Anderson Scores 1,000th Point
LARAMIE -- The No. 23 BYU women's basketball team (14-1) proved it deserves to be in the Top-25 Wednesday evening, as the Cougars overwhelmed host Wyoming, 60-44, behind the leadership of Ambrosia Anderson who scored her 1,000th point.
Anderson's basket at the 10:18 mark gave Anderson 1,001 career points, becoming only the eighteenth Cougar to join the 1,000-point club.
"I'm extremely proud of Ambrosia," head coach Jeff Judkins said. "She is a special player who works hard and just lets the offense come to her."
The game started well for BYU as the Cougars jumped out to a 7-0 lead off back-to-back lay-ups by Dani Kubik and Mallary Gillespie, as well as a three pointer from Melinda Johnsen.
Wyoming didn't take long to find its rhythm either, coming right back and making a 12-4 run of its own. The Cowgirls took the lead, 12-11, with 13:28 remaining in the half off two free throws by Jodi Bolerjack.
Kubik immediately responded for the Cougars, draining an uncharacteristic three pointer, which was followed by an Ambrosia Anderson bucket, which gave the Cougars a 14-12 lead and entered Anderson into the 1,000-point club.
The baskets ignited a fire under the BYU team, which turned on its defensive pressure, forcing the Cowgirls to go almost seven minutes without a single basket. With 3:51 remaining in the half, Michelle Taylor finally hit two free throws for Wyoming, but Anderson and Lauren Riley responded with two quick buckets to silence the Cowgirls.
BYU's defensive pressure and offensive patience allowed the team to take a 28-17 lead into the half.
The Cougars again jumped out strong, going on a 7-2 run off a three pointer from Anderson, two free throws from Kubik and a bucket from Riley. Although BYU then went dry for nearly three minutes, the team was able to keep Wyoming at bay by only allowing four points during that time.
Nancy Seljass finally hit a three pointer with 12:51 left in the game, but the Cowgirls responded with two jumpers and a free throw by Hanna Zavecz, bringing the score to 38-25.
The remainder of the first half was spent with both teams trading baskets, though BYU never lost control of the game and continued to slowly widen its lead.
Wyoming's Zavecz led all scorers with 15 points, while Anderson and Riley led BYU with 14 points apiece. Anderson's 14 points brings her career total to 1,011 points, and Riley's point total is a season and career high. Kubik also chipped in 11 points for the Cougars.
The Cougars shot 42 percent from the field to the Cowgirls' 22 percent. BYU also out rebounded Wyoming 44-32. Wyoming is the 12th opponent this season that the Cougars have out rebounded.
"It was a great defensive effort," Judkins said. "We're proud of our inside players both on offense and defense. Melinda and Jenny did an excellent job taking out their top two players."
BYU returns home on Saturday to host San Diego State in the Marriott Center at 2 p.m.
Official Basketball Box ScoreBYU Cougars vs Wyoming Cowgirls
1/18/06 7:05 p.m. at Laramie, Wyoming (Arena Auditorium)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: BYU Cougars 14-1, 4-0 MWC
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 6-16 2-5 0-0 4 5 9 0 14 1 1 0 1 31
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f 2-4 1-3 0-0 2 3 5 5 5 4 1 0 1 30
45 KUBIK, Dani......... c 3-6 1-1 4-4 3 2 5 5 11 0 2 0 1 17
15 KEELE, Jennie....... g 0-4 0-1 1-2 0 2 2 3 1 2 2 1 0 29
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g 2-5 1-3 3-4 1 5 6 2 8 6 3 0 3 32
01 SELJAAS, Nancy...... 1-6 1-3 0-0 1 1 2 3 3 1 1 0 0 14
10 STRATTON, Laura..... 1-1 0-0 2-3 0 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 1 12
13 AINA, Rachel........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
23 BROWN, Brit......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... 0-2 0-2 0-1 1 2 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 12
41 FADDIS, Brittany.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
52 RILEY, Lauren....... 7-9 0-0 0-0 3 3 6 2 14 0 4 0 0 21
54 KING, Cassie........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
TEAM................ 3 2 5
Totals.............. 22-53 6-18 10-14 18 26 44 22 60 15 16 1 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-28 42.9% 2nd Half: 10-25 40.0% Game: 41.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-7 28.6% 2nd Half: 4-11 36.4% Game: 33.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100 % 2nd Half: 8-12 66.7% Game: 71.4% 1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Wyoming Cowgirls 12-4, 2-3 MWC
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
05 ZAVECZ, Hanna....... f 3-11 0-2 9-12 5 4 9 2 15 0 3 3 1 35
10 VANDERJAGT, Rebecca. f 2-8 2-6 0-0 2 1 3 1 6 1 0 0 1 26
25 TAYLOR, Michelle.... c 3-7 0-0 5-6 3 1 4 4 11 2 2 0 0 25
02 BOLERJACK, Jodi..... g 0-4 0-2 5-6 0 2 2 3 5 2 3 0 1 30
23 HICKS, Erin......... g 0-6 0-3 0-0 2 5 7 1 0 1 2 0 2 30
11 KRAFT, Alysia....... 1-3 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 4 3 1 0 0 1 6
12 SISK, Dominique..... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 13
22 GORENSTEIN, Annie... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 5
24 MCGUFFEY, Megan..... 2-8 0-2 0-0 2 1 3 1 4 0 2 0 1 26
42 EWING, Lorissa...... 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
TEAM................ 2 1 3
Totals.............. 11-51 3-19 19-24 16 16 32 17 44 8 13 3 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 5-26 19.2% 2nd Half: 6-25 24.0% Game: 21.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd Half: 1-10 10.0% Game: 15.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 14-18 77.8% Game: 79.2% 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Robert Strong, Jennifer Tentor, Peter Contreras
Technical fouls: BYU Cougars-None. Wyoming Cowgirls-None.
Attendance: 1139
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
BYU Cougars................... 28 32 - 60
Wyoming Cowgirls.............. 17 27 - 44
ID-374016
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recent Stories
Fourth-quarter rally beats Santa Clara 78-72
BYU used a 33-point fourth quarter to come back and beat Santa Clara 78-72 on the road Thursday night.
Cougars take on Santa Clara and San Francisco in season's final road trip
After last week's home split, BYU women's basketball will hit the road to visit Santa Clara on Thursday and San…