WNIT Run Ended With Best Record in Women's History

BERKELEY -- The BYU women’s basketball team (23-10), after being on the road for more than a week straight, fell the to California Bears 50-76 in the quarterfinals of the 2010 WNIT tournament.

"We had a great tournament," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "The travel finally caught up with us. We were just a step off on offense and defense tonight. We're better than what we showed tonight but this has been an awesome opportunity for us and a great prep for next season."

This year’s run in the WNIT, with a 3-1 playing record and appearance in the Elite Eight, is the best in women’s basketball history in the NIT and any other postseason play. This year was BYU’s fifth showing in the WNIT.

Alexis Kaufusi recorded a season-and career-high to lead the team with 14 points, going 7-for-10 from the field, and adding four rebounds on the night.

Teammate Haley Hall added 12 points to the team’s total with all of her points coming from 3-pointers. She also contributed two assists.

The Bears took an early 12-2 lead in the first half but Mindy Bonham would end that shooting streak with a quick trey to spark the Cougars on an 8-0 run of their own.

Both teams didn’t do much on offense in the first half, as the score remained the same for almost six minutes. BYU shot 44 percent from the field in the first half compared to California’s 42.5 percent.

The teams headed into the locker room at the half on a close 28-33 score for the Bears.

The Cougars had some trouble getting the ball through the hoop at the beginning of the second half as they went the first four minutes without score but were able to keep it close before the Bears took off to finish the game.