Rams Charge Past Cougars

PROVO -- A late second half run fell short in a Valentine's Day match-up, as Colorado State (13-9, 4-5) defeated the BYU (13-10, 3-6) women's basketball team 72-64 at the Marriott Center.

The Cougars fell behind by 17 points in the first half, giving CSU the cushion they needed going into the half. The Rams hit 42 percent from the three-point line and 44 percent from the field.

"They were on fire," head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I've never seen them play like that. Part of it is they came out and pushed the ball on us, and part of it is we didn't score."

Despite the half-time deficit, BYU came out and whittled the lead down to 10 with two shots by junior guard Julie Sullivan. Senior center Ashleigh Chamberlain and Sullivan led the Cougars in scoring with 14 points apiece. Chamberlain grabbed seven rebounds and shot 6-for-9 from the field.

"Colorado State did not guard the post very well tonight," Judkins said. "If we'd have thrown it into Ashleigh in the first half like we had in the second half, the game would have been different."

With less than eight minutes to go in the second half, junior forward Danielle Cheesman scored back-to-back buckets to cut the lead again to 10, igniting a 9-0 run.

Two free throws by Chamberlain brought BYU within five points with four minutes left in the game. But the team would get no closer, as CSU knocked down 10 of 12 free throws in the last minutes of the game to solidify the win.

Colorado State pushed the ball in transition in the first half, as BYU was unable to compensate for a 9-0 run by the Rams. CSU's Lindsay Thomas led the first-half run with 11 points and Jasai Ferrucho recorded 9-of-14 assists before the half, setting a career record.

Three other Rams scored in double-figures. Among them was sophomore guard Vanessa Espinoza with 17 points, hitting 7-for-8 behind the free-throw line. Thomas finished with a double-double, 18 points and 10 rebounds.

The Cougars struggled from behind the arc, only hitting 1-of-12 for the game. BYU also shot 37 percent from the field, making it tough to come back from the halftime deficit.

BYU will take on its final road trip of the season, first at Air Force on Feb. 19 and again at New Mexico on Feb. 21.

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
COLORADO STATE RAMS vs Brigham Young University
02-14-04 4:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO, UT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: COLORADO STATE RAMS 13-9; 4-5
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
32 DENNETT, Melissa.... f  6-11   0-1    1-3    2  5  7   4  13  2  3  1  1  26
33 JENKINS, Joy........ f  2-5    1-4    0-1    0  2  2   2   5  0  4  0  1  27
45 THOMAS, Lindsay..... c  6-14   1-2    5-5    6  4 10   4  18  0  2  0  0  25
05 ESPINOZA, Vanessa... g  4-12   2-5    7-8    1  4  5   2  17  1  2  0  1  35
11 FERRUCHO, Jasai..... g  1-6    0-2    0-3    1  5  6   4   2 14  1  0  3  34
20 NOHR, Molly.........    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  1  1  0  0   8
21 WALSETH, Annika.....    4-5    3-4    0-0    0  0  0   1  11  0  1  0  0  14
31 O'DWYER, Kylee......    2-3    0-1    0-0    1  3  4   1   4  4  0  0  0  21
51 MOULTON, Marilyn....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   0  0  0  0  0  10
   TEAM................                            3  3
   Totals..............   26-59   7-19  13-20  11 28 39  20  72 22 14  1  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-36  .444   2nd Half: 10-23  .435   Game:  .441  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-12  .417   2nd Half:  2-7   .286   Game:  .368  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-3  1.000   2nd Half: 10-17  .588   Game:  .650     3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Brigham Young University 13-10; 3-6
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f  0-0    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   0   0  2  1  0  0  16
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. f  4-8    0-1    0-0    3  5  8   3   8  6  1  0  1  26
40 CHAMBERLAIN, A...... c  6-9    0-0    2-6    1  6  7   5  14  0  1  1  1  24
14 SULLIVAN, Julie..... g  5-11   0-3    4-6    2  2  4   5  14  5  4  0  1  27
15 OVERDIEK, Jennie.... g  3-8    1-3    0-1    1  3  4   3   7  3  2  0  0  21
01 SELJAAS, Nancy......    2-6    0-2    1-2    0  1  1   0   5  0  1  0  1  20
04 DOOLEY, Kestlee.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  3  0  0  0  13
13 GOOLD, Tiari........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  2  0  0  0   3
24 HANSEN, Hollie......    2-5    0-2    1-1    1  2  3   1   5  1  2  0  2  19
25 TAYLOR, Kali........    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   0   2  2  1  0  0   7
32 KOZLOWSKI, Kristen..    4-7    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   0   8  0  0  0  1  14
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia..    0-2    0-1    1-1    0  0  0   1   1  0  0  0  1  10
   TEAM................                         1  1  2
   Totals..............   27-57   1-12   9-17   9 26 35  18  64 24 13  1  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-30  .367   2nd Half: 16-27  .593   Game:  .474  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-7   .000   2nd Half:  1-5   .200   Game:  .083  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  1-3   .333   2nd Half:  8-14  .571   Game:  .529     1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: JACK JONES, PETER CONTRERAS, CHUCK GONZALEZ
Technical fouls: COLORADO STATE RAMS-None. Brigham Young University-None.
Attendance: 732
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
COLORADO STATE RAMS...........   40   32  -   72
Brigham Young University......   23   41  -   64
OFFICIAL  FINAL