BYU (!3-4, 3-1) In Second Place In The Mountain West Conference Standings, Host Instate Rival Utah Friday

With a solid second place spot in the MWC standings, BYU's women's basketball team gets ready to battle instate rival University of Utah (13-4, 4-0) this Friday, Jan. 28 in a 7 p.m. tip off at the Marriott Center.

Last Week Wrap Up

BYU's six game winning streak was shut by visiting MWC opponent CSU, as the Rams defeated the Cougars 52-63 in the Marriott Center. The loss also ended BYU's undefeated home court streak. The Cougars did bounce back in Saturday night's game against Wyoming with an 80-65 victory over the visiting Cowgirls.

Cougars On KSL Radio And TV

The game between BYU and Utah will air live on KSL Radio and KSL-TV, Channel 5 beginning at 7 p.m. On the radio Geoff Flynn will call the action with former Cougar star Amanda Covington as the color commentator . On KSL-TV Holly Rowe will do the play by play honors with KSL's Kathy Aiken as the color analyst. KSL Radio will have a pre-game show beginning at 6:45 p.m.

BYU Probable Starters

l 32 Lori Cuff - 6-1 F, Sr (5.9ppg, 4.1 rpg)

l 35 Cady Williams - 5-11 F, Sr (11.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg)

l 33 Jill Adams - 6-3 C, Jr (15.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg)

l 11 Erin Thorn - 5-10 G, Fr (12.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg)

l 22 Stacy Jensen - 5-6 G, So (5.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg)

BYU Players Off The Bench

l 05 Alisha Griffeth - 6-0 F, Sr (3.4 ppg, 1.4 rpg)

l 04 Renae Hansen - 5-11 G, Sr (1.9 ppg, .8 rpg)

l 00 April Hayes - 6-3 C, Jr (2.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg)

l 44 Caroline Beus - 6-1 C, Jr (2.9 ppg, 1.7 rpg)

l 31 Lisa Osguthorpe - 6-0 F, So (4.2 ppg, 2.5rpg)

l 21 Jennifer Leitner - 6-1 F, Fr (6.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg)

Cougar Quickie Stats - After 17 games

l Shooting from the field - .456 (422-925)

l Shooting from the free-throw line - .721 (196-272)

l Shooting from the three-point arc - .367(124-338)

l Averaging 68.5 points per game

l After averaging 21 turnovers in the first 11 games of the season, the Cougars are averaging 16.3 in the last six games played.

l The Cougars have a 2-1 record when playing on Thursday and a 5-1 record when BYU plays on Saturday

l BYU has gone on a four-game winning streak and a six-game winning streak

so far this season

BYU Player Quick Facts - After 17 games

l Jill Adams has scored in double figures in 13 of 17 games

l Cady Williams has scored in double figures in 12 of 17games

l Erin Thorn has scored in double figures in 12 games to date

l Jill Adams has rebounded in double figures in four games

l Jill Adams has had three games in which she's had double-doubles (vs Washington, Gonzaga and Montana)

Mountain West Conference Stats 4

BYU Team

4 4th in Scoring Offense - average 68.5 ppg (1164 points)

4 3rd in Scoring Defense - average 60.0 ppg (1020 points)

4 4th in Scoring Margin - 68.5 points, + 8.5 margin

4 1st in field goal percentage - .456 (422-925)

4 3rd in field goal percentage defense - .390 (384-984)

4 3rd in3-point field goal percentage - .367 (124-338)

4 1st in3-point field goal percentage defense - .251 (61-243)

4 3rd in 3-point field goals made - average 7.29 (124)

4 2nd in free throw percentages - .721 (196-272)

4 1st in assists - average 16.94 (288)

BYU Players

4 Erin Thorn - 2nd in 3-point fg made - average 3.00 (51 in 17 games)

4 Jill Adams - 3rd in 3-point fg percentage - .449 (22-49)

4 Jill Adams - 4th in blocked shots - averages 1.29 (22 in 17 games)

4 Jill Adams - 3rd in field goal percentage - .542 (97-179)

4 Jill Adams - 2nd in free throw percentage - .833 (40-48)

Scouting University of Utah

At the top of the conference standings, the University of Utah meets BYU at the Marriott Center with a 13-4, 4-0 record. The Utes are 5-3 on the road overall and 2-0 on the road in conference games. Lauren Beckman is the lone Ute that scores in double figures, averaging 12.1 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Utah is averaging 64.4 points to opponents 50.9 Kristina Andersen and Amy Ewert are also scoring threats for the Utes. Andersen averages 8.6 ppg while Ewert picks up 8.0 per game. Utah is shooting .429 from the field and .723 at the free-throw line.

Utah Probable Starters

l 21 Kristina Andersen - 6-1 F, Jr (8.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg)

l 32 Lori Red - 5-11 F, Fr (7.4 ppg, 2.6 rpg)

l 52 Lauren Beckman - 6-2 F/C, So (12.1 ppg, 6.9 rpg)

l 22 Tiana Fuertes - 5-3 G , Sr (4.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg)

l 24 Amy Ewert- 6-0 F/G, Jr (8.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg)

Series Against Utah

BYU vs Utah: 25-42 in favor of the Utes. The two instate rivals split games during last year's season, each winning on their home court. In Provo the score was 57-54 and in Salt Lake City it was 51-53.

Coach Trent Shippen Quotes

(On the Cougars) We played with a lot more energy and as a team in the Wyoming game which was the key to that win. In the Colorado State game we just weren't playing hard or with any energy. This is a very tough league and we need to play with toughness and energy if we want to contend for the title. This upcoming game against Utah is a must win for us so we can stay in the conference hunt. Utah will come in here very prepared and we have to as well.

(On Utah) - Utah is playing really well. They are scoring a lot of points especially in their wins over CSU and WYO. They are a very balanced scoring team so they are hard to defend. You can stop one, but then another one steps up. Utah is a well coach team and they're always prepared. We will have to be able to be prepared to counter whatever they're doing.

Up Next For The Cougars

The Cougars will make their second conference road trip of the year. This time they take on Air Force on Feb. 3 and New Mexico on Feb. 5. After the road trip they return to the Marriott to host UNLV and SDSU on Feb. 10 and 12.

BYU Media Information/Home Practice Schedule

At home, the Cougars practice at the Marriott Center. Practice schedule is Mon-Fri from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Player and/or coach Shippen interviews may be done in advance by contacting the women's basketball SID Norma Collett at 801-378-4908 or via e-mail at norma_collett@byu.edu There are no player interviews 24 hours prior to games.