PROVO -- Turnovers and free throws proved to be the difference Thursday night in the BYU women's basketball team's 78-70 loss to New Mexico. The loss drops the Cougars into fourth place in the Mountain West Conference.
BYU could not hold onto a five-point halftime lead as the Cougars were outscored 51-38 in the second half. New Mexico chipped away at BYU's margin and eventually tied the game at 39-39 with 15:08 to go. Trailing 41-43 with 11:59 to play, sophomore All-American Erin Thorn hit two three pointers and Jennifer Leitner made another over the next minute to go up 50-45. The Lobos responded with a run of their own, outscoring BYU 33-20 the final 11 minutes. Thorn led the Cougars with 19 points, including five three pointers while Caroline Beus had 14 points and six rebounds. Leitner chipped in nine points and Heather Cheesman had eight. BYU shot 8-15 from the free throw line and had 18 turnovers for the game, while the Lobos shot 23-32 from the line and had 10 turnovers, with only one in the second half.
"We just didn't have the same energy level tonight," BYU coach Trent Shippen said. "The big difference was free throws and turnovers. We got to take care of the ball and make better decisions."
New Mexico had four players in double figures. Molly McKinnon led the way with 18 points while Miranda Sanchez and Susan Bocock had 11 points a piece.
With the loss, BYU's record drops to 15-11 (7-6) on the season, while New Mexico improves to 17-10 (8-5) on the year. BYU will play its final regular season game against Air Force Saturday at 7 p.m., in the Marriott Center.
In the final week of MWC regular season action, BYU's women's basketball team is tied for third with UNLV and New Mexico. The Cougars( 15-10, 7-5) get set to move up in the conference standings hosting New Mexico (16-10, 7-5) Thursday Mar. 1 and Air Force (3-22, 0-12) Saturday, Mar. 3.
Tip off: BYU vs New Mexico is 7:00 p.m. Arena: Marriott Center
Tip off: BYU vs Air Force is 7:00 p.m. Arena: Marriott Center
Cougars/Lobos Game On TV/Satellite
Thursday night's MWC game between BYU and New Mexico will air live locally on KBYU-TV, channel 11, beginning at 7 p.m. The game can also be seen live on the Disk Network System 500 and on Direct TV. Holly Rowe will call the action, with analysis from Kathy Aiken.
BYU Probable Starters - 2000-01 stats
l 31 Lisa Osguthorpe - 6-0 Jr, F (6.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
l 44 Caroline Beus - 6-1 Sr, C/F (8.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
l 23 Chanell Rose - 6-0 So, F (6.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
l 11 Erin Thorn - 5-10 So, G (15.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
l 22 Stacy Jensen - 5-6 Jr, G (9.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
BYU Players Off the Bench- 2000-01 stats
l 04 Kaly G. Shippen - 5-6 Sr, G (3.4 ppg)
l 14 Julie Whetten - 5-8 Fr, G (5.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg)
l 50 Heather Cheesman - 6-1 Fr, F (8.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
l 21 Jennifer Leitner - 6-0 Fr, F (5.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
l 20 Brittany Larson - 6-0 So, F (1.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg)
l 15 Jorja Cox - 5-11 Sr, F (1.6 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
Quickie BYU Stats - 2000-01 Season
l Shooting from the field - .428 (612-1430)
l Shooting from the free-throw line - .734 (323-440)
l Shooting from the three-point arc - .393 (171-435)
l Averaged 68.7 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 UNM on 02/03/01
l Most rebounds made - 49 vs SMU on 12/30/00
l Most assists made - 24 vs UNLV on 02/08/01
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 - Lisa Osguthorpe (10) vs SDSU on 02/10/01
l Most assists made - Lisa Osguthorpe (8) vs UNLV on 02/08/01
l Most steals made - Lisa Osguthorpe (4) @ Utah on 01/27/01
l Most blocked shots - Caroline Beus (2) @ Washington State 11/30/00, Lisa Osguthorpe (2) vs SDSU on 02/10/01
Last Game Recap
In the second meeting between instate rival and conference foe Utah, it was the Utes picking up the 12-point victory last Friday night at the Marriott Center. BYU was led by junior guard Stacy Jensen with 16 points followed by Caroline Beus and her 11 points and seven rebounds. Jennifer Leitner came off the bench for her team-high nine rebounds and five points. The Cougars shot 35 percent from the field and 69 percent at the line.All-American Erin Thorn was held to just four points in the game.
Scouting New Mexico
The Lobos make their annual appearance in the Marriott Center Thursday night with a 7-5 conference record, the same as hosts BYU. New Mexico's overall record is at 16-10. On the road the Lobos are 2-3 in conference action. Three New Mexico players are in double digit scoring with Jordan Adams toping the list with an average of 14.6 points a game. Miranda Sanchez is picking up 13.2 and Molly McKinnon contributes 10.1 points a game. Adams is also the team's leading rebounder, grabbing 5.7 board a game. The Lobos are shooting 43 percent from the field and 72 percent at the free-throw line.
New Mexico Probable Starters
# 21 Miranda Sanchez - ( 13.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg)
# 50 Lauren McLeod - (4.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
# 40 Jordan Adams - (14.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
# 30 Chelsea Grear - (5.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
# 44 Nikki Heckroth - (4.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
Series Record: 32-11 in favor of BYU
Last Meeting: In the first conference outing between the two teams in Albuquerque, it was the visiting Cougars picking up the seven-point win. Erin Thorn led the way with 31 points and teammate Caroline Beus contributed with her season and career high 11 rebounds. The BYU win was the first at "the Pit" since the 1993-94 season. New Mexico's last victory at the Marriott Center was a three-point win(67-64) in the 1997-98 year.
Scouting Air Force
The Air Force Academy makes its annual visit to the Marriott Center with a 3-22, 0-12 record. That record includes five straight MWC losses on the road. Rozalyn Russ is the Falcons leading scorer, averaging 9.9 ppg and 6.6 rpg. Others contributing in scoring include Morgan Bennett with 9.1 points and Amoy Jackson with 6.5 points a game. From the field the Falcons are shooting 53 percent and are scoring 51.2 points a game. Opponents are getting 68.0 points a game.
Air Force Academy Probable Starters
# 25 Rozalyn Russ - (9.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
# 11 Morgan Bennett - (9.1 ppg,3.4 rpg)
# 35 Samantha Clifton - (4.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
# 23 Shanekia Peebles - (5.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
# 24 Amoy Jackson - (6.5 ppg, 2.0rpg)
Series Record: 5-0 for the Cougars
Last Meeting: Earlier this conference season, the BYU team visited Colorado Springs and picked up the 74-59 victory.
Mountain West Conference Standings (as of 2/27/01)
SCHOOL ALL GAMES MWC GAMES
Utah 23-2 12-0
Colorado State 19-6 8-4
UNLV 17-7 7-5
New Mexico 16-10 7-5
BYU 15-10 7-5
San Diego State 13-12 5-7
Wyoming 10-15 2-10
Air Force 3-22 0-12
Coach Shippen vs MWC Opponents
vs UNM: 4-5
vs Air Force: 5-0
vs Utah: 4-6
vs CSU: 1-4
vs. Wyoming: 3-1
vs UNLV: 5-0
vs SDSU: 5-0
Cougars in MWC Stats (as of 02/27/01)
TEAM (after 12 conference games)
1st in Scoring Offense - (840 pts, 70.0)
1st in 3-PT Field Goal % - (.381, 80-210)
2nd in Assists - (15.75, 189)
2nd in Rebounding Defense - (32.5, 390)
2nd in Field Goal % - (.442, 302-683)
3rd in Free-Throw % - (.746, 156-209)
3rd in 3-PT Field Goals Made - (80, 6.67)
INDIVIDUAL
Erin Thorn - 1st in 3-PT Field Goals Made (31, 2.58 avg)
Erin Thorn - 3rd in Assists (50, 4.17 avg)
Erin Thorn - 5th in Scoring (170 pts, 14.2 avg)
Erin Thorn - 5th in 3-PT Field Goal % (.403, 31-77)
Erin Thorn - 8th in Steals (19, 1.58 avg)
Caroline Beus - 1st in Field Goal % (.544, 49-90)
Caroline Beus - 10th in Rebounding (33 off, 32 def, 65, 5.4 avg)
Caroline Beus - 4th in Offensive Rebounds (33, 2.75)
Jennifer Leitner - 5th in Blocked Shots (9, .82)
Jennifer Leitner - 9th in Rebounding (27 off, 34 def,61, 5.5 avg)
Jennifer Leitner - 9th in Offensive Rebounds (27, 2.45 avg)
Stacy Jensen - 4th in Assists (45, 3.75)
Stacy Jensen - 6th in 3-PT Field Goal % (.388, 19-49)
Stacy Jensen - 7th in 3-PT Field Goals Made (19, 1.58 avg.)
Stacy Jensen - 10th in Free Throw % (.774, 24-31)
Julie Whetten -3rd in 3-PT Field Goal % (.429, 12-28)
Lisa Osguthorpe - 7th in Blocked Shots (8, .67)
Shippen Quotes
On BYU team: We're doing allright after a tough loss to Utah. I think the team battled tough and played against a very good Utah team. The main thing now is to focus on New Mexico because Thursday's contest is a big game for seeding purposes in the upcoming conference tournament for us and New Mexico.
On New Mexico: They had a great win against CSU last week, and another one at Wyoming. We have got to do a good job defending Jordan Adams and Miranda Sanchez, both are playing really well right now and both are tough to defend.
On Air Force: They've lost a couple of games real close and have been in games. They played New Mexico, Wyoming and San Diego very tough. They're a team that can get hot from three-point range and if they do then we're in trouble. In the stats, it shows that they've taken 100 more three-point shots then we have. We'll need to defend their three-point play and not give them any wide open looks and of course we have to stay with them in rebounding.
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 15-10 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 68-45 (.601) Totals 71-26 (.739)
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
After finishing the MWC season hosting its last three games, the Cougars get set to compete in the MWC Women's Basketball Tournament, March 7-10 in Las Vegas, at the Thomas and Mack Center. The seeding for the tournament will be announced Sunday night, March 3, immediately following the BYU vs Air Force game.
