Women Fall to UNLV at MWC Tournament

DENVER -- The Cougars' season came to an end Wednesday night as they lost a 57-60 battle to UNLV in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

"I'm very proud of the way these girls stuck together," said BYU Head Coach Jeff Judkins. "Tonight was a great effort and this is how our season's been -- right down to the wire. As a coach, you can't ask for anything more than that."

Three Cougars scored in double figures in the loss. Julie Sullivan and Danielle Cheesman both contributed 12 points for BYU, and Kristen Kozlowski added 10 points. Sullivan's scoring output marks the eighth consecutive game in which she has scored in double figures and the fifteenth game of the season. UNLV's Kameca Simmons led all scorers with 17 points.

BYU struck first to take a 2-0 lead, but the first half was all UNLV from there. The Rebels shot 45 percent for the half while holding the Cougars to just 29 percent and led BYU by as many as 11 points. The Cougars fought back and cut the lead to just three with six minutes left, but UNLV went into the locker room leading 22-29 at the half.

The Cougars came out hot in the second half, going on a 14-5 run to take their first lead since the opening two minutes at 36-36. Both teams battled back and forth from that point, but UNLV slowly pulled away, leading by eight halfway through the second half.

But the Cougars were not done yet. Jennie Overdiek hit a three-pointer, her only basket of the game, and Kristen Kozlowski added a jumper to once again tie the score, 49-49, with seven minutes left. The Rebels then answered with an 8-2 run to lead by 6 with four minutes to play. Danielle Cheesman then powered to the basket on two consecutive possessions to get BYU within two. After UNLV made a free throw, freshman Hollie Hansen found the net with 45 seconds left to put the Cougars down just one point, 57-58.

Unfortunately, that's all the offense the Cougars had left. The Rebels scored again to go up 60-57 with 14 seconds left and a three-point attempt by Ambrosia Anderson found the rim and then the floor to give UNLV the victory.

"It's unfortunate to lose this way. One or two plays and it would've been a different game," Judkins said.

BYU shot an amazing 68 percent (17-25) in the second half and 47 percent for the game. The Cougars struggled behind the arc, however, shooting just 16 percent (1-6) and from the free throw line as they went 4-9 (.444) while the Rebels went 13-19 (.684). The Cougars also forced 20 turnovers compared to committing just 14. The loss marks the 11th game this season in which the Cougars have lost by eight points or less.

With the loss, the Cougars end their season at 15-14 overall and 5-9 in the MWC. The Cougars will now hope to receive an NIT bid.

"I hope we get a bid," Judkins said. "I think our conference has done well in the postseason and I think that would really help us. I know we're going to build on this for next season."

Official Basketball Box Score -- GAME TOTALS -- FINAL STATISTICS
Brigham Young vs UNLV
03-10-04 8:30 p.m. at Denver, Colo. (Pepsi Center)
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VISITORS: Brigham Young 15-13 (5-9 MWC)
                          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  0  0   0   0  0  2  1  0  11
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. f  6-11   0-1    0-0    2  5  7   3  12  4  2  0  0  30
40 CHAMBERLAIN, A...... c  4-4    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   5   8  2  2  0  0  19
14 SULLIVAN, Julie..... g  6-16   0-0    0-2    1  1  2   3  12  7  2  0  3  32
15 OVERDIEK, Jennie.... g  1-3    1-1    0-0    0  3  3   2   3  2  1  0  2  23
04 DOOLEY, Kestlee.....    1-2    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   2   2  0  1  0  0  17
24 HANSEN, Hollie......    2-3    0-0    0-1    2  2  4   1   4  2  0  0  1  21
25 TAYLOR, Kali........    1-3    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  2  0  0   7
32 KOZLOWSKI, Kristen..    3-3    0-0    4-6    3  0  3   2  10  0  2  0  0  21
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia..    2-10   0-3    0-0    1  3  4   1   4  1  0  0  1  16
41 HUFFMAN, Lindsay....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         3  2  5
   Totals..............   26-55   1-6    4-9   13 17 30  19  57 18 14  1  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-30  .300   2nd Half: 17-25  .680   Game:  .473  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-4   .000   2nd Half:  1-2   .500   Game:  .167  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-7   .571   2nd Half:  0-2   .000   Game:  .444     2
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HOME TEAM: UNLV 21-6 (10-4 MWC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
21 HITCHENS, Nikki..... f  0-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   3   0  1  2  0  1  12
22 HENRY, RanDee....... f  5-8    1-3    4-5    3  5  8   3  15  3  5  0  2  34
54 MCCRACKLIN, Sherry.. f  3-6    0-0    4-6    2  3  5   1  10  1  2  0  0  35
00 MOORE, Sheena....... g  4-13   2-6    2-3    1  3  4   2  12  2  5  0  0  40
31 ROBINSON, InFini.... g  2-5    2-4    0-0    1  2  3   3   6  1  3  1  0  28
01 CLARK, Nejlah.......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
03 SIMMONS, Kameca.....    7-11   0-0    3-5    3  3  6   1  17  3  2  0  1  27
14 PACE, Latosha.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  0  0  0   1
40 STRONG, Padra.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   0   0  0  0  2  0   9
44 COLEMAN, Shana......    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   2   0  0  0  0  0   8
51 LOFTUS, Amy.........    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  1  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         3  2  5
   Totals..............   21-48   5-15  13-19  15 19 34  16  60 11 20  3  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  9-20  .450   2nd Half: 12-28  .429   Game:  .438  DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-8   .250   2nd Half:  3-7   .429   Game:  .333  REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  9-12  .750   2nd Half:  4-7   .571   Game:  .684     1
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Officials: Jack Jones, Sue Kennedy, Rick Ruybalid
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-None. UNLV-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young.................   22   35  -   57
UNLV..........................   29   31  -   60
ID-253588
Mountain West Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Game