This Week Women Play Two More At Home

With one win and one loss at home, BYU's women's basketball team prepares to host two more opponents this week at the Marriott Center. The Cougars play instate rival Weber State on Dec. 15 and Marquette on Dec. 19. Both games have 7 p.m. tip offs.

BYU Probable Starters - 2000 stats

l 31 Lisa Osguthorpe - 6-0 Jr, F (5.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg)

l 44 Caroline Beus - 6-1 Sr, C/F (8.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

l 50 Heather Cheesman - 6-1 Fr, F (9.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg)

l 11 Erin Thorn - 5-10 So, G (18.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

l 22 Stacy Jensen - 5-6 Jr, G (9.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

BYU Players Off The Bench - 2000 stats

l 04 Kaly G. Shippen - 5-6 Sr, G (6.0 ppg)

l 14 Julie Whetten - 5-8 Fr, G (4.6 ppg)

l 15 Jorja Cox - 5-11 Sr, F (2.4 ppg, 1.8 rpg)

l 20 Brittany Larson - 6-0 So, F (2.4 ppg, 1.2 rpg)

l 23 Chanell Rose - 6-0 So, F (5.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg)

Game vs Weber State To Be Broadcast

The instate game between BYU and Weber State on Dec. 15 will air live on KBYU-TV, channel 11 and on BYU-TV on the Dish Network 500 system. The audio portion of the game can also be heard live on the internet by clicking on www.byutv.org

Cougars Injury Report

Jennifer Lietner has about two more weeks before she's cleared to play from torn ligaments she suffered to her left foot during conditioning earlier this year.

Quickie BYU Stats - 2000 Season

l Shooting from the field - .436 (199-462)

l Shooting from the free-throw line - .750 (117-156)

l Shooting from the three-point arc - .418 (61-146)

l Averaged 72.0 points per game

Season Highlights To Date

TEAM

l Most points scored in a game - 90 @ Washington State on 11/30/00

l Most field goals made - 32 @ Washington State on 11/30/00

l Most three-pointers in a game - 10 three times (@Arkansas, @Washington State and @ Arizona

l Most rebounds made in a game - 46 @ Gonzaga on 12/02/00

l Most assists made in a game - 22 vs UCLA on11/25/00

l Most steals made in a game - 12 vs Northern Iowa on 12/07/00

INDIVIDUAL

l Most points in a game - Erin Thorn (36) @ Arizona 11/18/00

l Most field goals made in a game - Erin Thorn (12) @ Arizona 11/18/00

l Most three-pointers made in a game - Erin Thorn (8) @ Arizona 11/18/00

l Most free-throws made in a game - Heather Cheesman (9) @ Gonzaga 12/02/00

l Most rebounds made in a game - Heather Cheesman (9) @ Gonzaga 12/02/00

l Most assists made in a game - Julie Whetten (7) vs UCLA 11/25/00

l Most steals made in a game - Erin Thorn (6) vs Northern Iowa on 12/07/00

l Most blocked shots in a game - Caroline Beus (2) @ Washington State 11/30/00

Last Game Recap

The Cougars played at home last Saturday night hosting the grizzlies from Montana where the visiting team squeaked by with a three-point 70-67 victory over BYU. All-American Erin Thorn led all scores with 15 points in the game along with five defensive rebounds. Freshman redshirt Heather Cheesman led the BYU effort in the rebound category as she tallied seven in the contest. Julie Wetten came off the bench for her season and career high 12 points.

Scouting Weber State

The Wildcats come to the Marriott Center with a 1-5 record, their only win of the season against St. Martin's College, 73-54 at the Dee Events Center. Weber State is led by sophomore Crystal Howe, who's averaging 16.2 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. Stephanie Stanger, a junior guard is the other Wildcat in double digit scoring with an average of 12.7 ppg and 5.2 rpg. Jamie Peterson leads in the assist category with 20 to date. Weber State is shooting 35 percent from the field and 66 percent at the free-throw line. They are getting 57.3 points a game to opponents 64.0 points per game. The Wildcats are 0-3 when playing on the road to date.

Weber State Probable Starters

#23 Meghan Geddes - F 5-11, Sr (3.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg)

#24 Stephanie Harward-Sharp - G 5-9, Sr (5.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

#42 Crystal Howe - C 6-4, So (16.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg)

#10 Stephanie Stanger - G 5-7, Jr (12.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

#21 Jamie Peterson - G 5-7, Jr (6.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg)

Series Record: 29-8 favoring BYU

Last Meeting: The two teams met during last year's season at the Dee Events Center, with the Cougars picking up a 62-52.

Scouting Marquette

Marquette comes to the Marriott Center on Dec. 19, the first visit by the Golden Eagles who have compiled a 4-4 record. Their most recent victory was a nine-point, 67-58 win over Michigan at home. Prior to that Marquette had lost two straight. Senior guard Heidi Bowman leads the Golden Eagle in points averaging 14.9 per game and contributes 3.1 boards a game as well. The team's center, Sarah Zawdny is next in scoring with an average of 9.3 points and leads the way in the rebound category with 6.3 per game to date. Marquette is currently getting 59.4 points a game, compared to 59.6 from its opponents. The Golden Eagles are shooting 38 percent from the field and 69 percent at the line.

Marquette Probable Starters

#13 Kristi Johnson - G 5-6, Jr (5.7 ppg, 2.0 apg)

#31 Kelly Schwerman - G 5-9, Fr (6.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg)

#41 Heidi Bowman- G 6-0, Sr (14.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg)

#21 Rachel Klug - F 6-1, So (5.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

#52 Sarah Zawodny - C 6-4, Jr (9.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg)

Series Record: 1-1

Last Meeting: Prior to last year's contest between the two schools, the teams had not met since the 1991 season. Last year, the Golden Eagles defeated the Cougars on their home court by a narrow three-point 74-71 victory.

Did You Know....Cougar Family Connections

Kaly Gillette Shippen (#04) is coach Shippen's sister-in-law. She married his younger brother Ty Shippen who walked on to this year's men's basketball team.

Chanell Rose (#23) is BYU's men's assistant basketball coach Dave Rose's daughter. She transferred from playing one year at neighboring Utah Valley State College. Also, beginning Dec. 16 the family connections grow when Utah transfer Trent Whiting becomes eligible to play on the men's team. His wife Amber who is a transfer from Weber State is part of the women's team. She'll be redshirting this season.

Head Coach Trent Shippen

Trent Shippen enters his fourth season at the helm of BYU's women's basketball program. The 22 wins last year are a first for the Cougar program since the 1992-93 season when BYU finished with a 24-5, 13-1 record and made its last NCAA Championships appearance.

This is Shippen's first Division I coaching assignment. Shippen came to BYU after a three year stint as head coach at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. While at Ricks, he led his 1995 team to a fifth place finish in the NJCAA Tournament, and was voted Region 18 Coach of the Year. He was also the recipient of the Alberta Lee Cox Sportsmanship Award at the 1995 NJCAA Tournament. He played college hoops at Ricks College and at Colorado State University. At Ricks he earned All-Region 18 honors as a sophomore and was a member of the 1983-84 Viking team that placed sixth at the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.

During his career at CSU he helped the Rams place third in the NIT Tournament in 1988, where Shippen set the Madison Square Garden single-game record with six three-pointers. The following year he helped CSU win the league title, advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament, was selected Academic All-WAC, and averaged 7.6 points and 2.9 assists.

Shippen File

BYU

2000-01 5-3 RICKS COLLEGE

1999-00 22-8 1994-95 33-3

1998-99 16-13 1995-96 19-11

1997-98 15-14 1996-97 19-12

Totals 58-38 (.604) Totals 71-26 (.731)

BYU Home Practices/Media Interviews

While at home the Cougars practice daily from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Marriott Center. Coach Shippen and players are available for interviews prior to or at the conclusion of practice. All interview requests must be done in advance by contacting the basketball media relations director, Norma Collett via phone or e-mail. Phone: 801-378-4908; e-mail: norma_collett@byu.edu. There are no interviews 24-hours prior to a game.

Ahead for the Cougars

Two more games will finish off the month of December for BYU. On Dec. 28 the Cougars are at Idaho State for a 6:05 p.m. start time. The team then returns to the Marriott Center to host former WAC opponent SMU in a 4:30 p.m. game on Dec. 30.