Provo, UTAH -- In their first game since the MWC Championship game last year, BYU lost to No. 19 Colorado State 81-64, Thursday night. The loss drops the Cougars to 9-5, 0-1 for the season and 3-2 at home. Colorado State improves to 12-3, 1-0.
Both teams battled evenly to a 17-17 tie with nine minutes left in the first half. The Rams went on a 21-2 run to end the first half with the score 38-19.
"It was the same old thing, we started off well then made some mistakes on both sides of the ball," said head coach Jeff Judkins.
The Cougars battled back in the second half to within 12 points several times, but could not seem to break the 12-point barrier.
"We played our game in the second half but we can't allow them to shoot over 50 percent," said Judkins.
Senior Stacy Jensen scored a season high with 20 points and committed only one turnover. Jennifer Leitner scored 13 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor. Freshman Danielle Cheesman came off the bench to contribute 10 points and five rebounds.
Five Colorado State players scored in double figures led by a career-high 16 points from Jasai Ferrucho.
BYU shot 42 percent from the floor but only 31 percent from behind arc. Colorado State shot 55 percent from the floor and 57 percent from the behind the arc. The Cougars committed only 10 turnovers compared to 19 from the Rams, but took only 12 free throws compared to 33 for CSU.
Up next for the Cougars is conference rival Wyoming (7-6, 0-1) on Saturday with a 1 p.m. tip-off. The women start a double-header followed by the men who host San Diego State at 4 p.m.