BYU Women Open Home Season Hosting UCLA

With one November game played and two more to go, the Cougar women hoopsters play their first home game on Saturday, Nov. 25 against UCLA. The 3 p.m. tip off is part of a double header with the men's team.

BYU Probable Starters- stats after one game

l 31 Lisa Osguthorpe - 6-0 Jr, F (5.0 ppg, 7.0rpg)

l 44 Caroline Beus - 6-1 Sr, C/F (6.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg)

l 50 Heather Cheesman - 6-1 Fr, F(2.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

l 11 Erin Thorn - 5-10 So, G (36.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

l 22 Stacy Jensen - 5-6 Jr, G (13.0 ppg,3.0 rpg)

BYU Players Off The Bench - stats after one game

l 04 Kaly Gillette Shippen - 5-6 Sr, G (Played in one game/Ricks College/SDSU)

l 14 Julie Whetten - 5-8 Fr, G (Played in one game/Silver City, New Mex)

l 15 Jorja Cox - 5-11 Sr, F (2.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

l 20 Brittany Larson - 6-0 So, F (3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

l 23 Chanell Rose - 6-0 So, F (4.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

Cougars Injury Report

Jennifer Lietner will be out for about eight weeks with torn ligaments to her left foot injured during conditioning

Final BYU Stats - 1999-2000 Season

l Shooting from the field - .452 (778-1720)

l Shooting from the free-throw line - .709 (395-557)

l Shooting from the three-point arc - .366 (221-604)

l Averaged 70.1 points per game

Game Live on KBYU-TV and on BYU-TV

Cougar fans can watch the BYU vs UCLA game live on KBYU-TV, Channel 11. The game can also be seen live on the Dish Network, 500 System. Play by play will be done by Holly Rowe and Kathy Aiken will do the color analysis.

Scouting UCLA

The Bruins come to the Marriott Center with a 0-3 loss to date. They've lost to Duke and two MWC opponents (New Mexico and Utah). Michelle Greco leads UCLA averaging 16.7 ppg and 2.7 rpg. Natalie Jarrett tops the list in rebounds with an average of 6.3 per game. The Bruins are also averaging 49.3 points per game and shooting .305 from the field. UCLA plays an exhibition game on Nov. 22 before heading to Provo for the Nov. 25 game

UCLA Probable Starters

#14 Natalie Jarrett- F 6-0, So (6.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg)

#20 Michelle Greco - F 5-9, Jr (16.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg)

#32 Malika Leatham - C 6-2, Jr (9.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 bpg)

#01 Natalie Nakase - G 5-2 So (2.7 ppg, 1.3rpg)

#21 Jalina Bradley- G 5-6, So (7.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg)

Series Record: 1-7 in favor of the Bruins. These two teams have not met in the 90's.

Last Meeting: The Cougars and Bruins last met in Provo on Dec. 17, 1987 with the visiting UCLA team picking up the 77-69 victory.

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.

Media Picks Cougars To Finish 3rd In MWC

In early October the Mountain West Conference held its annual basketball media day where the BYU women were picked to finish league play in third place by the media and fifth place by the coaches.

Preseason Media Poll

Rk. School (1st place votes) PTS

1. Utah (10) 136

2. Colorado State (5) 125

3. BYU (2) 110

4. UNLV (1) 105

5. New Mexico 86

6. Wyoming 53

7. San Diego State 50

8. Air Force 19

Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. Utah (7) 56

2. Colorado State (1) 47

3. New Mexico 43

4. UNLV 39

5. BYU 35

6. Wyoming 25

7. San Diego State 21

8. Air Force 14

Thorn Headlines Pre-Season All-Conference Team

Sophomore guard, Erin Thorn from Orem, Utah was named to the preseason All-Conference Team by the media and coaches. Teammate Julie Whetten was voted as the preseason Top Newcomer by the media.

Head Coach Trent Shippen

Trent Shippen enters his fourth season at the helm of BYU's women's basketball program. The 22 wins this 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

2000-0 0-1 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 53-36 (.595) Totals 71-26 (.731)

Coach Trent Shippen Quotes

(On the Cougars) I liked the way we played against Arizona last week. We played them competitively and had a chance to win. We have to continue working hard especially on the little things. I like how we are doing and we're anxious to have Jennifer Lietner back in our lineup, she will help us a lot especially on our inside play. We're excited to play at home and want our fans to support us.

(On UCLA) They have played more games than we have up to this point. They have a great player in Michelle Greco and they'll create a lot of opportunities for her to shoot the ball so we need to take care of her as much as possible.

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

BYU plays its final two November games on the road. The Cougars travel to Cedar City, for a game against Southern Utah University on Nov. 28 and to Pullman Washington for a Nov. 30 contest against Washington State. BYU is not at home until Dec. 7 when it hosts Northern Iowa.