Clutch Plays Power Cougars Past Titans

FULLERTON -- Up by two points with under a minute remaining in the game, the BYU women’s basketball team used a crucial block by junior Coriann Wood and a Kristen Riley offensive rebound to seal a victory over the Cal-State Fullerton Titans, 75-72, Saturday night at the Titan Gym.

“We did a good job on both offense and defense down the stretch to win the game,” said BYU women’s basketball head coach Jeff Judkins. “I was really proud of our free throw shooting tonight – we made them when we needed them most.”

BYU was led by junior guard Mindy Nielson who scored 24 points in the game, including a crucial basket and two free throws in the final minute, to go along with four assists. Her 24 points was a season high.

Also having a career night was Wood, whose 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and 3-for-5 from behind the arc proved to be a season and career high. She also had 10 rebounds in the game, marking her first career double-double as a Cougar.

The Cougars improve to 6-3 on the year and have won every game this year in which they have scored more than 70 points. They also improved to 3-2 on the road this season. Alexis Kaufusi poured in 12 points while Jazmine Foreman and Haley Hall contributed eight and six points, respectively.

“Several players made big shots in the crucial moments of the game to help us win,” Judkins said.

Down by three points midway through the second half, the Cougars managed to pull ahead on a big bucket from Riley and a trey from Wood. The lead was overtaken by the Titans, who pulled ahead 63-62 with three minutes remaining. A Foreman layup and another huge three-pointer from Wood moved the Cougars past the Titans 67-65 with 1:05 remaining. BYU then managed to convert 5-of-7 free throws in the last minute to seal the victory.

The Titans were paced by center Megan Richardson’s 24 points and Lyndsey Grove’s fifteen.

The Cougars got off to a shaky start in the opening half as the Titans jumped to an early 13-7 lead. BYU kept it close throughout the half, never allowing more than a seven-point lead and gradually closing the margin to go into halftime only down by one point, 28-29. The Cougars are now 1-2 when trailing at halftime.

Kaufusi and Nielsen repeatedly converted big buckets in the closing moments of the half to keep BYU in the game.

BYU shot 11-for-24 in the half and had 14 turnovers, creating 10 points off turnovers for CS-Fullerton. The Cougars dominated in the paint, scoring 18 points in the first half, but on the defensive end allowed eight offensive rebounds to the Titans. BYU ended the game with 22 turnovers.

BYU will next play at Utah State on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 5 p.m. MT.

Official Basketball Box Score
Brigham Young vs Cal State Fullerton
12/12/09 5:00 pm at Fullerton, CA (Titan Gym)
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VISITORS: Brigham Young 6-3 Overall
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 RILEY, Kristen...... f  2-6    0-0    0-2    3  4  7   3   4  2  1  0  0  16
45 MOEAKI, Keilani..... f  2-4    1-1    0-0    0  1  1   0   5  0  5  0  1  10
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine.... g  1-2    1-1    5-6    1  0  1   2   8  2  4  0  0  29
22 NIELSON, Mindy...... g  9-15   2-3    4-4    2  4  6   2  24  4  3  2  1  37
33 HALL, Haley......... g  2-8    0-4    2-4    0  4  4   1   6  5  3  0  1  36
10 KAUFUSI, Alexis.....    5-7    0-0    2-2    3  3  6   2  12  0  3  1  0  21
13 JUDKINS, Jaime......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  1  0  0  10
21 BATES, Stephanie....    0-1    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
23 WOOD, Coriann.......    6-10   3-5    1-1    2  8 10   4  16  2  2  1  0  31
32 PETERSON, Dani......    0-2    0-1    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  0  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   27-55   7-16  14-19  13 28 41  16  75 15 22  4  3 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-24 45.8%   2nd Half: 16-31 51.6%   Game: 49.1%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-4   0.0%   2nd Half:  7-12 58.3%   Game: 43.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  6-9  66.7%   2nd Half:  8-10 80.0%   Game: 73.7%    3
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HOME TEAM: Cal State Fullerton 3-6 Overall
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
34 BREITE, Jenna....... f  1-1    0-0    0-2    0  4  4   2   2  0  0  0  0  22
04 Scott, Jasmine...... g  3-11   1-5    1-1    3  1  4   3   8  2  1  0  1  28
20 Peters, Britt....... g  3-9    1-5    0-0    2  2  4   2   7  1  3  0  2  31
23 RICHARDSON, Megan... g  8-18   0-1    8-9    1  2  3   1  24  1  2  0  1  32
32 GROVE, Lyndsey...... g  4-9    3-5    4-4    0  3  3   0  15  3  0  0  0  27
03 Crisp, Alicya.......    2-5    1-1    4-4    1  1  2   3   9  0  0  0  0  12
10 RICHIE, Ashley......    2-6    1-3    0-0    0  1  1   4   5  0  2  0  0  20
14 AVILA, Katie........    0-1    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   0  1  1  0  0  11
21 WILLIAMS, Jahne.....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   1   0  0  0  0  0   3
30 OLIVIER, Mya........    1-2    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   2   2  0  0  0  2  14
   TEAM................                         2  2  4   1
   Totals..............   24-62   7-20  17-20  11 17 28  20  72  8  9  0  6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-32 31.3%   2nd Half: 14-30 46.7%   Game: 38.7%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  2-7  28.6%   2nd Half:  5-13 38.5%   Game: 35.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-10 70.0%   2nd Half: 10-10 100 %   Game: 85.0%    2
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Officials: Cathi Cornell, Debbie Kotani, Richard Waters
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-TEAM. Cal State Fullerton-None.
Attendance: 145
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young.................   28   47  -   75
Cal State Fullerton...........   29   43  -   72