Riley Leads Cougars in Upset Over League Leading SDSU

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PROVO -- In a battle between two of the MWC’s best women’s basketball teams, BYU upset league-leading San Diego State 73-63 Saturday in the Marriott Center.

The Cougars were led by sophomore forward Kristen Riley who finished with her first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Riley also tied her season-and career-high with three steals.

Jazmine Foreman and Mindy Bonham also contributed 13 points to the winning effort. Foreman added nine rebounds to the total for a new season-high.

“I’m really proud of this team,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said following the game. “SDSU is very quick and very athletic but we played well down the stretch in order to win this game.”

BYU got off to a great start thanks to strong play by Riley who scored five points in the opening three minutes of the game including a three-pointer that gave the Cougars their first basket of the game. Exceptional offensive play by the entire BYU offense allowed the Cougars to take a 24-10 lead, its largest of the game, over the Aztecs with ten minutes remaining in the first half.

“Just knowing that we are capable of beating this team and teams like this is huge for us,” Riley said. “I’m just so happy that we won.”

With Cougar guard Foreman on the bench, SDSU took the opportunity to press full-court and was able to come within ten points of BYU with the score 24-14. However, Cougars head coach Jeff Judkins immediately saw the need for Foreman to be on the floor and the Aztec defense went back to a half court set. Still, BYU was unable to find the offensive rhythm they enjoyed early on and did not score for over five minutes as SDSU found success down low with four consecutive lay-ins bringing the score to 24-19. However, the Cougars were able to hang onto a 33-31 lead going into the break.

The second half started much like the first half as Foreman hit a three-pointer to open the half and extend the BYU lead to 36-31. Still, the Cougars were unable to pull away from the Aztecs who would not go down without a fight battling back to within one point of BYU with 14 minutes left to be played.

However, with just over 13 minutes to play Riley hit a trey bringing Cougar fans to their feet. A strong play by junior forward Coriann Wood allowed BYU to stretch their lead to nine. SDSU cut the BYU lead to five with seven minutes remaining forcing Judkins to call a timeout.

Coming out of the huddle the Aztecs continued to give the Cougars their best, forcing use of the entire shot clock. Foreman, whose leadership was evident throughout the game, particularly down the stretch, made crucial free throws late in the game.

The victory gives the Cougars (13-4, 4-1), a tie for first place in the Mountain West Conference standing with No.23 TCU.

“These kids are young and they haven’t had the opportunity to get a big break,” Judkins said. “I told them before the game that this was our time, they have stuck together through the season and they deserved this win so I was really happy for them.”

BYU will return to action again on Wednesday against New Mexico at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center. The game will be broadcast live on BYUTV.

Official Basketball Box Score
SAN DIEGO ST AZTECS vs BYU Cougars
01/23/10 2:00 P.M. at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO UTAH
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VISITORS: SAN DIEGO ST AZTECS 12-6;4-2
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
01 BRADLEY, Jessika.... f  4-11   0-0    1-2    4  3  7   2   9  0  2  2  0  27
32 JOHNSON, Paris...... c  5-9    0-0    0-2    2  2  4   2  10  1  2  0  1  23
02 DAVIS, Coco......... g  1-4    0-2    2-2    0  3  3   3   4  3  4  0  2  36
03 DAVIS, Quenese...... g  5-11   0-2    3-4    2  1  3   3  13  7  3  0  3  36
05 MORRIS, Jene........ g  6-16   2-8    3-5    0  0  0   2  17  6  7  1  3  37
04 SPINARDI, Kim.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   5
34 DUFFY, Allison......    5-6    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   4  10  1  2  0  2  27
40 CHAMBERS, Candace...    0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   1   0  0  0  0  0   7
55 TUTT, Kalena........    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  0   2
   TEAM................                         2  5  7
   Totals..............   26-57   2-12   9-15  11 16 27  17  63 18 20  3 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 13-27 48.1%   2nd Half: 13-30 43.3%   Game: 45.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-3  33.3%   2nd Half:  1-9  11.1%   Game: 16.7%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half:  5-6  83.3%   Game: 60.0%    3
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 13-4;4-1
                          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  5-11   2-2    4-4    8  3 11   1  16  1  3  1  3  27
45 MOEAKI,Keilani...... f  1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   2  1  1  0  0  14
03 FOREMAN,Jazmine..... g  2-7    1-5    8-9    1  8  9   4  13  5  5  0  3  36
22 BONHAM,Mindy........ g  5-8    0-0    3-4    0  3  3   1  13  6  5  0  3  39
33 HALL, Haley......... g  3-10   2-6    3-4    2  2  4   3  11  4  5  0  0  38
10 KAUFUSI, Alexis.....    1-4    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   2  0  0  1  0   9
23 WOOD,Coriann........    4-9    0-2    2-2    2  4  6   2  10  1  4  1  0  28
32 PETERSON,Dani.......    3-5    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   6  0  1  0  0   9
   TEAM................                         1  3  4
   Totals..............   24-55   5-15  20-23  16 23 39  13  73 18 24  3  9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-31 45.2%   2nd Half: 10-24 41.7%   Game: 43.6%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-10 30.0%   2nd Half:  2-5  40.0%   Game: 33.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  2-3  66.7%   2nd Half: 18-20 90.0%   Game: 87.0%    2
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Officials: ERIC LARSON, LES WILLIAMS, ROBERT STRONG
Technical fouls: SAN DIEGO ST AZTECS-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 974
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
SAN DIEGO ST AZTECS...........   31   32  -   63
BYU Cougars...................   33   40  -   73
OFFICIAL FINAL
Points in the paint-SD 36,BY 28. Points off turnovers-SD 23,BY 13.
2nd chance points-SD 8,BY 16. Fast break points-SD 4,BY 2.
Bench points-SD 10,BY 18. Score tied-0 times. Lead changed-0 times.
Last FG-SD 2nd-01:03, BY 2nd-01:22.
Largest lead-SD None, BY by 14 1st-11:14.