Another Successful Women's Basketball Season

A fifth 20-plus win season under head coach Jeff Judkins together with a third MWC regular season crown and a second-straight postseason tournament appearance were among the many successes reached by the 2010-11 team.

The Cougar women’s basketball team concluded the year with a 25-9, 15-1 record and went undefeated at home in league play, finishing the season with a 14-2 mark in the Marriott Center.

Playing its final year as a member of the Mountain West Conference, the BYU team finished strong, clinching its third overall regular season title while garnering numerous postseason accolades. Coach Judkins picked up his third Coach of the Year honor while senior co-captain Mindy Bonham was named the MWC Defensive Player of the Year. Bonham also picked up her third MWC All–Defensive Team award and was a first team All-Mountain West honoree.

For the second straight time, a Cougar player received the 6th Player of the Year award. This time junior forward Kristen Riley picked up the honor. Senior forward Coriann Fraughton was named to the Second Team All-Mountain West with teammate Haley Hall being named Third Team All-Mountain West. Riley and Jazmine Foreman picked up honorable mention All-Mountain West awards.

Many records were broken and others were surpassed during the 2010-11 campaign. Two players eclipsed the 1,000-point mark, a first under Judkins. Mindy Bonham reached the milestone in December to become the 20th player in BYU history to reach 1,000 points in a career, finishing with a total of 1,322 points and placing 15th all-time. Teammate Coriann Fraughton also made the exclusive list as the 21st player by finishing her career with 1,002 points.

Bonham left her mark in four other BYU records. She dished out 468 assists, placing fourth all-time, and recorded 230 steals, sixth-best at BYU. In three pointers made she put in 96 for an eighth-place all-time finish, while in games played she competed in 125, placing her tied for third place all time.

Fraughton was another player with record-breaking accomplishments in her Cougar career. She grabbed a total 619 rebounds placing her eighth all-time and made 133 three-pointers, tying her for sixth place. She played in a total of 123 games, finishing in seventh place overall.

Another graduating senior, guard Jazmine Foreman, also left her mark in BYU history. She placed sixth in the assists category with a total of 414, seventh in three- pointers made with a total of 109 and tied for third place in games played with 125.

The success of the 2010-11 team was recognized nationally starting in February when the Cougars began receiving votes in the Associated Press national weekly poll. They continued receiving votes through the week of Mar. 14. In the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, they received votes for two-straight weeks in March.

The team’s achievements were also recorded in the NCAA stats. In the final NCAA stats summary the Cougars were ranked in the following categories:

Assist Turnover Ratio (2nd)

Assists Per Game (4th)

Turnovers Per Game (12th)

Field Goal Percentage Defense (21st)

Scoring Margin (21st)

Three-Point Field Goal Defense (36th)

Won-Lost Percentage (35thT)

Three-Point Field Goals Per Game (33rdT)

Turnover Margin (37th)

Scoring Defense (44th)

Field Goal Percentage (43rd)

Three BYU players finished the year ranked in several national stat categories. Bonham tied for 41st place in assists per game and 32nd in assist/turnover ratio. Haley Hall finishing tied for 47th place in assists per game and fourth in the assist/turnover ratio category. Senior guard Jazmine Foreman joined her teammates in the national stats with a 27th place in assist/turnover ratio.

The 15-1 mark the Cougars compiled during the 2011 MWC regular season was the best league record under coach Judkins. The conference race was capped by a series sweep of eight of the nine league schools. BYU’s lone MWC blemish was a three-point, 54-51 loss to TCU on Jan. 19 in Ft. Worth. After the loss to the Horned Frogs, the team rebounded by going on a 12-game win streak, the longest of the season. During the league race the Cougars swept the series against in-state rival Utah to capture its second-straight Deseret Duel trophy.

As the second half of league play began, the BYU squad received the sad news that their teammate, sophomore forward Alexis Kaufusi, would not be able to finish the year due to being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The team joined together and battled through the adversity. The remainder of the season the players wore a patch on their uniforms with a purple bow, the initials AK and the number 10. Kaufusi continued to support her teammates by attending all home games and cutting down the net when the Cougars clinched at least a share of the MWC title with a 56-52 home victory over San Diego State on Feb. 26.

For the seventh straight time, the BYU team won its first home game of the year, this time defeating the University of Washington 80-55 on Nov. 20, giving coach Judkins a 9-1 overall record in home openers. Judkins also picked up his 200th win when the Cougars beat CSU 64-55 in Ft. Collins on Feb 23.

During the 2010-11 successful campaign, the team recorded victories over in-state rivals Utah Valley University, Utah State and Weber State. They also captured wins over Wisconsin, Portland State, BYU-Hawaii, the University of San Diego, and the University of Denver.

BYU’s balanced scoring, rebounding and the depth of its bench played an integral role in the team’s success. The Cougar bench outscored its opponents 740 to 426 and outrebounded them 471 to 313. In 34 total games, there were 12 games where three players scored in double figures. In six contests, four players put up double- digits in points and six players tallied double-figure points in three others.