Freshman Leads Win Over Fort Lewis

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PROVO -- Giving playing time to all 13 Cougars, the BYU women’s basketball team began the 2010-11 season with a 85-58 exhibition win over Fort Lewis College, Thursday in the Marriott Center.

"I thought it was a good start and we did a great job executing right at the beginning," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "Our press did a great job keeping the ball in our possession. I really like the way Haley played tonight by breaking the press and forcing turnovers down on defense. Hopefully now we'll be able to work on a few things and just get better from here. I'm happy about our future."

Three Cougars were in double-digits, led by true freshman Jennifer Hamson with 16, senior Mindy Bonham with 13 and freshman Stephanie Vermunt with 11. Unselfish play by Bonham brought her five assists, also adding two steals. Seniors Jazmine Foreman and Haley Hall both added two assists in the victory.

The Cougars started out with a 16-2 run in the first half with Hall, Bonham and Coriann Fraughton all adding four points each to the run. Coming off the bench to contribute significant points, Vermunt, Hamson and Kim Parker exuded solid play to gradually take the lead to 36-7 at the 5:52 mark.

"I think we started out really strong," Fraughton said. "The first five starters always bring enthusiasm and pressure to the game, and it's so great to have depth on our bench. We need to work, though, on our fouling and giving up so many turnovers."

Subbing in at the 10:48 mark, Hamson began the first game of her collegiate career 3-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the charity stripe in the first half. Bonham led the Cougars with nine points in the first half while Hamson tallied eight.

The Skyhawks gave the Cougars a scare to end the first half, posting 15 points to BYU’s eight in the last five minutes. Cutting the 29-point lead to 22, the teams went into the locker rooms with the Cougars leading 44-22.

Fort Lewis started off the scoring in the second half with five quick points and later three-straight threes to bring the score to 51-33. Battling back, the Cougars maintained the 30-point lead for the remainder of the game, finishing off the Skyhawks 85-58. Two-of-two free throws from Hamson gave the Cougars their last points with one minute remaining.

The Cougars will challenge Mesa State College Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Marriott Center for the last exhibition game before facing off at No. 5 Duke Nov. 13 to begin the pre-season. Tuesday's exhibition contest is free.

Post-game notes

-Since joining the Mountain West Conference in 1999, the Cougars have won all of their opening exhibition games.

-All eligible players on the 2010 roster tallied minutes in the victory over Fort Lewis.

-The freshman, including redshirt freshman, combined for a total of 43 points in the victory. The rest of the classes made up the other 42 points.

-Freshman Jennifer Hamson led the BYU roster with 16 points. Also in double-digits for the night were Stephanie Vermunt and Mindy Bonham.