Balanced Defense and Scoring Lead to Victory

PROVO -- The Cougars used defense to lead to offense in their first exhibition game of the season, forcing 29 turnovers on their way to an 85-42 victory over the Westminster Griffins Tuesday night.

The first half defense set the stage for the Cougars as they scored 15 points off of 15 Griffin turnovers and held their opponent to just 16 points in the first half. The defense was lead by Melinda Johnsen, who accounted for four of the team's 10 steals in the first frame.

"Defensively we had moments where we looked great, but we also had some lapses," head coach Jeff Judkins said. "Tonight we saw a lot of really nice things, but we still have a lot of work to do."

The tough defense held Westminster scoreless for the first 4:34 and allowed the Cougar offense to get out to an early lead. Ambrosia Anderson got involved right away, scoring the Cougar's first four points and adding an assist on a Mallary Gillespie three-pointer.

The shots kept dropping from that point, as BYU went 5-for-8 from behind the arc and shot 50 percent from the field.

The second half provided more of the same for the Cougars, as they continued with the offensive assault. Helping BYU to the win was senior Ambrosia Anderson with 14 points and Freshman Vanessa Hutson, who scored 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range and dished out 3 assists in her first game as a Cougar.

"I've got some talented freshmen on this team," Judkins said. "You've seen what Vanessa can do. She hits the shots and makes passes, and she did a nice job tonight."

Although the game serves as a warm up for the season, the Cougars were anxious to get out and play. Anderson said it was nice to finally compete against people she doesn't see everyday.

"It's exciting to be able to apply what you learn in practice and beat another team," Anderson said.

BYU now has 10 days off to prepare for their next contest against another team. They face Mesa State Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center.

Official Basketball Box Score
WC vs BYU Cougars
11-1-05 7:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO, UT
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VISITORS: WC 0-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
23 HIRSCHI, Janae...... f  2-7    0-3    0-0    0  5  5   1   4  0  5  0  1  24
33 TAGGART, Amy........ f  5-8    2-5    2-2    1  5  6   0  14  0  3  0  1  22
25 FACKRELL, Shalee.... c  2-19   0-0    8-8    5  7 12   3  12  1  2  1  2  40
03 EVANS, Shannon...... g  2-8    1-3    0-0    0  3  3   2   5  0  4  0  3  25
22 ECKMAN, Jordan...... g  0-7    0-6    0-0    0  2  2   0   0  3  4  0  0  31
04 HOSKINS, Mara.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   0  1  0  0  1   3
21 HABERLE, Alicia.....    0-1    0-1    0-1    0  1  1   1   0  0  4  0  0  11
30 LEADER, Elisa.......    3-7    0-1    1-1    0  0  0   1   7  0  3  0  1  28
32 DODGE, Tiff.........    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   1   0  3  1  0  0  16
   TEAM................                         4     4
   Totals..............   14-58   3-19  11-12  11 25 36  10  42  8 26  1  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  6-27 22.2%   2nd Half:  8-31 25.8%   Game: 24.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-6  16.7%   2nd Half:  2-13 15.4%   Game: 15.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-3  100 %   2nd Half:  8-9  88.9%   Game: 91.7%    0
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 1-0
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia.. f  6-9    2-2    0-0    0  2  2   0  14  2  1  0  0  14
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f  1-4    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   2   2  1  3  1  5  16
45 KUBIK, Dani......... c  3-4    0-0    0-0    3  3  6   3   6  0  2  2  1  13
24 HUTSON, Vanessa..... g  3-5    3-4    2-2    0  1  1   1  11  3  1  0  1  17
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g  4-6    2-4    1-1    0  2  2   0  11  4  2  0  1  14
01 SELJAAS, Nancy......    3-6    1-2    0-0    0  1  1   1   7  2  1  0  1  15
10 STRATTON, Laura.....    1-3    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   2  3  1  0  4  14
15 KEELE, Jennie.......    0-3    0-1    0-0    1  4  5   1   0  3  1  0  1  17
23 BROWN, Brit.........    0-2    0-1    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  1  0  1   6
32 SLADE, Shawnee......    2-8    0-1    0-0    0  7  7   1   4  5  0  0  1  22
41 FADDIS, Brittany....    2-5    0-2    6-6    4  1  5   0  10  1  1  0  2  10
50 ABELL, Mary Martha..    2-7    1-2    0-0    4  4  8   0   5  0  2  0  0  19
52 RILEY, Lauren.......    1-5    0-0    1-2    3  3  6   5   3  0  2  0  1  14
54 KING, Cassie........    5-7    0-0    0-0    1  1  2   0  10  0  0  0  0   9
   TEAM................                            1  1
   Totals..............   33-74   9-20  10-11  17 34 51  14  85 24 18  3 19 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 19-38 50.0%   2nd Half: 14-36 38.9%   Game: 44.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-8  62.5%   2nd Half:  4-12 33.3%   Game: 45.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half: 10-11 90.9%   Game: 90.9%    0
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Officials: MIKE PETTY, BRIAN ABBOTT, KODY KETTERLING
Technical fouls: WC-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 519
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
WC............................   16   26  -   42
BYU Cougars...................   43   42  -   85
FINAL
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