Cougars one of 32 Teams Invited to the 1999 WNIT

This Week: After making it to the quarterfinal round of this year's WAC tournament, BYU gets invitation to play in the 1999 Postseason Women's National Invitational Tournament. The Cougars first round opponent is the University of Colorado. The Buffaloes concluded their season with a 14-13 overall record and a 7-9 finish in the Big 12 Conference. Colorado, seeded ninth in their conference championship lost in the first round to Kansas State 51-55.

Cougar Women On The Air: BYU's first round match up against Colorado can be heard live in the Provo-Salt Lake City area on KOVO Radio, 960 AM with Chris Twitty doing the play by play. You can follow the Cougars run in the WNIT live on KOVO Radio. Thursday's game against Colorado can also be heard on the internet in real audio at http://buffaloes.colorado.edu/.

BYU History in Post Season Tournaments: This is the second time that BYU has competed in the WNIT and the fifth trip to any post season championship. The Cougars last NIT appearance was in the 1981-82 season where BYU posted a 2-1 record with wins over DePaul and Illinois State and a loss to Florida State. That year, the Cougars had a 24-13, 7-3 overall record. BYU has made three previous appearances to the NCAA tournaments.

1983-84 18-8, 9-1 0-1/17th

1984-85 19-9, 11-1 0-1/17th

1992-93 24-5, 13-1 0-1/33rd

Cougars Receive Conference Honors:

Jill Adams - Second Team All-WAC (Pacific Division)

Cady Williams - Second Team All-WAC (Pacific Division)

Amanda Covington - All-Defensive Team (Pacific Division)

Cady Williams - All-Newcomer Team (Pacific Division)

BYU Season High's To Date:

51 points vs Fresno State on 2/18/99 - first half

49 points vs Fresno State on 2/18/99 - second half

100 points vs Fresno State on 2/18/99 - total in a game

9 three-point field goals made in a game - vs New Mexico on 1/30

28 points in a game individual - Cady Williams (career high as well) vs Boise State on 12/12 1,748 fans in the home game against New Mexico on 1/30

BYU Probable Starters:

G 10 Amanda Covington - 5-4 Senior, Laramie, WY (7.0ppg, 2.6rpg, 3.3atg)

G 35 Cady Williams - 5-11 Junior, Sugar City, ID (12.8ppg, 4.7rpg)

G 22 Stacy Jensen - 5-6 Freshman, West Jordan, UT (3.9ppg, 2.1rpg)

C 33 Jill Adams - 6-4 Senior, Kaysville, UT (10.3ppg, 6.2rpg)

F 32 Lori Henry-Cuff - 6-1 Junior, Orem, UT (7.0ppg, 5.5rpg)

BYU Off the Bench:

G 23 Megan Jensen - 5-6 Junior, Kaysville, UT (6.2ppg, 2.1rpg)

F 32 Lindsay Van Komen - 6-1 Senior, Woodland Hills, UT (3.0ppg, 3.3rpg)

C 00 April Hayes - 6-3 Sophomore, Pocatello, ID (4.8ppg, 2.7rpg)

F 31 Lisa Osguthorpe - 6-1 Freshman, Orem, UT (2.8ppg, 1.7rpg)

F 05 Alisha Griffeth - 6-0 Junior, Marietta, GA (6.6ppg, 1.7rpg)

Key Cougar Player Notes: C. Williams, J. Adams, A. Covington are the three BYU players that have started in all 28 games to date with Williams (12.9ppg) and Adams (10.4ppg) as the team's top scorers. Jill Adams leads the team in rebounds, averaging 6.0 per game. Her highest rebound total was in the game against Utah on 1/9 with 12. Amanda Covington is the team's assist leader. She averages 3.2 per game with her highest (8) in the game against UTEP on 1/28. April Hayes, Lisa Osguthorpe and Stacy Jensen have come off the bench in all 28 games this season. Jensen has started in the last ten games, Alisha Griffeth leads the team from the three-point arc, averaging 3.8 per game. To date she's tallied (29-75, .387).

Before WNIT: Playing in their final WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, the third seeded Cougars advanced into the quarterfinals after defeating Tulsa 78-59 in the first game on 3/1/99. On Wednesday 3/3, the Cougars lost to SMU 60-75. The Mustangs went on to win the WAC title on Saturday March 6 and received an automatic entry into the NCAA Championships. BYU's Jill Adams had 17 points in the Tulsa game, with Amanda Covington grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out that same number in assists. In the loss to SMU Lori Henry-Cuff top the scoring list with 16 points, Cady Williams grabbed six rebounds and Stacy Jensen led the team in assists with four.

Scouting Colorado: The Buffaloes are one of 15 schools hosting first round games in this year's tournament. Colorado finished its regular season with an 14-13, 7-9 record. The home standing Buffaloes are 9-5 at home this year, and average over 3,403 fans a game at Coors Events Center. Freshman Linda Lappe is Colorado's leading scorer averaging10.9ppg and 4.5rpg. She's the lone player scoring in double figures. Britt Hartshorn another freshman from nearby Lamar, Colorado leads the team in the boards category, picking up 5.2 rebounds per game. She's also the team's second top scorer with 8.7 points per game.

Last Meeting With Colorado: The Buffaloes beat the Cougars in Boulder 84-68 on 11/22/97 during coach Shippen's first year with BYU. Colorado has won the last four meetings between these two teams. The Cougars last win over the Buffaloes was in 1982, a 77-75 victory at the Marriott Center.

Injury Report: Renae Hansen is out for the season. She tore her ACL halfway through the UTEP game on 1/28/99. It is the same knee and same injury from a year ago.

Coach Shippen Quotes: (on the Cougars) "I feel good and I'm optimistic about our chances in this upcoming game. I think it's a blessing for us to have received an invitation to the WNIT. They could have overlooked us very easily. Now we just have to play the players who want to give us their best. I'm also very pleased about our program and where we are right now. This is exactly where we need to be and it's a great opportunity for our program and the university."

(on Colorado) "It is very hard to come in and play on their home court. Their arena is one of the toughest and loudest in the country. We'll need to play our best if we plan to steal a win from them (Colorado). Coach Ceal Barry is a very talented coach with a lot of experience and a solid tradition for having successful programs. This game will be a tough test for our team."

Up Next for the Cougars: If BYU wins it's first game at the WNIT, they would continue play on Saturday against the winner of the Drake vs Utah game from Des Moines, Iowa. A site and time will be determined after Thursday night's game.