JONESBORO -- The BYU women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking 54-53 loss to Arkansas State on Tuesday in the first meeting between the two schools. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 1-1 on the season.

Lauren Riley-Varley led all BYU scorers with 16 points. She also recorded 13 rebounds, marking her second double-double in as many games this season. Also scoring in double-figures was Mallary Gillespie-Carling with 13 points. As a team, the Cougars pulled down 39 rebounds. One statistic that ended up hurting BYU was its 24 turnovers.

"We just didn't handle the situation well tonight," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "You have to give [ASU] a lot of credit. We didn't do what we needed to and they did."

BYU jumped out to an early lead in the first half. An assist from Shawnee Slade to Riley-Varley put the Cougars up 22-12. Good defensive play by the Cougars forced ASU turnovers, including a double-dribble turnover on a potential lay-up drive.

As the first half drew to a close, the Lady Indians attempted to close in on BYU's lead, getting to within four points. However, Gillespie-Carling's first three-pointer of the game and a turn-around shot by Keilani Moeaki gave the Cougars a 29-21 lead heading into the break.

BYU held the Lady Indians to 0-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half.

Gillespie-Carling's two consecutive three-pointers to begin the second half reestablished BYU's 10-point lead. Foul trouble plagued the Cougars as Riley-Varley picked up three quick personal fouls with 9:30 to play in the game.

The Cougars lost a 15-point lead when ASU went on a 7-0 run with seven minutes remaining on the clock. Leading by only one point, Mindy Nielson sunk a big field goal to put the Cougars back up 53-50.

Coming back from a time-out with 56 seconds remaining in the game, a double-dribble call on Slade turned the ball back over to ASU with a chance to overtake the lead. BYU trailed for the first time in the game with 17 seconds remaining.

"We've got to finish when we've got somebody beat," said Judkins. "I've got a good, young team and we've just got to learn to play together and execute. We'll learn from this."

Up next BYU will return home for its season opener at the Marriott Center on Sat., Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. against Fresno State.

Official Basketball Box Score
Brigham Young Univer vs Arkansas State
11/13/07 7:05 PM at Jonesboro, Ark. (Convocation Center)
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VISITORS: Brigham Young Univer 1-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
5  CHEESMAN, Ashley.... f  0-0    0-0    0-0    1  0  1   0   0  2  1  0  1  15
52 VARLEY, Lauren...... c  8-13   0-0    0-0    6  7 13   4  16  2  1  0  1  31
3  FOREMAN, Jazmine.... g  2-4    0-0    0-1    0  3  3   4   4  2  1  0  0  26
30 CARLING, Mallary.... g  5-12   3-10   0-0    1  2  3   3  13  3  7  0  1  39
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... g  1-9    0-2    0-0    4  4  8   3   2  0  5  1  0  27
13 JUDKINS, Jaime......    1-1    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   2   2  0  1  0  0   5
22 NIELSON, Mindy......    4-9    0-4    0-0    0  2  2   1   8  0  2  0  1  23
23 WOOD, Coriann.......    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   1   0  0  1  0  0   3
45 MOEAKI, Keilani.....    2-4    0-0    0-0    2  1  3   1   4  0  2  0  0  17
54 KING, Cassie........    1-2    0-0    2-4    0  2  2   2   4  2  0  0  0  14
   TEAM................                         1  3  4             3
   Totals..............   24-54   3-16   2-5   15 24 39  21  53 11 24  1  4 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 14-30 46.7%   2nd Half: 10-24 41.7%   Game: 44.4%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  1-7  14.3%   2nd Half:  2-9  22.2%   Game: 18.8%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0-1   0.0%   2nd Half:  2-4  50.0%   Game: 40.0%    1
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HOME TEAM: Arkansas State 1-1
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS
## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
34 Pospisil, Kayla..... f  0-2    0-0    2-2    1  1  2   0   2  0  1  1  1  10
01 Taylor, Jazmine..... g  2-6    0-1    3-5    3  1  4   1   7  5  2  0  1  33
11 Jefferson, Ebonie... g  5-9    1-3    2-2    3  3  6   1  13  1  2  0  1  24
24 Smith, Veronica..... g  2-6    1-3    0-1    1  3  4   1   5  0  1  0  0  23
25 Starr, Caroline..... g  0-5    0-4    0-0    0  2  2   1   0  1  3  0  0  24
10 Baker, Rachel.......    0-3    0-1    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  0  0  0  1   6
12 Criner, Angie.......    3-7    0-1    3-6    1  1  2   1   9  2  0  0  2  18
15 Hiles, Brittney.....    0-3    0-2    0-0    0  2  2   1   0  0  2  0  0  10
22 Scott, Sherina......    2-4    0-0    2-3    2  1  3   3   6  0  1  0  0  16
30 Schlup, Lyndsay.....    0-4    0-0    2-2    2  1  3   1   2  0  0  0  2  19
33 Anderson, Ashley....    5-7    0-0    0-0    0  1  1   2  10  0  0  0  0  17
   TEAM................                         2  2  4             2
   Totals..............   19-56   2-15  14-21  15 18 33  12  54  9 14  1  8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  7-27 25.9%   2nd Half: 12-29 41.4%   Game: 33.9%  DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0-8   0.0%   2nd Half:  2-7  28.6%   Game: 13.3%   REBS
F Throw % 1st Half:  7-9  77.8%   2nd Half:  7-12 58.3%   Game: 66.7%    3
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Officials: Mike Riggo, Todd Springer, Park VanNess
Technical fouls: Brigham Young Univer-None. Arkansas State-None.
Attendance: 1729
Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
Brigham Young Univer..........   29   24  -   53
Arkansas State................   21   33  -   54

The 2007-08 season begins this week for BYU's women's basketball team. Two road games open up the year with a game at UCSB on Nov. 9 and at Arkansas State on Nov. 13.

Game #1- 11/09/07: BYU @ UCSB Time: 7 p.m. PT Arena: The Thunderdome

Game #2- 11/13/07: BYU @ Arkansas St. Time: 7 p.m. CT Arena: Convocation Center

Cougars on the radio and the internet --

Radio: All of the BYU games this season will air live on the radio at KOVO 960 AM. In addition, fans can tune in to a 15-minute postgame show on KOVO.

Internet: This week's games will also be heard live on the internet at

http://www.byuradio.org/streaming

Veteran broadcaster Jay Monsen will call the action for both games.

BYU Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

3 Jazmine Foreman G 5-5 Fr

30 Mallary G. Carling G 5-10 Sr 13. 3.7

32 Shawnee Slade F 5-11 Jr 7.8 4.6

54 Cassie King F 6-3 Jr 3.5 2.7

52 Lauren R. Varley C 6-3 Sr 7.3 6.6

Reserve Players

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

5 Ashley Cheesman F 6-0 Sr 2.2 1.8

13 Jaime Judkins G 5-6 So 0.2 0.6

0 Lauren Nichols F 6-0 Fr (rs)

14 Sarah Red G/F 5-11Jr (rs)

21 Stephanie Buhler F 6-0 Fr

22 Mindy Nielson G 5-10 Fr

23 Coriann Wood F 6-1 Fr

45 Keilani Moeaki F 6-2 Fr

55 Megan Marks F 6-2 Fr

byu quick hits

The team

-- Two starters are among the six letterwinners returning for the 2007-08 season.The team also returns two redshirts in addition to six very talented newcomers

-- The seniors are MWC Second Team honoree guard Mallary Gillespie-Carling and MWC Honorable Mention Lauren Riley-Varley. Both were also named to the 2007 MWC All-Tournament Team.

-- Among the letterwinners are junior forward/guard combo Shawnee Slade, senior forward Ashley Cheesman and junior center Cassie King. The trio return with the most playing experience and an understanding of coach Judkins' game plan. Guard Jamie Judkins who also comes in with significant playing time experience.

-- Two redshirts who were on the team last year, freshman forward Lauren Nichols and sophomore guard Sarah Red, a transfer from the University of Utah, will also provide solid experience on the team.

-- Six new incoming freshmen will take to the court in 2007-08. They are:

Stephanie Buhler, a 6-0 forward from Oregon City, Ore., and Oregon City High School

Jazmine Foreman, 5-5 guard from Vancouver, Wash., and Hudson's Bay High School

Megan Marks, a 6-2 forward from South Jordan, Utah and Bingham High School

Keilani Moeaki, a 6-2 forward from Warrenville, Ill. and Wheaton Warrenville South High School

Mindy Nielson, 5-10 guard form Centennial. Colo., and Regis Jesuit High School

Coriann Wood, a 6-1 forward from Basin City, Wash., and Connell High School.

About This Week's Opponents

UCSB - Santa Barbara, CA (11/9/07)

The 2007-08 Gauchos team returns all five starters and 12 letterwinners from a team that compiled a 19-14 record and advanced to the second round of the WNIT last season. UCSB will be led by senior guard Jessica Wilson who averaged 13.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Another senior, Chisa Ononiwu will also play a big role on the team. Ononiwu averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 boards per contest. The Gauchos are coached by Mark French who enters his 22nd season with the program, and are part of the Big West Conference.

UCSB Probable Starters * (all stats are from last season)

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 14 Jordan Franey 6-0 So 8.6 4.0

F 23 Ashlee Brown 6-0 Fr

G 03 Chisa Ononiwu 5-7 Sr 11.6 5.0

G 05 Jessica Wilson 5-10 Sr 13.0 6.7

G 11 Sha'Rae Gibbons 5-7 Jr 0.3 0.3

Stat Comparisons* BYU UCSB

Field Goals: .433 .421

Free Throws: .618 .705

Three-Pointers: .310 .337

Points Per Game: 62.5 68.8

Rebounds Per Game: 37.9 38.3

Series Record: 2-4 in favor of UCSB

Last Meeting: 11/26/05 in Provo where the Cougars captured a 72-39 victory.

Arkansas State - Jonesboro, AR (11/13/07)

Arkansas State compiled an impressive 21-13 overall record and finished fourth in the Sun Belt West Division. The team returns two starters and eight letterwinners. Ashley Anderson and Caroline Starr are the two starters back with Anderson averaging 4.2 ppg and 2.7 rpg, while Starr tallied 7.4 ppg and 3.5 rpgs. The Lady Indians are coached by Brian Boyer who is in his eighth season with the program.

Arkansas State Probable Starters * (all stats are from last season)

Pos. # Name Ht Yr PPG RPG

F 5 Kelsey Lock 6-0 Sr 1.7 0.8

F 33 Ashley Anderson 6-2 Jr 4.2 2.7

G 01 Jazmine Taylor 5-8 So 1.3 1.2

G 24 Veronica Smith 5-10 So 3.0 2.1

G 25 Caroline Starr 5-10 Jr 7.4 3.5

Stat Comparisons* BYU ASU

Field Goals: .433 .423

Free Throws: .618 .704

Three-Pointers: .310 .325

Points Per Game: 62.5 66.3

Rebounds Per Game: 37.9 37.0

Series Record: First meeting between the two schools

Travel Plans

To UCSB Game

Flight: Nov. 8, Delta flight# 3965 departs SLC at 11:55 a.m., arriving in Santa Barbara at 1 p.m.

Flight: Nov. 10, Delta flight# 3950 departs Santa Barbara at 6:10 a.m., arriving in SLC at 9:06 a.m.

Team Hotel: Nov. 8-10, Holiday Inn, 5650 Calle Real, 805-964-6241, 805-964-8467, fax.

To Arkansas State Game

Flight: Nov. 12, Delta flight# 1543 departs SLC at 10:15 a.m., to Cincinnati. Delta flight# 5039 arriving in Memphis at 5:24 p.m.

Flight: Nov. 14, Delta flight# 1658 departs Memphis at 8 a.m., to Atlanta. Delta flight# 1285 arriving in SLC at 2:10 p.m.

Team Hotel: Holiday Inn Express, 2407 Phillips Drive, Jonesboro, 870-932-5554, 870-932-2586.

Media Availability

Team Practice Times - at home

-The team practices are held at the Marriott Center MWF from 11:30 a.m., to 1:30 p.m. On Tuesday's, practice is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m., and on Thursday's from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

- Coach Judkins and players are available for interviews prior to or after their practices. All interviews are scheduled in advance. Norma Collett is the Basketball Communications Director for the team and can be contacted by phone or email.

Contact at -- office: 801-422-4908, cell: 801-372-0989 and email: norma_collett@byu.edu

Team Practice Times - on the road

- For the game at UCSB, the Cougars have a shootaround for one-hour at 12:15 p.m., on Nov. 9.

- For the game at Arkansas State, BYU has a scheduled shootaround at 11 a.m. on Nov. 13.

What's Next

BYU will return home for its season opener at the Marriott Center on Sat., Nov. 17 against Fresno State. Tip offf is at 2 p.m.

The Cougars also host Hartford on Nov. 20 at 4:30 p.m., and Seton Hall on Nov. 23 at 7 p.m.