PROVO -- An early second-half scoring burst and key free throw shooting down the stretch helped the BYU women's basketball team hold on to defeat UNLV, 89-83, Thursday night in a key Mountain West Conference game at the Marriott Center. With the win, the Cougars remain unbeaten on their home floor this season.
BYU led 79-65 with 3:38 to play, but that is when UNLV made a spirited comeback. Three Lady Rebel three pointers and some key steals that resulted in easy baskets aided the comeback that fell short. The Cougars hit 8-of-10 free throws in the last two minutes to seal the victory. BYU led 42-30 at halftime and held as much as a 25 point lead midway through the second half, thanks in part to fast break opportunities and inside scoring. Four Cougars scored in double figures for the game, led by sophomore All-American Erin Thorn, who had a game-high 25 points while also dishing out seven assists. Stacy Jensen had 12 points and five assists, while Caroline Beus scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards. Sophomore Jennifer Leitner chipped in 10 points and had six rebounds. The Cougars had a season-high 24 assists, led by Lisa Osguthorpe's eight. BYU shot 50 percent from the field for the game and a red hot 92.3 percent from the free throw line, making a season-high 24-of-26 from the stripe. The Lady Rebels shot 47.5 percent from the field but only 73.1 percent from the line for the game.
"We played an excellent basketball game for the most part," head coach Trent Shippen said. "At the end, we got a little passive and weren't playing aggressive. The momentum changed and we lost our focus, but it's a good win over a good team."
UNLV was led by junior Kinesha Davis, who scored 21 points, including four three pointers and Constance Jinks, who scored 20 points. Danya Gambill chipped in 14 points and four assists, while Linda Frohlich scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds.
The win improves the Cougars record to 13-8 (5-3) on the season, while UNLV drops to 14-6 (4-4) on the year. BYU will next play San Diego State, Saturday at 7 p.m., in the Marriott Center.
After picking up back-to-back conference wins on the road, BYU's women's basketball team (12-8, 4-3) is happy to be back in the winning column as they prepare to host MWC foes, UNLV(14-5, 4-3), and SDSU (11-9, 3-4) this Thursday and Saturday night.
Tip off: BYU vs UNLV is 7:00 p.m. Arena: Marriott Center
Tip off: BYU vs SDSU is 7:00 p.m. Arena: Marriott Center
BYU-UNLV Game Live on KBYU-TV and on Satellite
This Thursday night's game between the Cougars and Lady Rebels will air live locally on KBYU-TV, Channel 11 and live on BYU-TV if you own a Dish Network 500 System or are on Direct TV. The play-by-play will be done by Holly Rowe, with analysis from Kathy Aiken.
BYU Probable Starters - 2000-01 stats
l 31 Lisa Osguthorpe - 6-0 Jr, F (5.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
l 44 Caroline Beus - 6-1 Sr, C/F (7.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg)
l 23 Chanell Rose - 6-0 So, F (6.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
l 11 Erin Thorn - 5-10 So, G (16.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg)
l 22 Stacy Jensen - 5-6 Jr, G (9.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
BYU Players Off the Bench- 2000-01 stats
l 04 Kaly G. Shippen - 5-6 Sr, G (3.7 ppg)
l 14 Julie Whetten - 5-8 Fr, G (5.1 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
l 50 Heather Cheesman - 6-1 Fr, F (8.3 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
l 21 Jennifer Lietner - 6-0 Fr, F (43 ppg, 4.0 rpg)
Player Injury Update
# 15 Jorja Cox has suffered a knee injury and is out of the lineup indefinitely. #20 Brittany Larson was diagnosed with mono and is out of the lineup indefinitely.
Quickie BYU Stats - 2000-01 Season
l Shooting from the field - .422 (476-1129)
l Shooting from the free-throw line - .722 (252-349)
l Shooting from the three-point arc - .402 (139-346)
l Averaged 67.2 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 Cougar women picked up two huge conference wins on the road last week with a 14-point 74-59 victory over the Air Force Academy on Thursday night and a five-point 79-72 win at "the Pit" against New Mexico, something BYU had not done since back in 1995. In Colorado Springs the Cougars had to play without All-American and leading scorer Erin Thorn who was suffering from an earlier knee injury. Also out of the lineup was center Caroline Beus who sprained an ankle in the game. Heather Cheesman came off the bench to lead the BYU effort with 15 points and five rebounds. Three other teammates were also in double digit scoring with Stacy Jensen's 14, followed by a season-high 13 points from Jennifer Lietner and 12 from starting forward Lisa Osguthorpe. At the Pit, Erin Thorn was on fire, scoring 31 points, grabbing four defensive rebounds and dishing out four assists. Others contributing to the BYU win were New Mexico native Julie Whetten who had a career high 13 points. Caroline Beus had her first double-double of the year with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Scouting UNLV
The Lady Rebels come to Provo with a three-way tie for third place with a 4-3 conference record. UNM and BYU are the other two teams. On the year, UNLV has compiled a 14-5 record. Linda Frohlich tops the leader board in scoring for the Rebels with 17.4 points and a team high 8.1 rebounds a game. Two more players are scoring in double digits for UNLV with Constance Jinks picking up 13.9 points and freshman Petra Glaser contributing 11.2 points a game. The Rebels shoot 45 percent from the field and are 71 percent from the foul line. Opponents are getting 61.3 points a game compared to 69.2 for UNLV.
UNLV Probable Starters
# 10 Viveca Lof - F 6-3, Sr ( 2.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
# 13 Linda Frohlich - F 6-2, Jr (17.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg)
# 03 Kinesha Davis - G 5-7, Jr (8.4 ppg,5.0 rpg)
# 05 Dayna Gambill - G 5-6, Sr (6.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg)
# 23 Constance Jinks - G 5-7, So (13.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg)
Series Record: 8-5 favoring the Cougars.
Last Meeting: In the first conference outing between the two teams, UNLV picked up the 61-50 win at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels have won the last two contests at the Marriott Center.
Scouting San Diego State
SDSU is 3-4 in conference action and 11-9 overall, just one game behind the Cougars. Tanisha Knight leads the Aztecs offense with an average of 10.5 ppg and 5.2 rebounds per game. Jamey Cox is contributing 9.7 points and 2.5 rebounds a game. SDSU is shooting 43 percent from the field and 62 percent form the free-throw line and are averaging 61.2 points a game. Opponents are allowed 60.9 points a game and are shooting 40 percent from the field.
SDSU Probable Starters
# 25 Missy Schoemaker - F/G 6-1, Jr (6.8 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
# 53 Anita Bundage - F 5-11, Sr (6.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg)
# 55 Atim Otii - F 6-0, Jr (7.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg)
# 12 Claire Swinbank - G 5-8, Jr (8.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
# 20 Jamey Cox - G 5-7, So (9.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
Series Record: 11-9 with the edge going to the Cougars
Last Meeting: Earlier this year, the Cougars traveled to San Diego to Play at Cox Arena, where they lost a very close two-point game, 61-63 to hosts SDSU. The last time the Aztecs won at the Marriott Center was during the 1994-95 season.
Mountain West Conference Standings (as of 2/4/01)
SCHOOL ALL GAMES MWC GAMES
Utah 18-2 7-0
Colorado State 16-4 5-2
UNLV 14-5 4-3
New Mexico 13-8 4-3
BYU 12-8 4-3
San Diego State 11-9 3-4
Wyoming 9-11 1-6
Air Force 3-17 0-7
Coach Shippen vs MWC Opponents
vs UNLV: 5-0
vs SDSU: 5-0
vs Air Force: 4-0
vs UNM: 3-5
vs Utah: 4-4
vs. Wyoming: 3-1
vs CSU: 1-4
Cougars in MWC Stats (as of 02/05/01)
TEAM (after 7 conference games)
2nd in Scoring Offense - (465 pts, 66.4)
3rd in Field Goal % - (.435, 166-382)
1st in 3-PT Field Goal % - (.397, 48-121)
2nd in Rebounding Defense - (32.1, 225)
3rd in Assists - (14.86, 104)
3rd in Offensive Rebounds - (83, 11.86)
2nd in 3-PT Field Goals Made - (48, 6.86)
INDIVIDUAL
Erin Thorn - 5th in Scoring (99pts, 14.1 avg)
Erin Thorn - 4th in Assists (27, 3.86 avg)
Erin Thorn - 1st in 3-PT Field Goals Made (18, 2.57 avg)
Erin Thorn - 3rd in 3-PT Field Goal % (.409, 18-44)
Caroline Beus - 7th in Field Goal % (.510, 25-49)
Caroline Beus - 10th in Rebounding (19 off, 16 def, 35, 5.0 avg)
Caroline Beus - 3rd in Offensive Rebounds (19, 2.71)
Chanell Rose - 2nd in Field Goal % (.568, 21-37)
Jennifer Leitner - 3rd in Blocked Shots (6, 1.00)
Stacy Jensen - 8th in Steals (12, 1.71 avg)
Stacy Jensen - 1st in 3-PT Field Goal % (.483, 14-29)
Stacy Jensen - 7th in Assists (23, 3.29)
Stacy Jensen - 3rd in 3-PT Field Goals Made (14, 2.00 avg.)
Shippen Quotes
On BYU team: We're a little soar and a bit tired after last week's tough road schedule. The team as a whole is very positive and hopefully we can keep our winning streak alive this week here at home. We didn't beat either one of the opponents on the road earlier in the season, so we'll have our work cut out for us.
On UNLV: We didn't match up very well against them in Las Vegas earlier this season so we'll definitely have to do better if we want a win here at home.
On SDSU: We could have won the game at the buzzer in San Diego but didn't. They are a team that's very much improved from last year and they're playing everyone very competitively. We will need to be playing at our best.
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 12-8 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 65-43 (.601) 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 make their final regular season conference road trip on Feb. 15 at CSU and at Wyoming on Feb. 17. BYU plays its final three MWC games at home beginning with Utah on Feb. 23.
