA/Curtis HS

32 Aspen Casper 6-0 Sr F Central Point, OR/South Medford HS

RECORD:		OVERALL	HOME	AWAY	NEUTRAL
ALL GAMES		23-8		8-3	10-5	5-0
CONFERENCE		10-4		5-2	5-2	0-0
NON-CONFERENCE	13-4		3-1	5-3	5-0
	DATE	OPPONENT					SCORE		ATTEND
	11/16/01	at Boise State		W	85-72		951
	11/20/01	at University of Texas L	74-90		4384
	11-24-01	WASHINGTON STATE	W	94-67		532
	11/27/01	at UCLA			L	62-73		720
	11-29-01	at USC			WOT	75-73		429
	12-1-01	at Weber State		W	70-49		556
	12/8/01	at Southern Methodist	L	83-92		556
	12-12-01	OREGON DUCKS		W	74-58		467
	12/14/01	vs Arkansas Pine Bluff W	90-50		305
	12-15-01	at University of Denver W	81-67 	598
	12/22/01	at TCU			W	74-71		1506
	12-29-01	SOUTHERN UTAH		W	78-68		1137
	01-02-02	ARKANSAS			L	57-85		376
*	01/10/02	COLORADO ST 		L	64-81		453
*	12JAN 02	WYOMING			W	81-65		450
*	01/17/02	at New Mexico		L	52-58		7735
*	01/19/02	at AF				W	81-52		244
*	01/26/01	at Utah			W	77-65		3556
*	01/31/02	SAN DIEGO ST		W	67-41		1403
*	02-02-02	UNLV REBELS		W	72-61		798
*	2/7/02	at Wyoming 		W	75-58		866
*	2-9-02	at Colorado State 	L	65-75		2422
*	02-14-02	AIR FORCE 			W	68-55		360
*	02-16-02	NEW MEXICO 		L	64-71		619
*	02-23-02	UTAH UTES			W	62-53		981
*	2/28/02	at UNLV			W	64-48	
*	03/02/02	at San Diego State	W	72-56		634
	03/06/02	vs Wyoming			W	82-69		2486
	03/08/02	vs New Mexico		W	71-58		-
	03/09/02	vs UNLV			W	61-46		-
	3-16-02	vs Florida 		W	90-52		-
 ##	SUMMARY		GP	GS	Min	FG%	3PT%	FT%	R/G	A/G	STL	BLK	PTS/G
 11	Thorn, Erin	31	31	33.3	.448	.430	.831	4.0	3.4	58	8	17.7
 21	LEITNER, Jennifer	27	26	31.2	.498	.351	.782	8.9	2.3	34	23	12.3
 12	Pearson, Melanie	31	0	20.2	.496	.439	.761	3.5	1.4	19	10	10.8
 22	Jensen, Stacy	31	31	32.9	.387	.389	.857	2.9	4.3	44	0	9.7
 51	Cheesman, Danielle	31	17	21.2	.480	.200	.793	4.2	0.5	20	13	8.6
 31	Osguthorpe, Lisa	31	31	26.0	.459	.457	.682	3.4	2.4	20	10	5.1
 50	Cheesman, Heather	16	0	8.4	.538	.556	.600	1.1	0.6	1	2	3.9
 23	Rose, Chanell	31	18	13.4	.396	.500	.588	2.4	0.7	23	7	3.0
 45	Hansen, Lisa	31	1	8.7	.420	.000	.579	2.3	0.3	5	19	2.6
 20	Larson, Brittany	27	0	6.5	.417	.200	.724	0.9	0.4	5	0	1.6
 25	Taylor, Kali	28	0	5.6	.333	.364	.583	0.4	0.4	2	0	1.2
 32	Lewis, Amy	12	0	2.4	.125	.143	.714	0.3	0.2	0	0	0.7
 32	CASPER, Aspen	11	0	3.4	.400	.250	.500	0.5	0.3	3	0	0.5
 30	BROWN, Melissa	6	0	1.3	.000	.000	.000	0.0	0.2	1	0	0.0
   	Total..........	31			.451	.411	.748	35.7	16.3	235	93	73.1
   	Opponents......	31			.386	.320	.724	35.8	12.4	197	61	63.8
TOTALS			GP	MIN	OREB	DREB	TOT	PF	FO	A	TO	A/TO	HI
 Thorn, Erin		31	1033	12	113	125	57	0	106	78	1.4	29
 LEITNER, Jennifer		27	843	78	163	241	70	1	63	48	1.3	18
 Pearson, Melanie		31	627	44	65	109	86	4	42	52	0.8	28
 Jensen, Stacy		31	1019	11	79	90	70	2	134	73	1.8	20
 Cheesman, Danielle		31	658	48	83	131	95	5	16	44	0.4	16
 Osguthorpe, Lisa		31	805	36	70	106	71	3	74	44	1.7	17
 Cheesman, Heather		16	134	6	12	18	10	0	9	6	1.5	22
 Rose, Chanell		31	414	30	45	75	62	1	22	29	0.8	9
 Hansen, Lisa		31	269	24	47	71	68	3	9	27	0.3	10
 Larson, Brittany		27	176	10	14	24	33	1	11	26	0.4	8
 Taylor, Kali		28	158	2	8	10	12	0	11	5	2.2	11
 Lewis, Amy		12	29	1	3	4	2	0	2	4	0.5	3
 CASPER, Aspen		11	37	1	5	6	1	0	3	10	0.3	3
 BROWN, Melissa		6	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	99.0	0
 Total..........		31	6219	343	764	1107	638	20	505	450	1.1	94
 Opponents......		31	6225	392	719	1111	521	-	383	519	0.7	92