Final MWC Games, Utah In Provo, TCU at Ft. Worth

BYU (20-7, 11-3) plays its final two league games this week. On Wed. Feb. 28, the Cougar team hosts instate rival Utah (17-10, 10-4) in an 8 p.m. tip off. On Sat., Mar. 3 the final game for first place BYU is at TCU (19-9, 9-5) at 2 p.m.

Complete Broadcast Plans

On TV - The game between BYU and Utah on Feb. 28 is live on CSTV. Ann Schatz and Amy Lawerence will call the action from the Marriott Center.

On the internet - Both games will air live on BYU Radio via audio streaming. Veteran broadcaster Jay Monsen will call the action. To listen log on to: http://www.byuradio.org/streaming

Live stats - fans can follow the game action via stats by clicking on:

http://www.byucougars.com/Schedule.jsp?SP=112&YR=2006

BYU Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

G/F 15 Jennie Keele 5-10 Sr 6.5 3.5

G 30 Mallary Gillespie 5-10 Jr 13.5 3.6

G/F 35 Melinda Johnsen 5-10 Sr 5.9 2.7

C 45 Dani Kubik Wright 6-3 Sr 14.3 6.9

F 52 Lauren Riley 6-3 Jr 7.1 6.5

Reserve Players

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

G/F 32 Shawnee Slade 5-11 So 7.9 5.0

C 54 Cassie King 6-3 So 3.8 2.7

F 05 Ashley Cheesman 6-0 Jr 2.0 1.8

F 22 Brittany Faddis 6-0 So 0.9 1.2

G 13 Jaime Judkins 5-6 Fr 0.3 0.6

G 31 Rachel Aina 5-9 So 0.2 0.2

Team Stats --

-- Shooting from the field: (.432, 636-1472)

-- Shooting from the free-throw line: (.625, 290-464)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.325, 155-477)

-- Average points per game: 63.6

2006 Run In Preseason WNIT

The Cougar team ended their run in this year's Preseason WNIT after a disappointing 58-84 loss to No. 16 Baylor on Thurs. Nov. 16. BYU had advanced to the Final Four after a 73-50 home victory over Idaho State on Nov. 10 and then a come from behind 55-52 upset victory over No. 4 Stanford. Dani Kubik Wright was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Cougars Team Summary

After compiling the best season record in school history (26-6), making their seventh postseason NCAA Championships appearance and clinching the 2006 MWC Regular Season Champion crown, the BYU team looks to take that success and winning attitude into the 2006-07 year.

BYU returns a nucleus of four starters and five letterwinners that will make this year's squad tough to beat during its non-conference and league schedules.

Once again the Cougars should finish at the top of the MWC standings, leading the way to an eighth appearance in the NCAA Championships and advancing further in that national tournament.

TEAM

-- The Cougars non-conference road record finished at 4-4.

-- The team improved to 15-2 when leading at the half.

-- OT woes - in the two overtime games the Cougars have played so far this season, they have lost both by five points. One at home vs. UNM on 02/10/07 and @ UNLV on 02/21/07.

-- BYU is 15-3 when outrebounding opponents. (Outrebounded Utah 38-35 on 01/27/07, and on 12/30/06 at Oregon, 37-29 but loss both games.

-- The 11 turnovers BYU had vs. UNLV on 01/20/07 were the lowest of the year. They had 13 vs. CSU on 01/18/07.

-- The 10 blocks vs. SDSU on 02/24/07 are a new team season high.They had nine at San Diego State on 01/25/07.

-- The Cougars have had three players scoring in double figures in 10 games. BYU has won all but two (Baylor, Oregon) of those games.

-- Ten times this season, the Cougars have had two players scoring in double figures, the most recent, at UNLV on 02/21/07, and at CSU on 02/17/07.

-- The 79 points scored against Weber State are the most scored by BYU this year and the (13) three-point goals, are a new team high.

-- BYU has had seven games where they have scored at least 70 points in the game. They have won five of them, and only one of those has been against an MWC team (70 versus AF on 02/08/07 in Provo).

-- BYU's defense held the Cowgirls to 28.3 percent shooting from the field on 02/15/07, making it the second lowest in league competition for the Cougars to date.

-- The Cougars picked up season best in 3-point field goal percentage .542 (13-24) in the Weber State game on 12/14/06.

-- To date, BYU has shot over 50 percent from the field in two games (vs. Weber State .542 on 12/14/06 and vs. UCR .521 on 12/20/06)

-- The Cougars have had four players score in double figures three times this year: (vs. SCU, @ Harvard, and @ UVSC).

-- In the game at home vs. Santa Clara University on 11/22/06, the .839 (26-31) free throw percentage was the best for the team in regular season games. In league games, they shot .800 (16-20) vs. TCU on 02/01/07 for the highest charity stripe percentage in league games to date.

-- The 55 total rebounds grabbed in the game vs. CSUN on 12/09/06 are a new season high for the team.

-- The 1,313 fans in attendance at the UNM game on 02/10/07 are the second highest home total of the season and the highest against a league opponent.

-- The 15 steals in the game @ UNLV on 02/21/07 were the most of the season and the most in league play.

PLAYER

-- Dani Wright scored a new season and career high 30 points @ UNLV on 02/21/07.

-- Dani Wright set a new season and career high in rebounds with 15 vs. TCU on 02/01/07.

-- Dani Kubik Wright - Preseason WNIT All-Tournament Team

-- Dani Wright - In the game @ Stanford - played a total of 35 minutes, the most minutes played in her college career.

-- Melinda Johnsen - team's assist leader: (319) for her career, 123 this season, as of 02/26/07.

-- Melinda Johnsen grabbed seven boards against Wyoming on 02/15/07 tying her season high in rebounds and the most boards versus a league opponent this year.

-- Lauren Riley picked up a season and career high five blocks vs. AF on 02/08/07.

-- Lauren Riley picked up a new season and career high 18 points vs. UNM on 02/10/07.

-- Mallary Gillespie picked up new season and career highs in points with 31 at Wyoming on 02/15/07.

-- Mallary Gillespie picked up her third season and career MWC Player of the Week honor on Feb. 19 after her 31 point performance in the game at Wyoming on 02/15/07.

-- Jennie Keele tallied a season high 16 points at Colorado State on 02/17/07, one point shy of her 17 career high.

Balanced BYU Scoring (as of 02/22/07)

Games With Four In Double Figures (3)

vs. SCU 11/22/06 - Keele (12), Gillespie (14), Slade (22), Johnsen (10)

@ Harvard 11/29/06 - Gillespie (10), Hall (10), Wright (14), King (11)

@ UVSC 12/16/06 - Gillespie (14), Slade (13), Wright (12), Riley (13)

Games With Three In Double Figures (10)

@ Baylor 11/16/06 - Keele (12), Slade (11), Wright (17)

vs. UC Riverside 12/20/06 - Gillespie (11), Wright (27), Riley (10)

@ Oregon 12/30/06 - Johnsen (10), Wright (20), Riley (13)

@ Air Force 01/06/07 - Keele (10), Slade (13), Wright (13)

vs. Wyoming 01/13/07 - Keele (11), Slade (11), Wright (12)

vs. CSU 01/18/07 - Gillespie (16), Wright (15), Riley (12)

vs. TCU 02/01/07 - Gillespie (21), Slade (12), Riley (10)

vs. UNM 02/10/07 - Gillespie (24), Wright (20), Riley (18)

@ WY 02/15/07 - Gillespie (31), Slade (15), Wright (13)

vs. SDSU 02/24/07 - Gillespie (17), Wright (15), Riley (11)

Games With Two In Double Figures (10)

vs. Idaho St. 11/10/06 - Gillespie (10), Slade (10)

@ Stanford 11/13/06 - Gillespie (12), Hall (15)

@ Fresno St. 11/17/06 - Johnsen (12), Wright (10)

@ NMex.St. 01/06/07 - Gillespie (14), Wright (16)

vs. Weber St. 12/14/06 - Keele (13), Gillespie (30)

@ UNM 01/10/07 - Gillespie (18), Slade (16)

@ SDSU 01/25/07 - Gillespie (10), Wright (12)

vs. AFA 02/08/07 - Wright (21), Johnsen (10)

@ CSU 02/17/07 - Wright (22), Keele (16)

@ UNLV 02/21/07 - Wright (30), Gillespie (19)

Double Digit Scoring 06-07

-- Mallary Gillespie has scored in double figures in a total of 18 games this season. Of those games, nine are against MWC foes.

-- Dani Wright has scored in double figures in 19 games including 11 of 14 MWC games including the last five.

-- Jennie Keele has scored in double digits in six games, most recently (16) at CSU on 02/17/07.

-- Shawnee Slade has scored in double figures in nine contests this season, which includes five league games and the most recent (15) at Wyoming on 02/15/07.

-- Lauren Riley has seven games this year where she has tallied double digit scoring. This includes four conference games, most recently vs. SDSU on 02/24/07.

Cougar Double Doubles 06-07

-- Dani Wright picked up her fourth season and fifth career double double with the 21 points and 11 rebounds vs. AF on 02/08/07.

-- Lauren Riley recorded her third double double of the season and fourth career with 11 points and 10 rebounds vs. SDSU on 02/24/07.

Long Range Gillespie

-- Mallary Gillespie continues to get hot from three point range. She continues to pick up the majority of her points from behind the arc. At Wyoming on 02/15/07 where she tallied a new season and career high 31 points, she shot .714(5-7) from three point range. In the game vs. TCU on 02/01/07 she scored 15 of her team and game high 21 points from three-point land. She also tallied 18 of her team high 24 points vs. UNM on 02/10/07 from behind the arc.

-- Gillespie scored a team and game high 16 vs. CSU on 01/18/07 scoring 12 of those from three-point range.

-- In the home league game vs. UNLV on 01/20/07, she had another game and team high performance with 17 points, 15 of which were from behind the arc.

Seniors Recognized/Special Promotion -

Three seniors (Jennie Keele - Syracuse, Utah/Syracuse HS; Melinda Johnsen - Murray, Utah/Murray HS; Dani Kubik Wright - Lawrenceville, GA/Collins Hill HS/Auburn) will be honored prior to the start of Wednesday night's league game vs. Utah.

Special Promotion -

For the Utah game on Wed., Feb. 28 anyone 18 years of age and younger gets in free to the game at the Marriott Center. Tip off between the Cougars and the Utes is 8 p.m.

Injury Update -

Freshman point guard Haley Hall is out for the rest of the season. She tore her ACL in her left knee at the New Mexico State game on 12/06/06.

2005-06 Season Review

-- Best record in school history 26-6

-- Tallied an impressive 13-1 record on the road

-- MWC Regular Season Crown with a 13-3 record

-- The squad advanced to the MWC Championship game before losing to Utah, 60-84

-- Made seventh appearance in NCAA Championships, seeded seventh, the highest seed for the Cougar program. The team advanced to the Round of 32 with 67-62 victory over Iowa, then lost to Oklahoma 70-86

-- Breaks into the national polls after going 15-1 to begin the season. Its first appearance came the week of Jan. 16 when both the AP Poll and the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll ranked the team at the No. 23 spot. The team moved as high as No. 16 in the USAToday/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll, the highest of the year and the highest ever in the program's history. BYU finished the season ranked 20th in the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches Poll.

2005-06 MWC Honors/All-America Citations

Co-Player of the Year -- Ambrosia Anderson

Coach of the Year -- Jeff Judkins

First Team All- Mountain West Conference -- Ambrosia Anderson

Second Team All- Mountain West Conference -- Dani Kubik

Honorable Mention All- Mountain West Conference -- Mallary Gillespie, Melinda Johnsen, Jennie Keele

Honorable Mention All- America Citations

Ambrosia Anderson - AP Women's All-America Basketball Team

Ambrosia Anderson - WBCA and Eastman Kodak Company

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S MWC OPPONENTS

UNIVERSITY OF UTAH - Provo, Utah (02/28/07), 8 p.m.

The University of Utah has compiled a (17-10, 10-4) record and is tied for second place with New Mexico with identical league records. Most recently the Utes defeated the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs 60-52 on 02/22/07. In conference games Utah has three players score in double digits led by Morgan Warburton with an average of 17.6 points and 4.8 rebounds. She's followed by Kalee Whipple who contributes with 11.5 points and a team high 7.1 rebounds per contest. Marie Warner rounds out the Utes offensive strength with her 10.4 points and 4.2 boards. Warburton also leads the team in assists with 43 and steals with 22.

UTAH Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG (conf.gms)

F 32 Joh-Teena Filipe 6-1 So 6.6 5.7

F 45 Jessica Perry 6-3 Sr 5.1 3.6

G 03 Brette Ulsaker 5-9 Fr 3.6 2.4

G 05 Heidi Carlsen 5-9 Sr 3.9 1.6

G 15 Morgan Warburton 5-10 So 17.6 4.8

Stat Comparisons BYU UT (conf. game stats)

Field Goals: .434 .401

Free Throws: .618 .818

Three-Pointers: .327 .362

Points Per Game: 64.4 62.0

Rebounds Per Game: 37.9 37.3

Series History

Instate rivals BYU and Utah have tallied a 31-56 record favoring the Utes. When playing in Provo, the Utes have an 19-15 record. Their most recent win at the Marriott Center was last season, a 70-52 victory for the Utes.

Last Meeting

The first meeting between the two team was at the Huntsman Center where hosts Utah picked up the 10-point 64-54 victory on 01/27/07

TCU - Ft. Worth, TX (03/02/07), 2 p.m.

In this final week, TCU has a 19-9, 9-5 record. In league standings they are tied with Wyoming for fourth place and play at SDSU on 02/28/07. In conference games the team has three players scoring in double figures led by junior guard Adrianne Ross. She's averaging 17.1 points and 3.2 rebounds. Next is Ashley Davis who scores 12.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest. Hanna Biernacka rounds out TCU's double digit scoring with 11.4 points and grabs 5.0 boards. Toping the rebound category is Lorie Butler-Rayford who averages 6.7 boards a game.

TCU Probable Starters

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG (conf.gms)

F 14 Lorie Butler-Rayford 5-11 Jr 6.5 6.7

F 42 Hanna Biernacka 6-1 Sr 11.4 5.0

G 11 Helen Roden 5-8 Jr 6.7 3.1

G 33 Adrianne Ross 5-8 Jr 17.1 3.2

G 34 Ashley Davis 6-0 Sr 12.1 4.6

Stat Comparisons BYU TCU (conf. game stats)

Field Goals: .434 .419

Free Throws: .618 .709

Three-Pointers: .327 .342

Points Per Game: 64.7 72.3

Rebounds Per Game: 37.9 37.6

Series History

The series between TCU and BYU is 7-2 in favor of the Cougars. In Ft. Worth, BYU has a 3-1 record. During last season's schedule the Cougars were the only team to beat the Horned Frogs on their home court. BYU swept the series and also won the semifinal game between these two teams in the MWC Championships from the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Last Meeting

Earlier this year the two league teams met in Provo where the Cougars picked a four-point 69-65 victory.

Travel Plans

Team flights:

Fri., Mar. 2 - American flight# 1056 departs from SLC at 4:05 p.m, arriving in Dallas/Ft. Worth at 7:35 p.m.,

Sat. Mar, 3 - American flight# 2059 departs Dallas/Ft. Worth at 8:35 p.m. arriving in Salt Lake City at 10:25 p.m.

Team hotel:

Regular Team Practice Times - At Home

-- The team practices are held at the Marriott Center MWF from 11:30 a.m., to 1:30 p.m. On Tuesday's, practice is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m., and on Thursday's it is 12:30 to 3 p.m.

-- Coach Judkins and players are available for interviews prior to or after their practices. All interviews are scheduled in advance. Norma Collett is the Media Director for the team and can be contacted by phone or email. She travels to all of the away games.

Office phone is 801-422-4908, cell phone is 801-372-0989 and email is norma_collett@byu.edu

Up Next

The Cougars head out to Las Vegas and the Thomas & Mack Center for the 2007 MWC Women's Basketball Championships Mar. 7-10.