Cougars Win Defensive Battle

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PROVO -- The Cougars posted a balanced attack on offense, a turnover-forcing defensive effort and clutch shooting to give them a 51-48 victory over Wyoming in front of a record-high crowd in the Marriott Center, Saturday.

With the win, the BYU women's basketball team improved their overall record to 18-6, and are tied in first place with No. 23 TCU in the most recent MWC standings with identical 9-3 records.

“I’m real proud of how our team came together tonight,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “We have really gone through a lot together this season, and during those last three minutes today everyone on the floor significantly contributed in ways that helped the team.”

Three Cougars scored in double digits, including junior Jazmine Foreman with 13, junior Haley Hall with 12, and junior Coriann Wood with 11. Hall also contributed defensively with five of the teams’ eight steals and played all 40 minutes.

The Cougars got things started off quickly in the first half, jumping out to a 9-2 lead and extending it to 15-5 after Wood nailed consecutive three-pointers.

Wyoming got back into the game when BYU went on a 5:40 shooting drought. Hall brought back momentum with a steal and dish to Dani Peterson, who finished with a lay-up to make it 17-13 Cougars.

Both teams played strong to finish the half but BYU remained on top heading into the locker room, 25-22.

The Cougars came out fast in the second half, with four of the five players on the floor scoring within the first five minutes to make the score 36-28.

Wyoming followed BYU’s quick start with a short run, reeling off eight consecutive points to come within one point at 36-35.

Cowgirl leading scorer Aubrey Vandiver then scored five straight points, pushing Wyoming to their first lead of the game with under five minutes to go at 41-40. BYU tied the game at 42 with 4:05 remaining. The score would remain tied, this time at 46, until the last minute of the game.

The Cougars pulled ahead with a clutch three-pointer from Wood, followed by a quick two-point field goal by Hall to bring the score up 51-46 in BYU's favor. Wyoming added a couple free throws, but BYU came away with the three point victory.

“We really struggled shooting the ball at a few points tonight,” Judkins said. “But it was good to see Haley and Cori hit the shots when it really counted. It would have been nice to hit those shots earlier, but to hit them in that situation was great.”

The BYU women will be back in action on February 24, playing at San Diego State. The game will tip off at 8:00 p.m. MT.

Official Basketball Box Score
WY vs BYU Cougars
2/20/10 2:00 p.m. at Provo, Utah - Marriott Center
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VISITORS: WY 16-9, 7-6
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
14 KENNEDY, Jade....... f  0-3    0-3    0-0    0  2  2   4   0  1  2  0  1  34
21 LANGFORD, Emma...... f  5-14   2-4    3-7    0  1  1   2  15  0  1  0  1  40
41 CARLSON, Hillary.... f  1-5    1-2    4-7    2  3  5   4   7  1  3  0  2  32
03 RICHARDSON, Randi... g  0-0    0-0    0-0    0  2  2   0   0  0  4  0  0   9
20 VANDIVER, Aubrey.... g  5-15   3-8    7-7    2  9 11   3  20  2  1  0  4  40
12 SCHEFFLER, Kristen..    1-5    1-3    3-4    1  3  4   0   6  2  3  1  0  31
15 FITZGERALD, Leah....    0-1    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   1   0  1  2  1  0   9
33 SEWELL, Chaundra....    0-0    0-0    0-3    1  0  1   0   0  0  1  0  0   5
   TEAM................                         2  6  8
   Totals..............   12-43   7-20  17-28   8 29 37  14  48  7 17  2  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  7-21 33.3%   2nd Half:  5-22 22.7%   Game: 27.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  5-12 41.7%   2nd Half:  2-8  25.0%   Game: 35.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  3-7  42.9%   2nd Half: 14-21 66.7%   Game: 60.7%    7
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HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 18-6, 9-3
                          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  2-8    0-2    0-2    3  5  8   5   4  0  2  2  1  28
45 MOEAKI,Keilani...... f  0-1    0-0    0-1    0  2  2   1   0  3  0  3  0  23
03 FOREMAN,Jazmine..... g  5-13   1-4    2-3    0  1  1   2  13  1  1  0  1  38
22 BONHAM,Mindy........ g  3-8    0-0    2-4    2  5  7   5   8  1  4  0  0  26
33 HALL, Haley......... g  5-13   2-4    0-0    1  5  6   4  12  2  2  1  5  40
10 KAUFUSI, Alexis.....    0-2    0-0    0-0    0  3  3   1   0  0  4  0  1  10
23 WOOD,Coriann........    3-7    3-5    2-2    0  4  4   2  11  1  2  0  0  27
32 PETERSON,Dani.......    1-1    0-0    1-2    2  0  2   1   3  0  0  0  0   8
   TEAM................                         2  2  4
   Totals..............   19-53   6-15   7-14  10 27 37  21  51  8 15  6  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-28 35.7%   2nd Half:  9-25 36.0%   Game: 35.8%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  4-9  44.4%   2nd Half:  2-6  33.3%   Game: 40.0%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  1-4  25.0%   2nd Half:  6-10 60.0%   Game: 50.0%    2
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Officials: Eric Larson, Peter Contreras, Nick Marshall
Technical fouls: WY-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 1147
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
WY............................   22   26  -   48
BYU Cougars...................   25   26  -   51
OFFICIAL FINAL
Points in the paint-WY 10,BY 20. Points off turnovers-WY 11,BY 12.
2nd chance points-WY 7,BY 7. Fast break points-WY 0,BY 2.
Bench points-WY 6,BY 14. Score tied-3 times. Lead changed-2 times.
Last FG-WY 2nd-08:20, BY 2nd-00:39.
Largest lead-WY by 2 2nd-04:52, BY by 10 1st-11:50