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PROVO -- In a battle to keep the top spot in the Mountain West Conference, the BYU women’s basketball team defeated TCU 70-60 at the Marriott Center on Saturday.

"I'm really happy for the team," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "They've worked so hard to get to this point. We knew it was a big game and I'm not one to hide it. We talked about it all week and the girls were definitely able to step up to the challenge."

Freshmen Kim Paker and Jennifer Hamson led the way for the Cougars. Parker led with 14 points and two rebounds while Hamson finished with a near double-double of nine points and 10 rebounds.

"One thing that is so unique, and what makes our team so awesome, is that every night someone different will come out with the high points," Parker said. "We are definitely a team unit. If teams focus on one player, someone else will step up."

Senior Mindy Bonham contributed all over the court in the win, finishing with eight points, 11 assists and five rebounds. Bonham now has 438 career assists and is just 21 shy of fourth place in BYU history.

BYU went down early thanks to a quick TCU three and would take their first lead of the game at 17:54 after a Hamson lay up and jumper from Haley Hall. From there, the Cougars would keep the lead until half.

Momentum shifted to BYU after Hall nailed a three at the 15:10 mark to give the Cougars a 9-3 lead. The Cougars followed Hall’s trey with stifling defense, causing a TCU shot clock violation.

Quick scoring and tough defense helped the Cougars build a double-digit lead as halftime approached. A 15-6 BYU run near the end of the half pushed the lead to 15, 38-23, in BYU's favor as the teams left the hardwood at the break.

Senior Jazmine Foreman came out quick in the second half by nailing a three, getting a steal and finishing with a lay up. Foreman’s shots helped start a 9-2 BYU run to open the half.

A technical foul assessed to TCU with 16:13 remaining helped the Cougars maintain momentum as Coriann Fraughton hit both foul shots to extend the lead to 22 at 47-25.

The Horned Frogs worked to come back in the game, narrowing the lead to seven (49-42) with 10:47 remaining.

TCU narrowed the gap to four points, 58-54, with under three minutes remaining but the Cougar defense came through with 2:28 remaining by forcing the third TCU shot clock violation of the game and Parker sealed the victory with a three at the other end.

"These kids sure can fight," Judkins said. "They have a lot of heart and really wanted this game tonight."

The Cougars will continue the MWC season on Wednesday as they travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to take on Colorado State at 7:00 pm MT.

Game Notes

Player Notes

-Mindy Bonham’s seven assists at halftime tie her season-high for most assists recorded in a first half.

-Bonham recorded 11 assists against the Horned Frogs to make her career total at 438, just 21 shy of fourth place in BYU women’s basketball history. Her 438 total puts her past assistant coach Stacy Jensen's previous record of 432 which is now 6th all-time.

-Coriann Fraughton finished with 10 points for her 18th double-figure performance this season and seventh straight.

-Jazmine Foreman finished with 10 points for her 7th double-figure performance this season.

-Kim Parker’s seven points at halftime are a new season-high for her total points recorded in a first half. Parker finished with 14 points, just one shy of her career-high, as the most in conference action and her fourth season double-figure game.

-Foreman and Parker both made two 3-pointers for a new season-high.

-Haley Hall finished with 12 points for her 8th double-figure performance this season.

Team notes

-Today’s 1,232 attendance is the second most this season, and in conference action

-The Cougars are now 18-1 when they lead at the half, 16-4 when they make more than five 3-pointers, 15-2 when they outrebound their opponent, 16-1 when they record under 16 turnovers and 11-1 when they play at home.

-This is the fifth time on the year and fourth in league action where four players have scored in double digits. When four players tally double figures, BYU has a perfect 5-0 record.

-The Cougars have compiled a 10-0 record on the season when they score 70 or more points.

-After today’s game, BYU’s bench has outscored their opponents (365-259) all season

With a seven-game win streak and in first place in the MWC standings with a (18-7, 10-1) record, the Cougar women return home for another league contest. BYU is set to host TCU (17-8, 9-2) on Sat. Feb. 19 at noon.

The game airs live worldwide on BYUtv and can also be heard live on the internet at BYU Radio.

2010-11 Stats Summary

- Shooting from field: (.432, 672-1554)

- Shooting from three-point line: (.327, 179-548)

- Shooting from free-throw line: (.652, 232-356)

- Average points per game: 70.2

- Average rebounds per game: 39.4

- Average assists per game: 20.0

- Average steals per game: 8.8

- Average blocks per game: 4.0

- Average turnovers per game: 14.3

About BYU

-The Cougars are led in scoring by senior guard Mindy Bonham who averages 12.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Senior forward Coriann Fraughton follows averaging 11.4 points and a team high 7.2 rebounds per contest.

-Bonham also tops the list in assists with a total of 129. She also has the team’s best free throw percentage at .755, 37-49.

-Haley Hall has the most steals on the team with 50.

-Freshman center Jennifer Hamson is tops in the field goal percentage category at .632, 67-106. She also has the most blocks on the team with 33.

- The BYU bench has outscored its opponents 572 to 356 as of 2/13/11. The most points scored by the Cougar bench to date are 44 in the win over BYU-Hawaii on 12/3/10. The most bench points from an opponent on the year are 31 recorded by BYU-Hawaii.

-BYU’s reserves are outrebounding their opponents 365 to 259 as of 2/13/11. The most rebounds by the Cougar bench are 28 vs. Utah State on 11/23/10. The most boards by the opponent bench are Utah State with 24.

Game Promotion for TCU

Girls and Women in Sport Day celebration and Pink Zone game are all part of the activities set for this Saturday. From 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Cougar fans are invited to join BYU women athletes in the Smith Fieldhouse annex to participate in fun activities, games, prizes, and giveaways. Then all attendees are invited to support the women’s basketball team, as they take on TCU in the annual Pink Zone game. The Cougars join hundreds of athletic programs throughout the country that recognize breast cancer awareness. Everyone who wears pink gets in free.

Record Watching

- BYU head coach Jeff Judkins has compiled an 198-106 record as of Feb. 13 and is two wins away from picking up his 200th career victory.

- Mindy Bonham has tallying a total of 1,187 points as of 2/13/11, which puts her in 16th place out of 20 on BYU’s 1,000-Points Club. She needs 98 points to tie for 15th place with Ambrosia Anderson’s 1,285 career points.

- Bonham has dished out a grand total of 427 career assists as of 2/13/11, which puts her in sixth place all time. She’s five assists away from tying for fifth place with current assistant coach Stacy Jensen’s 432.

- In the steals category, Bonham has a career total of 216 as of 2/13/11, placing her in seventh place all time and needs 13 to tie for sixth place with Karina Zapata’s career total of 229.

- Jazmine Foreman dished out two assists in the road win over Utah on 2/13/11, which gives her a career total of 389 and puts her in sixth place all-time. She needs 43 to tie for fifth place with current assistant coach Stacy Jensen’s career total of 432.

- In BYU’s number of games played category, Bonham and Foreman have played in a total of 116 games as of 2/13/11, which places the two tied for 12th place all time with Jill Adams Lori Vreeken. They need to play in four more games to tie for 11th place with Ambrosia Anderson’s total of 120 games. Coriann Fraughton follows closely behind with a total of 114 games. She’s tied with Cindy Battistone and Nikki Eyre for 13th place.

2010-11 Honors

- Mindy Bonham - MWC Co-Player of the Week (Jan. 29, 2011)

- Coriann Fraughton - - Hilton-Concord Thanksgiving Classic, All-Tournament Team

- Kristen Riley - Hilton-Concord Thanksgiving Classic, All-Tournament Team

Player Updates/Injuries

Freshmen Morgan Bailey and Stephanie Rovetti will redshirt the 2010-11 season.

Teammate Alexis Kaufusi will not finish the rest of this season after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma this week.

ABOUT NEXT MWC OPPONENT

TCU

The Horned Frogs have a (17-8, 9-2) record and are in second place entering this week’s MWC action. TCU plays at CSU on Wed. Feb. 16 before making the trip to Provo. Leading the way in scoring for the Horned Frogs is senior guard Emily Carter who puts up 17.8 points and grabs 4.4 boards a game. She’s followed by another senior, Helena Sverrisdottir who contributes 15.1 points and 5.8 rebounds. Rounding out the double digit scoring output for TCU is sophomore forward Starr Crawford who tallies 11.8 points and grabs a team high 9.5 rebounds per game. Leading the way in assists and in steals is Sverrisdottir with a total of 103 and 53 respectively to date. Head coach Jeff Mittie enters his 12th season with the women’s basketball program.

Series History

Overall Series Record: BYU leads 9-8

BYU Record in Provo: 4-3

BYU Record in Ft. Worth: 4-5

BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 1-0

BYU Record under Jeff Judkins: 6-8

TCU – in Ft. Worth on Jan. 19 (TCU won 54-51)

Playing in the home of the team that was leading the conference, the BYU women’s basketball fell 51-54 to the TCU Horned Frogs. Two players for BYU were in double-figures with freshman Jennifer Hamson leading the way on a 16-point and 13-rebound double double. Teammate Mindy Bonham contributed 13 to the total.

The Cougars took the first lead of the game with four quick points from Hamson. Four minutes later, TCU took back the lead but would only end up keeping it for one possession, thanks to a layup from Bonham. The layup secured the advantage would stay with the Cougars heading into halftime.

Back on the court for the second half, BYU continued to lead but the Horned Frogs started putting on extra pressure. TCU pulled the game to a tie at 40-40 but Bonham’s 3-pointer kept the lead with the Cougars.

TCU took just their second lead of the game with eight minutes to play in the game and would ward off BYU’s strong offensive pressure to the end. While the Cougars were never able to get back the lead, they never fell behind by more than three points.

What’s Next

BYU takes to the road once again for a matchup in Ft. Collins with Colorado State on Feb. 23, before returning home for the team’s final game. They host San Diego State on Feb. 26. The Cougars five seniors will be recognized at the conclusion of the game.