Late Second Half Effort Lifts Cougars Over Wildcats

Provo, UT (Nov. 30, 2002) Erin Thorn's late second half effort led the 22nd ranked Cougar women to a 10-point 51-41 victory over instate rival Weber State, Saturday.

The home win improves BYU's record to 3-0 on the season, while Weber State falls to 1-2.

Both teams started off sluggishly in a very low scoring first half of action that ended in a 16-16 tie after the first 20 minutes of action. Senior forward Lisa Hansen put the Cougar team on the scoreboard first with a lay up just two minutes into the contest after missing two free throws on the first possession of the game. Jennifer Leitner gave the BYU team a 5-2 lead on a three pointer at the 15:51 minute mark while Weber State had yet to make a field goal. The teams continued to struggle offensively in the first half with the Cougars scoring nine points off of turnovers and the Wildcats capitalizing on just five points.

In the second half, Weber State came out scoring early taking a four point 25-21 lead at the 15:53 mark. A time out by the Cougars brought the home team back to tie it up at 25-25 on an Erin Thorn lay up with 13:52 remaining on the clock. The Wildcats kept it close with another 32-32 tie at the 7:51 minute mark and that's when All-American Erin Thorn stepped it up sinking two treys to give her team a 38-35 advantage. Up to that point, Thorn had scored six points and three fouls. The two three's were followed by six points from Jennifer Leitner and from then on it was all BYU who eventually won the game by a ten-point margin.

Thorn scored a game-high 15 points in the BYU win followed by 14 points from senior forward Jennifer Leitner.

Even though the team picked up the win, Cougar head coach Jeff Judkins had some concerns about the squad's performance. "We came out and didn't move the ball, we're struggling right now," he commented. "We're not getting good ball movement we're not getting good personnel movement, it's just something we're going to have to work on."

The Cougars finished the game shooting 40 percent from the field and 57 percent from the free-throw line.

For Weber State, senior forward Crystal Howe led her team effort with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds with teammate Julie Gjertsen tallying 12 points. The Wildcats outrebounded the Cougars 37 to 33 and shot 26 percent from the field.

After playing three home games, the BYU team begins a grueling three-week road trip that begins Tues. Dec. 3 at Southern Utah followed by a first ever contest against the University of San Francisco on Dec. 5. The team finishes the week in Portland, Oregon battling the Oregon Ducks on Dec. 7 at the Rose Garden.

Official Basketball Box Score
WEBER STATE WILDCATS vs BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars
11-30-02 4:00 PM at MARRIOTT CENTER, PROVO, UT
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VISITORS: WEBER STATE WILDCATS 1-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
04 CLYDER-GARDNER, Kris g  0-6    0-3    0-0    0  3  3   3   0  0  1  1  1  23
05 HESSELBACH, KRISTEN. g  1-4    0-1    0-0    1  3  4   2   2  1  3  0  1  25
12 GJERTSEN, Julie..... g  4-12   2-7    2-5    1  2  3   3  12  1  2  0  0  35
14 MULLER, Karsen...... g  1-3    0-1    2-2    0  3  3   4   4  4  5  0  1  35
42 HOWE, Crystal....... *  2-11   0-0    9-11   4  7 11   4  13  1  6  0  1  36
10 MICKELSON, Marci....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   1
15 ROBERTSON, Sheila...    0-2    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  16
20 JOHNSTON,K Ali......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  1  0  0   7
30 HANSEN, Brooke......    0-1    0-1    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
32 TUKUAFU, Mata.......    0-0    0-0    1-2    0  4  4   0   1  0  1  0  0   7
34 SAMPSON, Angela.....    3-4    0-0    3-4    2  2  4   1   9  0  1  0  0  14
   TEAM................                         1  3  4
   Totals..............   11-43   2-14  17-24  10 27 37  18  41  8 20  1  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  3-25 12.0%   2nd Half:  8-18 44.4%   Game: 25.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-9  11.1%   2nd Half:  1-5  20.0%   Game: 14.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-13 69.2%   2nd Half:  8-11 72.7%   Game: 70.8%    3
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HOME TEAM: BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars 3-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 LEITNER, Jennifer... f  6-9    1-2    2-2    1  4  5   1  15  0  2  0  1  32
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. f  3-6    0-0    3-3    0  1  1   5   9  0  0  0  1  13
45 HANSEN, Lisa........ c  1-4    0-0    0-2    1  5  6   2   2  0  1  3  0  19
11 THORN, Erin......... g  6-15   2-5    0-0    0  1  1   3  14  4  6  0  3  34
14 SULLIVAN, Julie..... g  3-8    0-0    2-2    1  2  3   1   8  4  1  0  2  32
01 SELJAAS, Nancy......    0-0    0-0    0-2    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
04 NELSON, Kestlee.....    0-0    0-0    1-2    1  0  1   2   1  0  2  0  0  15
05 LEWIS, Amy..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0  0+
10 MILLER, Marianne....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   1
12 GATTEN, Angie.......    0-0    0-0    0-1    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0  0+
15 OVERDIEK, Jen.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   0  0  1  1  0  12
20 LARSON, Brittany....    0-2    0-0    0-0    1  3  4   3   0  1  0  0  0  15
25 TAYLOR, Kali........    0-3    0-2    0-0    0  2  2   3   0  0  3  0  1  21
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia..    1-3    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   4
   TEAM................                         2  6  8
   Totals..............   20-50   3-10   8-14   7 26 33  22  51  9 16  4  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  6-21 28.6%   2nd Half: 14-29 48.3%   Game: 40.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-5  20.0%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 30.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-7  42.9%   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 57.1%    2
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Officials: SCOTT HERMAN, SHELL BROWN, MARK PINAFORE
Technical fouls: WEBER STATE WILDCATS-None. BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars-None.
Attendance: 917
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
WEBER STATE WILDCATS..........   16   25  -   41
BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars.........   16   35  -   51