Cougars Bounce Back and Beat Cowgirls

LARAMIE -- An offensive outburst in the second half helped the BYU women's basketball team defeat Wyoming, 83-59, in its last conference road game of the season, Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars led only 30-26 going into halftime but outscored the Cowgirls 53-33 in the second half en route to a 24-point victory. Sophomore All-American Erin Thorn led BYU with 19 points, including five three pointers to go along with six rebounds, although she had plenty of offensive support from her teammates. Freshman Julie Whetten had a career-high 15 points, including three three pointers while Jennifer Leitner scored 12 points and grabbed eight boards. Caroline Beus chipped in 12 points while Lisa Osguthorpe had eight points and six rebounds, including five on the offensive end. BYU shot a sizzling 61.3 percent from the field in the second half after shooting only 37.9 percent in the first half. The Cougars also shot 47.6 percent from the three-point line for the game, making 10 three pointers.

"This was a great win for us on the road," BYU coach Trent Shippen said. "I was pleased with how we bounced back from the Colorado State game."

Jessica Gibbs and Ann McColl led the Cowgirls with 18 points a piece. BYU had 20 assists compared to 12 turnovers for the game and outrebounded Wyoming 39-30.

The win improves the Cougars record to 15-9 (7-4) on the season, while Wyoming drops to 9-14 (1-9) on the year. BYU will next play No. 17 Utah, Friday at 7 p.m., in the Marriott Center.