PROVO -- A big halftime lead for the BYU women’s basketball team was cut by a determined UNLV squad but the Cougars prevailed as a Cassie King putback sealed a 53-52 victory for the team.
Down 51-52 following a three-pointer by the Rebels’ Brittany Halberg with just 11 seconds remaining, BYU guard Jazmine Foreman drove to the basket and missed the layup, but King found position under the hoop to pull down the rebound and flip it over her shoulder for the game-winning shot.
“It was a great example of Cassie’s senior leadership to come down with the ball and score for us,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. “Jazmine took the ball hard to the hoop and it was huge for Cassie to get that ball and score. This win was big for our confidence.”
The Cougars’ strong opening half gave the team a solid 27-16 halftime lead as the team shot 44 percent from the field on 11-of-25 shooting. Coming off the bench, freshman Dani Peterson gave BYU a boost with a season-high eight points by going a perfect 4-of-4 from the paint to lead the team on a 22-0 run in which the Rebels did not score for over 12 minutes.
A strong defensive effort allowed the Cougars to earn five steals and five blocks in the opening half and held UNLV to 23 percent shooting with 13 turnovers. The Rebels’ 16 points was the second-lowest this season for a BYU opponent.
The two teams exchanged baskets in the early part of the second half as the Cougars managed to maintain a solid lead. Nielson provided BYU with nine points as UNLV’s Erica Helms countered with seven points to keep the Rebels in striking distance at 45-36 with seven minutes remaining.
Mindy Nielson led the Cougars with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting with Coriann Wood and King contributing 10 and 9 points, respectively. Overall, the team shot 37 percent from the field and outscored the Rebels in points off turnovers and second-chance points.
“I was very pleased with Dani today,” Judkins said. “I thought our team played well under increased pressure and anxiety and our leaders pulled us through.”
Shawnee Slade and Wood had six points apiece in the opening half to help the team to 14 points in the paint and 15 points off turnovers. The Cougar bench provided 19 points to the Rebels’ two.
The win moves the Cougars to 17-7 (7-5, MWC) while UNLV falls to 10-16 (3-10, MWC)
BYU was hosting a Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Pink Zone event to raise awareness about breast cancer as both teams displayed pink shoelaces to honor those affected with the disease.
The Cougars will next face off with San Diego State Feb. 25 at the Marriott Center. The game is set for 7 p.m. and will be televised on BYUTV.
“San Diego State is very athletic and we’ve got to come out prepared to play,” Judkins said.
Official Basketball Box Score
UNLV vs Brigham Young
02-21-09 2:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO UTAH
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VISITORS: UNLV 10-16;3-10
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 HARRIS, Dominique... * 4-6 2-4 2-4 2 7 9 4 12 1 4 0 1 32
05 HALBERG, Brittany... * 1-6 0-3 1-1 0 2 2 1 3 3 2 2 1 29
11 SMITH, Jamie........ * 2-8 1-2 0-0 5 4 9 1 5 0 5 0 2 29
15 HELMS, Erica........ * 4-11 1-2 0-1 1 2 3 2 9 1 5 1 2 33
24 HAMPTON, Shamela.... * 2-5 0-0 9-10 0 2 2 2 13 0 2 1 3 31
10 HOLIDAY, Allison.... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 9
20 SCANLON, Kalie...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3
23 HUNT, Latoya........ 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
25 JUPITER, Raquel..... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 9
32 CHANEY, India....... 2-4 0-0 1-1 0 1 1 3 5 0 1 0 0 13
33 OBERG, Shannon...... 1-1 1-1 0-2 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 10
TEAM................ 3 2 5
Totals.............. 17-47 5-12 13-19 11 22 33 14 52 6 21 4 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-26 23.1% 2nd Half: 11-21 52.4% Game: 36.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-8 37.5% 2nd Half: 2-4 50.0% Game: 41.7% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-3 33.3% 2nd Half: 12-16 75.0% Game: 68.4% 2
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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young 17-7;7-5
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... f 4-12 0-2 0-0 2 0 2 3 8 2 1 0 3 28
45 MOEAKI, Keilani..... f 0-3 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 10
54 KING, Cassie........ c 3-3 0-0 3-5 4 4 8 4 9 1 3 1 0 25
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine.... g 0-6 0-3 0-0 0 5 5 3 0 7 4 1 1 32
22 NIELSON, Mindy...... g 6-12 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 1 13 2 4 0 2 34
01 JACKSON, Jenteal.... 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5
14 HOSTETTER, Sarah R.. 0-1 0-1 2-2 1 3 4 1 2 2 0 1 0 14
23 WOOD, Coriann....... 3-10 2-6 2-3 1 6 7 2 10 0 2 0 0 24
24 PETERSON, Dani...... 4-5 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 1 8 0 2 2 0 13
35 RILEY, Kristen...... 1-2 1-1 0-0 2 3 5 1 3 1 2 0 1 15
TEAM................ 4 4
Totals.............. 21-56 4-17 7-10 16 23 39 17 53 15 19 5 7 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-25 44.0% 2nd Half: 10-31 32.3% Game: 37.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-10 30.0% 2nd Half: 1-7 14.3% Game: 23.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100 % 2nd Half: 5-8 62.5% Game: 70.0% 0
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Officials: ERIC LARSEN, DEBBIE ADAMS, KEN SOWBY
Technical fouls: UNLV-None. Brigham Young-None.
Attendance: 1006
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
UNLV.......................... 16 36 - 52
Brigham Young................. 27 26 - 53
OFFICIAL FINAL
Points in the paint-LV 14,BY 26. Points off turnovers-LV 13,BY 24.
2nd chance points-LV 2,BY 13. Fast break points-LV 2,BY 2.
Bench points-LV 10,BY 23. Score tied-1 time. Lead changed-3 times.
Last FG-LV 2nd-00:12, BY 2nd-00:02.
Largest lead-LV by 6 1st-18:06, BY by 18 1st-04:20.