Cougars Defeat the Aztecs in Season Finale

SAN -- In the season finale for both teams, BYU had an all-around team effort to escape the Cox Arena Saturday night with a 69-61 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs.

The win marked the second in a row for the Cougars (18-9, 9-5 MWC), who finished the season strong, winning seven of the last nine games and a third place finish in the MWC.

Solid and consistent play by the poised seniors Danielle Cheesman and Julie Sullivan, allowed BYU to pull away from the Aztecs in the second half and cruise to the victory. Sullivan finished with a team-high 16 points and Cheesman added 14 points, shooting 7-11 and 7-10 from the field, respectively.

"I think we did a really good job in the second half dominating inside," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "Julie Sullivan had a great game for us. She is a great leader and made some key baskets for us."

BYU enjoyed its biggest lead of the game 63-48 with 5:10 left in the game following a jumpshot by sophomore Tiari Goold. With just 4:34 remaining and BYU with the lead 65-51, SDSU gathered a little momentum with a 7-0 to bring the score to 65-58 with just under two minutes to play. BYU responded with a layup by Sullivan and two free-throws by Kubik to extend the Cougar lead back to 10 with 1:05 left in regulation.

After a sloppy turnover-plagued beginning to the game, both teams exchanged the lead three times during the first ten minutes. BYU held a narrow lead 15-14 with 9:46 left in the first half before the Cougars went on a 9-2 run over the next 4:31 seconds, capped off by a layup by sophomore Tiari Goold. The Aztecs answered with their own 7-0 run to close the gap to 22-21, BYU. Two free throws by Kate Eveland of SDSU, tied the game at 25 going into halftime.

Junior Ambrosia Anderson and sophomore Dani Kubik, provided a huge spark for the Cougars off the bench in the first half, combining for 12 points. Both teams struggled from the field with BYU shooting 48 percent and SDSU shooting 42 percent. The Aztecs scored 14 points off turnovers to the Cougars two.

Saturday's victory marked the fourth time this season that the Cougars have had four different players in double figures, but only the first time against a MWC opponent. The four players were Sullivan, Cheesman, Kubik and Anderson.

The Cougars utilized their deep bench outscoring the Aztecs 29-10. Judkins said he was happy to have such a big game from his bench players.

"I'm really lucky that I have a deep bench," added Judkins. "I'm really proud of how they're playing right now."

Finishing the season strong, Judkins looks for BYU's strong play of-late to carry over into the MWC tournament next week in hopes of receiving an invitation to either the NCAA Tournament or the NIT Tournament.

"It gives us some momentum. I think we're playing our best ball right now and our young players are improving."

Denver is the site of the MWC Tournament, which runs from March 9-12. BYU will play Colorado State Wednesday March 9 at 8:30 p.m at the Pepsi Center. The winner of the tournament is granted an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament later this month.

Official Basketball Box Score
Brigham Young vs San Diego State
3-5-05 5:17 p.m. at San Diego, Calif. (Cox Arena)
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VISITORS: Brigham Young 18-9 (9-5 MWC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
32 KOZLOWSKI, Kristen.. f  3-4    0-0    0-1    1  6  7   1   6  2  3  0  1  31
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. f  7-10   0-0    0-0    2  2  4   3  14  0  1  0  1  18
14 SULLIVAN, Julie..... g  7-11   1-2    1-2    1  3  4   2  16  4  6  0  0  33
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g  0-1    0-0    0-0    1  4  5   0   0  2  3  1  0  18
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... g  2-4    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   3   4  1  2  1  3  32
13 GOOLD, Tiari........    2-3    0-1    0-2    0  2  2   1   4  5  3  1  2  21
25 TAYLOR, Kali........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0   3
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia..    4-7    1-2    2-2    0  2  2   1  11  2  2  1  3  14
45 KUBIK, Dani.........    4-8    1-2    5-5    0  5  5   3  14  0  5  1  0  24
50 ABELL, Mary Martha..    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  1  0  0   3
52 RILEY, Lauren.......    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   2   0  0  0  0  0   3
   TEAM................                         1  3  4
   Totals..............   29-50   3-8    8-12   7 28 35  16  69 17 26  5 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-21 47.6%   2nd Half: 19-29 65.5%   Game: 58.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-6  33.3%   2nd Half:  1-2  50.0%   Game: 37.5%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-5  60.0%   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 66.7%   2,1
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HOME TEAM: San Diego State 8-19 (2-12 MWC)
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
42 CASEY, Lindsey...... f  9-15   0-0    1-3    1  4  5   3  19  1  3  0  2  38
50 CHEESMAN, Ashley.... f  4-7    0-0    1-2    2  4  6   4   9  2  2  0  1  30
05 ELLIOTT, Michelle... g  0-6    0-4    0-0    0  1  1   3   0  1  4  0  1  38
20 STRAWBERRY, Michelle g  6-15   3-7    0-0    0  3  3   1  15  4  2  0  2  32
21 SHAW, Veronica...... g  2-6    0-0    4-6    0  1  1   1   8  7  4  0  3  30
10 HUETTL, Jessica.....    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   1   2  0  0  0  0   8
11 EVELAND, Kate.......    0-1    0-0    2-2    0  1  1   1   2  0  1  0  1   9
13 MCCUE, Marin........    1-2    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   1   2  0  2  0  0   9
33 SMITH, Jordie.......    1-2    0-0    2-3    2  0  2   1   4  0  0  0  0   6
   TEAM................                         2  1  3
   Totals..............   24-56   3-13  10-16   7 16 23  16  61 15 18  0 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-24 41.7%   2nd Half: 14-32 43.8%   Game: 42.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-5  20.0%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 23.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-8  50.0%   2nd Half:  6-8  75.0%   Game: 62.5%    2
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Officials: Artrail Tillman, Rick Ruybalid, Randy Coil
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-None. San Diego State-None.
Attendance: 661
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young.................   25   44  -   69
San Diego State...............   25   36  -   61
ID-284741
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