Strong Defense Lifts Women Over SDSU

Provo, UT (Jan. 31) -- BYU's women's basketball team (12-6, 4-2) jumped to a 26-point victory over San Diego State (9-10, 1-5) Thursday night in front of a Marriott Center crowd of 1,403, winning the game 67-41.

The Cougars took a 2-0 lead on a shot by All-American Erin Thorn in the first minute and never looked back on their way to their second straight conference victory.

Although San Diego State tried to give BYU a lesson in defense, holding the Cougars to 36 percent shooting on the night, the Aztecs left the Marriott Center with a lesson of their own, shooting only 25 percent for the night.

"We played hard tonight," said coach Jeff Judkins. "I've told the girls all week, 'If we defend, we can win against anyone.'"

BYU took Judkins' advice to heart, hustling up and down the court all game long. Despite shooting 11-28 in the first period, the Cougars finished the first half strong on an 11-4 run.

Jennifer Leitner set the tone for the Cougars in the second half by opening with a long three-pointer from the corner less than 20 seconds in. Leitner led the Cougars on the boards with 12 rebounds and in scoring tied with Thorn's 11 points.

BYU had a 12-rebound advantage over SDSU garnering a season best 53 boards on the night.

The Cougars received a balanced effort with four players reaching double figures. Danielle Cheesman and Melanie Pearson both gave 10 points to the Cougars' 67-41 win.

Coach Judkins received another gift from his bench as they added 30 points to the BYU victory.

BYU returns to action at the Marriott Center Saturday afternoon, Feb. 2, against UNLV who beat Utah 79-71 Thursday night. Tip off will be at 4 p.m.

Official Basketball Box Score
San Diego ST Aztecs vs BYU Cougars
01/31/02 7:00 PM at MARRIOTT CENTER BYU PROVO UT
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VISITORS: San Diego ST Aztecs 9-10; 1-5
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
10 WILLIAMS, Ashonda... *  1-7    1-3    1-2    0  3  3   1   4  1  1  1  1  25
12 SWINBANK, Claire.... *  6-15   0-3    0-0    2  5  7   4  12  1  2  0  0  31
20 COX, Jamey.......... *  0-8    0-1    0-0    0  2  2   0   0  0  2  0  1  35
34 HOWARD, Valencia.... *  0-1    0-0    0-2    1  1  2   2   0  0  1  0  0  13
55 OTII, Atim.......... *  5-11   0-0    2-4    5  3  8   4  12  0  4  2  3  33
14 WOLF, Heather.......    0-2    0-1    2-2    2  1  3   0   2  0  0  0  0  10
24 McCARTNY, Nicolette.    0-3    0-0    1-2    1  5  6   4   1  0  3  0  1  15
25 SCHOMAKER, Missy....    0-3    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  1  0  0  17
33 SAULS, Maggie.......    0-2    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  1   2
40 KNIGHT, Tanisha.....    3-7    0-0    2-4    5  1  6   3   8  1  5  0  2  15
50 VARGAS, Morgan......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   4
   TEAM................                         1  2  3
   Totals..............   15-59   1-9   10-18  17 24 41  20  41  3 19  3  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-25 36.0%   2nd Half:  6-34 17.6%   Game: 25.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-4  25.0%   2nd Half:  0-5   0.0%   Game: 11.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-4  50.0%   2nd Half:  8-14 57.1%   Game: 55.6%    1
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 13-6; 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
31 Osguthorpe, Lisa.... f  1-2    0-0    0-1    1  3  4   1   2  2  2  1  1  22
51 Cheesman, Danielle.. f  4-10   0-0    2-2    3  4  7   3  10  0  2  0  1  18
21 LEITNER, Jennifer... c  4-8    1-3    2-4    4  8 12   2  11  1  1  0  0  25
11 Thorn, Erin......... g  3-7    0-3    5-6    0  4  4   2  11  5  2  0  1  26
22 Jensen, Stacy....... g  1-7    1-2    0-0    0  1  1   1   3  3  0  0  0  23
05 Lewis, Amy..........    1-1    0-0    1-2    0  2  2   0   3  0  2  0  0   6
12 Pearson, Melanie....    3-11   1-4    3-4    2  2  4   1  10  2  2  0  2  23
20 Larson, Brittany....    1-3    0-1    4-5    3  1  4   3   6  0  3  0  0  10
23 Rose, Chanell.......    2-4    0-0    2-2    0  0  0   1   6  0  0  0  2  12
25 Taylor, Kali........    1-3    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0  12
30 BROWN, MELISSA......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
32 CASPER, Aspen.......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   0  1  0  0  0   7
45 Hansen, Lisa........    0-1    0-0    3-4    3  1  4   3   3  0  3  1  0  13
   TEAM................                         3  7 10
   Totals..............   21-58   3-14  22-30  19 34 53  17  67 14 17  2  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-28 39.3%   2nd Half: 10-30 33.3%   Game: 36.2%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-6  33.3%   2nd Half:  1-8  12.5%   Game: 21.4%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  8-14 57.1%   2nd Half: 14-16 87.5%   Game: 73.3%    2
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Officials: RICK MORRIS,  LES WILLIAMS,  RANDY CAMPBELL
Technical fouls: San Diego ST Aztecs-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 1403
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
San Diego ST Aztecs...........   21   20  -   41
BYU Cougars...................   32   35  -   67