BERKELEY -- The BYU women’s basketball team (23-10), after being on the road for more than a week straight, fell the to California Bears 50-76 in the quarterfinals of the 2010 WNIT tournament.

"We had a great tournament," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "The travel finally caught up with us. We were just a step off on offense and defense tonight. We're better than what we showed tonight but this has been an awesome opportunity for us and a great prep for next season."

This year’s run in the WNIT, with a 3-1 playing record and appearance in the Elite Eight, is the best in women’s basketball history in the NIT and any other postseason play. This year was BYU’s fifth showing in the WNIT.

Alexis Kaufusi recorded a season-and career-high to lead the team with 14 points, going 7-for-10 from the field, and adding four rebounds on the night.

Teammate Haley Hall added 12 points to the team’s total with all of her points coming from 3-pointers. She also contributed two assists.

The Bears took an early 12-2 lead in the first half but Mindy Bonham would end that shooting streak with a quick trey to spark the Cougars on an 8-0 run of their own.

Both teams didn’t do much on offense in the first half, as the score remained the same for almost six minutes. BYU shot 44 percent from the field in the first half compared to California’s 42.5 percent.

The teams headed into the locker room at the half on a close 28-33 score for the Bears.

The Cougars had some trouble getting the ball through the hoop at the beginning of the second half as they went the first four minutes without score but were able to keep it close before the Bears took off to finish the game.

Riding a three-game win streak and playing its third contest in six days, BYU’s women’s basketball team looks to stay undefeated in the 2010 WNIT.

The Cougars (23-9) get set to play another Pac-10 foe, Cal (21-13) on Sat. Mar. 27 at 6 p.m. PT at Haas Pavilion on the Bears campus.

BYU is the only team remaining from the Mountain West Conference in this year’s WNIT.

San Diego State, the other MWC school, continues play in the NCAA tournament in the Sweet Sixteen.

BYU Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

03 Jazmine Foreman G 5-5 Jr 9.8 3.2

22 Mindy Bonham (Nielson) G 5-10 Jr 11.2 4.0

33 Haley Hall G 5-4 Jr 8.9 3.6

45 Keilani Moeaki F 6-2 Jr 4.5 2.2

35 Kristen Riley C 6-3 So 8.2 5.7

2009-10 Stats Summary

-- Shooting from field: (.428, 786-1837)

-- Shooting from three-point line: (.361, 220-609)

-- Shooting from free-throw line: (.661, 287-434)

-- Average points per game: 65.0

-- Average rebounds per game: 37.4

-- Average assists per game: 16.3

-- Average steals per game: 9.2

-- Average blocks per game: 3.4

-- Average turnovers per game: 17.0

Cougars in the NCAA Stats (as of Mar. 24, 2010)

Team

-- Assists Per Game - 12th (16.5)

-- Assist/Turnover Ratio - 29th (0.96)

-- Scoring Defense - 34th (57.2)

-- Three-Point Field Goal Percentage - 35th (35.8)

-- Three-Point Field Goals Per Game - 42nd (6.8)

-- Won-Lost Percentage - 45th (75.0)

Player

-- Assist/Turnover Ratio - Haley Hall, 24th (1.94)

Cougars In Postseason

This is BYU’s 12th overall appearance in postseason play and its fifth in the WNIT where they’ve compiled a 6-4 record including Thursday’s 67-63 win over Wyoming in Laramie.

2010 WNIT Elite Eight (Quarterfinals) Opponent

CALIFORNIA -

Cal has compiled a 21-13 to date including three victories in the 2010 WNIT over UC Davis, Utah and Oregon. In the Pac-10 the Bears had an 11-7 record finishing in fourth place. Two players are currently scoring in double figures for Cal led by 17.7 points from Alexis Gray-Lawson who also grabs 5.3 boards per game. Freshman forward/center DeNesha Stallworth follows with 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Another freshman, 6-2 forward Gennifer Brandon leads the way in the rebound category grabbing 8.5 per contest. In the assists category, Natasha Vital leads the way dishing out a total of 78 thus far this year. Eliza Pierre is the team’s steals leader with 62 to date. When playing at home, the Bears have a 11-6 record. Head coach Joanne Boyle is in her fifth season with the Bears women’s basketball program.

Cal Probable Starters

No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. PPG RPG

11 DeNesha Stallworth F 6-3 Fr 12.3 6.3

33 Talia Caldwell C 6-3 Fr 5.0 5.5

04 Eliza Pierre G 5-7 Fr 2.9 2.9

21 Alexis Gray-Lawson G 5-8 Sr 17.7 5.3

23 Layshia Clarendon G 5-9 Fr 9.5 4.4

Stat Comparison

Category BYU CAL

FG: .428 .397

3FG: .361 .265

FT: .661 .663

Points: 65.0 65.8

Reb: 37.4 41.8

Series Information

Overall Series Record: Cal leads 2-0

BYU Record in Provo: N/A

BYU Record in Berkeley: N/A

BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 0-2

BYU Record under Jeff Judkins: N/A

BYU Record in Overtime Games: N/A

Longest BYU Win Streak: N/A

Longest Cal Win Streak: 2 (1979-1981)

Largest BYU Margin of Victory: N/A

Largest Cal Margin of Victory: 12, 75-63 in 1979

Last Meeting

These two teams have not played each other for 29 years. Their last meeting was on Nov. 20, 1981 when the two were competing in the Utah State Invitational where Cal won 85-84. In both previous meetings, the games were played on a neutral court.

Travel Itinerary -

Team Hotel in Berkeley - DoubleTree Marina, 200 Marina Blvd., 510-548-7920, 510-548-7944, fax.

What’s Next -

The winner of the WNIT Quarterfinal game between Cal and BYU advances to the semifinals. They will play the winner of Sunday’s quarterfinal game between Illinois and Illinois State. That semifinal game is scheduled to be played between Mar. 31- Apr. 1 at a campus site.