Last Home Game In 2010 Is A Loss

PROVO -- The BYU women’s basketball team (8-5) fell in a hard-fought contest at the Marriott Center against Montana State (5-8) Thursday, ending with a 49-58 final score.

"We just didn't make baskets when we needed to," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "This was not a really good game for us, we were a bit slow and it was tough to get our confidence back. We did do a good job, though, of getting rebounds down low."

Coriann Fraughton and Jazmine Foreman led the Cougars with 11 points each, the total being a season-high for Foreman. Fraughton also had six rebounds. Mindy Bonham helped out with seven assists to lead the team while Kristen Riley and Dani Peterson led on the boards with seven each.

Foreman hit a three-pointer from the corner early in the first half to tie the game 9-9 after the team got behind in the opening minutes.

The Cougars struggled to shake their opponents off, finally pulling ahead with 13 minutes left in the second half after a jumper from redshirt freshman Kim Parker for a 17-13 score.

After almost four minutes without scoring, Foreman put up a free throw followed by two points from freshman Jennifer Hamson.

The Bobcats wouldn’t let the Cougars get too far ahead, coming back within one with free throws from Chelsea Banis. Katie Bussey took the 24-22 lead for the Bobcats with a three-pointer to end the half.

Riley led the Cougars in the first half with eight points and six rebounds.

Foreman opened the second half with a momentum-changing jump shot to tie the game and followed it up with a three-pointer to take the lead. Foreman’s points took the Cougars on a 9-0 run.

Cougar steals and Bobcat traveling kept Montana State from scoring until seven minutes into the second half, giving the Cougars a 33-24 lead.

Montana State's Bussey and Sarah Balian stopped the run with a three-pointer and jumpshot. The Bobcats cut into the Cougars lead and jumped ahead with free throws.

The lead changed hands five times in the last 10 minutes of the game with Montana State coming out on top.

Entering the last minute, the Cougars were down 46-41. The Bobcats tacked on 12 more points and, despite two 3-pointers from Bonham well beyond the arch and a Foreman layup, Montana Stake took the game 58-49.

Bobcat Balian led all scorers with a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Bussey had 11 points and Rachel Semansky had 10.

The Cougars set out next for Reno to take on Nevada this Saturday at 3 p.m. MT to start the new year and finish their nonconference play.

Post-game Notes

Player

-Coriann Fraughton recorded her second consecutive double figure scoring performance with 11 points against Montana State.

-Jazmine Foreman tallied 11 points against Montana State for a new season-high and had four assists.

Team

-The Cougars haven’t lost more than two games in a row this season and have only lost once at home.

-BYU is now 0-5 when their opponent leads at the half, 2-3 when they have more than 16 turnovers and 4-1 when they play in the Marriott Center.