Defense Wins Ballgame for Cougars

PROVO -- Another strong defensive effort closed out non-conference play for the BYU women's basketball team with a 61-41 win against Nevada on Saturday.

The Cougar press again wreaked havoc, this time on Nevada, holding the Wolfpack to zero field goals for over eight straight minutes at one point in the first half. BYU scored 34 points off 28 Nevada turnovers.

“I thought defensively we did a real nice job,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “We really didn’t give them a lot of easy shots."

Kristen Riley woke up the Cougars from an early lethargy, scoring nine points in her first ten minutes. Riley scored off two layups, then stepped outside to knock home a three from the corner.

Riley’s trey would start a 16-0 run for BYU over the next 4:18. Haley Hall nailed a three-pointer and Alexis Kaufusi muscled down low for a layup to put the score at 20-9 after the Cougars had been previously down 9-4.

The sophomore forward was one of three Cougars in double-figures with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.

Nevada (6-8) would never recover from the Cougars’ early run. BYU (9-3) led by as many as 25 points midway through the second half, holding the Wolfpack to 25 percent shooting from the field and 1-of-14 from the three-point line.

BYU’s usual leading scorer, Mindy Bonham, was held to just two points but had four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

“Tonight was not Mindy’s night, but we had others,” Judkins said. “But she didn’t let other parts of her game suffer because she didn’t shoot as well as she usually does.”

Hall and Wood combined for two more solid efforts after leading BYU on Thursday against Portland. Hall contributed a career-high six rebounds with 11 points (4-of-5), four steals and four assists.

Coriann Wood followed up a career-high game on Thursday with a 12-point performance against the Wolfpack on 4-of-6 shooting. Wood hit two free throws and two-straight treys, scoring eight points in a 9-0 run right before halftime to give BYU a 29-13 lead.

“We have a lot of firepower and shooters,” Judkins said.

BYU will begin Mountain West Conference play at UNLV on Wednesday, Jan. 6. The Cougars first conference home game is Wednesday, Jan. 13, against Air Force.

Official Basketball Box Score
Nevada WolfPack vs BYU Cougars
1-02-10 2:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR PROVO UT
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VISITORS: Nevada WolfPack 6-8; 0-0; WAC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
33 MOORE, Shavon....... f  2-8    0-1    0-0    3  2  5   4   4  1  3  0  0  26
34 WILLIAMS, Kayla..... f  5-7    0-0    1-1    3  5  8   1  11  2  2  0  1  27
01 ROBINSON, Tahnee.... g  2-12   1-8    5-6    0  7  7   1  10  1  5  0  0  33
10 WARD, Johnna........ g  3-8    0-2    0-0    1  2  3   3   6  1  1  0  6  35
23 JOHNSON, Amanda..... g  0-4    0-2    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  1  4  0  0  23
03 WOODARD, Brittany...    0-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  3  0  0   7
05 WILLIAMS, Nicole....    0-3    0-0    2-2    0  1  1   0   2  0  3  0  2  14
11 JONES, Holly........    0-1    0-0    3-4    0  0  0   2   3  0  3  0  1   9
30 HAMMOND, Marissa....    0-1    0-0    3-4    1  1  2   1   3  0  4  0  0  13
32 LOMBARDI, Marianne..    0-2    0-1    2-2    2  1  3   1   2  1  0  0  0  13
   TEAM................                         6  3  9
   Totals..............   12-48   1-14  16-19  16 22 38  14  41  8 28  0 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  5-21 23.8%   2nd Half:  7-27 25.9%   Game: 25.0%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-5   0.0%   2nd Half:  1-9  11.1%   Game:  7.1%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  8-10 80.0%   2nd Half:  8-9  88.9%   Game: 84.2%    1
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 9-3; 0-0; MWC
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
35 RILEY,Kristen....... f  3-8    1-3    3-4    1  4  5   2  10  2  1  1  1  26
45 MOEAKI,Keilani...... f  2-8    0-1    2-3    2  2  4   0   6  1  1  0  0  18
03 FOREMAN,Jazmine..... g  3-6    1-2    2-2    0  3  3   3   9  6  6  0  3  27
22 BONHAM,Mindy........ g  1-8    0-3    0-0    2  2  4   2   2  3  3  2  3  23
33 HALL, Haley......... g  4-5    3-4    0-0    0  6  6   2  11  4  1  0  4  30
10 KAUFUSI, Alexis.....    3-6    0-0    0-0    3  1  4   2   6  0  1  0  2  16
13 JUDKINS,Jaime.......    1-2    0-1    2-2    0  0  0   1   4  0  1  0  1  11
21 BATES,Stephanie.....    0-1    0-1    0-0    1  0  1   1   0  0  1  0  0   7
23 WOOD,Coriann........    4-6    2-2    2-2    1  2  3   3  12  0  3  2  0  24
31 BECK,Marie..........    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  0  2  0  0   3
32 PETERSON,Dani.......    0-3    0-1    1-2    0  2  2   1   1  0  1  2  0  15
   TEAM................                         1     1
   Totals..............   21-53   7-18  12-15  12 22 34  17  61 16 21  7 14 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-26 38.5%   2nd Half: 11-27 40.7%   Game: 39.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-10 40.0%   2nd Half:  3-8  37.5%   Game: 38.9%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-8  87.5%   2nd Half:  5-7  71.4%   Game: 80.0%    1
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Officials: MARIANNE KARP, CONNIE PARDUE, KEN SOWBY
Technical fouls: Nevada WolfPack-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 532
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Nevada WolfPack...............   18   23  -   41
BYU Cougars...................   31   30  -   61
FINAL OFFICIAL