PROVO -- An offensive outburst, coupled with with stellar defense in the second half, helped the BYU women's basketball team get its first Mountain West Conference victory, 78-57, over Wyoming, Thursday night at the Marriott Center.
The Cougars trailed 30-29 at halftime but outscored the Cowgirls 49-27 in the second half en route to a 21-point victory. Sophomore All-American Erin Thorn led the Cougars, scoring 13 of her game high 20 points in the second half. Guard Stacy Jensen controlled the tempo in the second half and finished the game with16 points and six assists, while sophomore Chanell Rose had a season- and a career-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds, including four on the offensive end. BYU shot 54.5 percent from the field in the second half, while holding Wyoming to just 23 percent.
"We played with more energy and heart tonight, and we were able to get some confidence back," head coach Trent Shippen said. "I was pleased with our focus."
Wyoming started the game on a 6-0 run, but BYU battled back to take a 15-11 lead with 12:35 remaining in the first half. The two teams seesawed back and forth the rest of the half, with neither team enjoying more than a four-point lead, but the Cowgirls headed to the locker room with a one-point lead.
The win improves the Cougars record to 9-7 (1-2) on the season, while Wyoming drops to 8-7 (0-2) on the year. BYU will next play Colorado State, Saturday at 7 p.m., in the Marriott Center.
After two disappointing conference losses on the road, BYU's women's basketball team is happy to be at home this week. The Cougars host conference foes Wyoming on Thursday, Jan. 18 and Colorado State on Saturday, Jan. 20.
Tip off: BYU vs Wyoming is 7 p.m. Arena: Marriott Center
Tip off: BYU vs CSU is 7 p.m. Arena: Marriott Center
Cougars Get National TV Exposure This Week
Both of the conference games this week will be on local and national TV. KBYU-TV, the PBS affiliate for the University will air this week's games live on Chan.11. The games will also be seen live on BYU-TV if you own a Dish Network 500 system and if you are a subscriber to Direct TV Plus. The play-by-play for both games will be done by Holly Rowe with Kathy Aiken and color analyst for the Wyoming game, and Kim Free for the CSU game.
BYU Probable Starters - 2000-01 stats
l 31 Lisa Osguthorpe - 6-0 Jr, F (5.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
l 44 Caroline Beus - 6-1 Sr, C/F (7.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
l 23 Chanell Rose - 6-0 So, F (5.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
l 11 Erin Thorn - 5-10 So, G (16.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
l 22 Stacy Jensen - 5-6 Jr, G (8.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
BYU Players Off the Bench - 2000-01 stats
l 04 Kaly G. Shippen - 5-6 Sr, G (4.5 ppg)
l 14 Julie Whetten - 5-8 Fr, G (4.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg)
l 50 Heather Cheesman - 6-1 Fr, F (9.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg)
l 21 Jennifer Lietner - 6-0 Fr, F (1.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg, played in four games to date)
Player Injury Update
#15 Jorja Cox has suffered a knee injury and is not expected to play for at least the next two weeks.
#20 Brittany Larson was diagnosed with mono and will not participate in this week's conference games.
Quickie BYU Stats - 2000-01 Season
l Shooting from the field - .413 (354-858)
l Shooting from the free-throw line - .718 (178-248)
l Shooting from the three-point arc - .396 (103-260)
l Averaged 65.9 points per game
Season Highlights To Date
TEAM
l Most points scored - 90 @ Washington State on 11/30/00
l Most field goals made - 32 @ Washington State on 11/30/00
l Most free-throws made - 22 vs Northern Iowa on 12/07/00
l Most three-pointers made - 12 vs SMU on 12/30/00
l Most rebounds made - 49 vs SMU on 12/30/00
l Most assists made - 22 vs SMU on12/30/00
l Most steals made - 14 @ Idaho State on 12/28/00
INDIVIDUAL
l Most points - Erin Thorn (36) @ Arizona 11/18/00
l Most field goals made - Erin Thorn (12) @ Arizona 11/18/00
l Most three-pointers made - Erin Thorn (8) @ Arizona 11/18/00
l Most free-throws made - Heather Cheesman (9) @ Gonzaga 12/02/00 l Most rebounds made - Heather Cheesman and Erin Thorn (9) @ Gonzaga 12/02/00
l Most assists made - Julie Whetten (7) vs UCLA 11/25/00/ and Erin Thorn (7) @ Idaho State on 12/28/00
l Most steals made - Erin Thorn (6) vs Northern Iowa on 12/07/00 and Stacy Jensen (6) vs Idaho State on 12/28/00
l Most blocked shots - Caroline Beus (2) @ Washington State 11/30/00
Last Game Recap
The Cougars had a disappointing opening week of MWC play as they suffered two straight losses on the road to SDSU and to UNLV. In the SDSU game, BYU got off to a good start taking a 6-point half time lead and battling through in the second half. The team had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer but the bucket didn't go in. At UNLV poor shooting and no intensity in the first half was the Cougars downfall. The closest BYU got was within eight with two minutes left, but could get no closer. In both MWC games, BYU was led by sophomore All-American Erin Thorn with 11 points in each game.
Scouting Wyoming
Wyoming opened its MWC season at home last week hosting CSU with the Rams picking up the 76-51 win. The Cowgirls are 8-6, 01 on the year. Sophomore center Ann McColl leads Wyoming in scoring with an average of 12.4 ppg and 7.3 rpg. McColl stepped into the lead role after Carly Stucky injured her knee in December. There are two other players getting double digit scoring for the Cowgirls. They are senior guard Shelby Hoffman with 11.5 ppg and senior forward Jessica Gibbs with 11.4 ppg. She's also the team's leading rebounder with 7.7 boards a game. Wyoming is shooting 42 percent from the field and getting 70.5 points a game. They shoot 70 percent from the free-throw line and 30 form behind the arc. Opponents are averaging 69.4 points a game.
Wyoming Probable Starters
# 42 Christy Bacon - G/F 6-0, Jr (8.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg)
# 54 Jessica Gibbs - F 6-1, Sr (11.4 ppg, 7.7 rpg)
# 51 Ann McColl - C 6-2, So (12.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg)
# 13 Brenda Pickup - G 5-7, Fr (7.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg)
# 33 Shelby Hoffman - G/F 5-9, Sr (11.5 ppg, 2.4 rpg)
Series Record: 32-13 favoring the Cougars.
Last Meeting: In last year's home and away series, BYU picked up both wins a 80-65 victory at the Marriott Center and a one-point 70-69 win in Laramie at the Multipurpose Gym. Wyoming's last win was during the 1998-99 season when the Cowgirls picked up a 70-66 win in Provo.
Scouting CSU
The Rams come to the Marriott Center with a 12-2 overall and 1-0 conference record after their win over Wyoming. They will play at Utah prior to taking on BYU on Saturday night. Ashley Augspurger tops her team in scoring with an average of 12.4 ppg and 5.3 rpg. There are four other CSU players in double digit scoring as well. They are Heather Haanen with 12.1, followed by Elizabeth English with 10.3 points a game and finally Angie Gorton who's averaging 10 points a game. Shannon Strecker who has started in 12 games for the Rams is the leading rebounder with an average of 6.9 a game. CSU is scoring 77.4 points a game, allowing opponents just 63.3 points per game. The Rams shoot 44 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free-throw line.
CSU Probable Starters
#00 Ashley Augspurger - F 6-1, So (12.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
#44 Heather Haanen - F 5-11, Sr (12.1 ppg,4.5 rpg)
#50 Shannon Strecker - C 6-2, So (8.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg)
#02 Elizabeth English - G 5-6, So (10.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg)
#14 Angie Gorton - G/F 6-0, Jr (10.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
Series Record: 35-15 favoring the BYU team.
Last Meeting: CSU won both regular season conference games during last year's inaugural season. BYU did get a win over the Rams in the MWC tournament in an eight-point 77-69 semifinal game which propelled the Cougars into the title game of the tourney.
Coach Shippen vs MWC Opponents
vs. Wyoming: 3-1
vs CSU: 1-4
vs SDSU: 5-0
vs UNLV: 4-0
vs Air Force: 4-0
vs UNM: 3-5
vs Utah: 4-4
Shippen Quotes
On BYU team: We still want to compete and that's important for us right now. We had a disappointing opening week of conference play because we were hoping to pick up a split. Now it's very important for us to win every home games if we want to stay in the race for the MWC championship. We've lost three straight which is something that hasn't happened all year. We need to get back on track, get focused and take one game at a time.
On Wyoming: They are a very balanced team that has a lot of people stepping it up for them. This is a team that matches up well with us and all of our games have been well played, hard fought. We've been fortunate to have beaten them recently. They'll come in here ready to play and we need to be totally ready and focused on our task at hand.
On CSU: This a very good team with only two losses all year. They have the best overall record of any team we've played so far. They are a young, well coached team with lots of people who can step up and score. They opened up conference play on the road with a huge win over Wyoming and I know their is a big rivalry with them. That win is a huge confidence builder for them coming in here this week.
Head Coach Trent Shippen
Trent Shippen enters his fourth season at the helm of BYU's women's basketball program. The 22 wins last year are a first for the Cougar program since the 1992-93 season when BYU finished with a 24-5, 13-1 record and made its last NCAA Championships appearance.
This is Shippen's first Division I coaching assignment. Shippen came to BYU after a three year stint as head coach at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. While at Ricks, he led his 1995 team to a fifth place finish in the NJCAA Tournament, and was voted Region 18 Coach of the Year. He was also the recipient of the Alberta Lee Cox Sportsmanship Award at the 1995 NJCAA Tournament. He played college hoops at Ricks College and at Colorado State University. At Ricks he earned All-Region 18 Coach of the Year. He was also the recipient of the Alberta Lee Cox Sportsmanship Award at the 1995 NJCAA Tournament. He played college hoops at Ricks College and at Colorado State University. At Ricks he earned All-Region 18 honors as a sophomore and was a member of the 1983-84 Viking team that placed sixth at the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas.
During his career at CSU he helped the Rams place third in the NIT Tournament in 1988, where Shippen set the Madison Square Garden single-game record with six three-pointers. The following year he helped CSU win the league title, advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament, was selected Academic All-WAC, and averaged 7.6 points and 2.9 assists.
Shippen File
BYU
2000-01 8-7 RICKS COLLEGE
1999-00 22-8 1994-95 33-3
1998-99 16-13 1995-96 19-11
1997-98 15-14 1996-97 19-12
Totals 61-42 (.592) Totals 71-26 (.731)
Did You Know....Cougar Family Connections
Kaly Gillette Shippen (#04) is coach Shippen's sister-in-law. She married his younger brother Ty Shippen who walked on to this year's men's basketball team.
Chanell Rose (#23) is BYU's men's assistant basketball coach Dave Rose's daughter. She transferred from playing one year at neighboring Utah Valley State College.
As of Dec. 16, Utah transfer Trent Whiting became eligible to play on the men's team. His wife Amber who is a transfer from Weber State is part of the women's team. She'll be redshirting this season.
BYU Home Practice Schedule
At home the BYU team practices daily from 1p.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Coach Shippen and player interviews can be done prior to or after practice and must be scheduled in advance through the women's basketball contact, Norma Collett. She can be contacted at 801-378-4908 or via e-mail at: norma_collett@byu.edu No interviews will be done 24-hours prior to games.
Ahead for the Cougars
The Cougars are on the road for their next three MWC games. BYU plays at Utah on Jan. 27, then travels to meet Air Force on Feb. 1 and is at New Mexico on Feb. 3. The next home conference games are on Feb. 8 and 10 against SDSU and UNLV.
