Kansas State Hands BYU Close Loss

PROVO -- After losing its first half lead, the BYU women’s basketball team dropped a close 65-62 contest to Kansas State Friday afternoon in the Marriott Center. With the loss, the Cougars are now 3-2 on the season.

“I thought we did some nice things and hopefully we can just keep getting better,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “It’s sad to lose, but we’ll keep working at it and we’ll get it.”

Haley Hall scored the first points of the game on a deep three-pointer less than 10-seconds into the game. Jazmine Foreman added a trey of her own a couple minutes later to give the Cougars an 8-2 lead. Hall finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Foreman finished with 11 points and five rebounds, both a season-high.

Hall would go on to score four more points before KSU managed to record back-to-back baskets. With 8:19 to play in the first half, Keilani Moeaki’s put-back gave BYU an eight-point advantage.

The Cougars were held scoreless for five minutes, allowing the Wildcats a chance to tie the score 24-24. Freshman Kim Parker’s three-point basket as the shot clock expired gave BYU back the lead, but KSU evened it up again with a make from behind-the-arc on the ensuing possession.

The Wildcats took advantage of the momentum swing, converting a three-point play with six seconds remaining in the first half to take a 30-27 lead into the locker room. It marks the first time a BYU opponent has led at the halftime break so far this season.

BYU went on an 11-2 run to start the second half, with baskets by five different members of the Cougars squad. Sophomore Kristen Riley a jumper to give BYU a 40-32 advantage, forcing Kansas State to call a timeout. The Wildcats tied it up 40-40 and the teams continued to trade baskets and free throws back-and-forth for the next ten minutes.

Neither team was able to create more than a two-point separation until KSU pulled away to 57-51 with 5:49 to play in the game. Redshirt freshman Alexis Kaufusi was 3-of-4 from the free throw line to narrow the Wildcats’ lead to six points.

Mindy Nielson scored five consecutive points for BYU with a jumper and three-point make with just under three minutes on the game clock. Ahead by one, KSU’s Ashley Sweat converted a three-point play, bringing the score to 63-59. Nielson finished with 13 points and eight rebounds to lead the Cougars. Her eight rebounds tied her career-high and the 13 points marked the 23rd time she's scored in double-figures.

Foreman made her third trey of the game to help BYU pull within one point before KSU was called for a charging foul with less than a minute to play. Despite the lucky turnover, the Cougars were unable to make a basket.

“Being down by eight points late in the second half, we really fought back. I was proud of that,” Judkins said. “I thought we did a great job executing and doing what we needed to do to get the basket. We just didn’t make the last one when it counted.”

Up next the Cougars travel to Hawaii to play in the Hukilau Invitational on Dec. 4-5. BYU is scheduled to play San Francisco and Hawaii.

Official Basketball Box Score
Kansas State vs BYU Cougars
11/27/09 3:35 pm at Marriott Center, Provo, Utah
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VISITORS: Kansas State 2-3
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
04 Sweat, Ashley....... *  6-12   3-5    3-3    0  2  2   2  18  2  3  0  1  40-
12 Karr, Taelor........ *  5-8    3-4    4-5    0  6  6   5  17  4  4  0  3  29
22 White, Mariah....... *  1-2    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   2  2  1  0  0  13
34 Brown, Branshea..... *  0-2    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   0   0  0  3  2  1  21
41 Kincaid, Kari....... *  3-10   1-5    0-0    0  2  2   1   7  1  0  0  0  35
02 Chambers, Brittany..    6-9    2-2    2-2    1  1  2   2  16  0  1  0  0  26
23 Spani, Shalin.......    1-4    1-3    0-0    0  0  0   0   3  0  1  0  0  19
32 Voronenko, Alina....    0-0    0-0    0-2    1  0  1   0   0  0  0  0  0   3
33 Childs, Jalana......    1-2    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   5   2  0  2  0  0  14
   TEAM................                         3  6  9
   Totals..............   23-49  10-19   9-12   7 19 26  16  65  9 15  2  5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-24 45.8%   2nd Half: 12-25 48.0%   Game: 46.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-8  50.0%   2nd Half:  6-11 54.5%   Game: 52.6%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-5  80.0%   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 75.0%    2
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 3-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
22 NIELSON, Mindy...... f  6-10   1-2    0-0    3  5  8   1  13  2  3  0  2  40
35 RILEY, Kristen...... f  3-4    0-1    1-3    1  1  2   2   7  3  2  0  2  23
45 MOEAKI, Keilani..... c  3-4    0-2    0-0    1  1  2   3   6  1  4  0  0  21
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine.... g  3-7    3-4    2-2    2  4  6   3  11  4  4  0  0  28
33 HALL, Haley......... g  4-13   2-8    0-0    2  2  4   3  10  4  0  0  2  36
04 PARKER, Kim.........    1-1    1-1    0-0    0  1  1   1   3  0  0  0  0  13
10 KAUFUSI, Alexis.....    2-6    0-0    3-4    3  5  8   1   7  0  2  1  0  21
23 WOOD, Coriann.......    1-8    0-2    1-2    2  3  5   4   3  1  3  2  1  14
32 PETERSON, Dani......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  0  0  0   4
   TEAM................                         5  1  6
   Totals..............   24-54   7-20   7-11  19 23 42  18  62 15 18  3  7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-26 42.3%   2nd Half: 13-28 46.4%   Game: 44.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-8  37.5%   2nd Half:  4-12 33.3%   Game: 35.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  7-11 63.6%   Game: 63.6%    2
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Officials: CLARKE STEVENS, RANDY CAMPBELL, LAURA RAHE
Technical fouls: Kansas State-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 937
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Kansas State..................   30   35  -   65
BYU Cougars...................   25   37  -   62
OFFICIAL FINAL