PROVO -- Defending MWC tournament champion BYU defeated Colorado State, 71-56 in the Marriott Center Thursday in front of a season high 3,641 fans.
The Cougars, who are favored to win the MWC, established an early lead against CSU by stringing together two first half runs of 14 and 10 points to give them a 20-point lead at the break.
Head coach Jeff Judkins was impressed with his team performance, "The first half was one of the best defensive efforts we've had for a long time."
That defensive effort included holding the Rams to 18 points and a 23 percent shooting percentage from the field.
Senior All-American Erin Thorn said, "We know we can play well if we play as a team."
Thorn had a game-high 20 points and teammate Jennifer Leitner scored 16 points and pulled in a game-high nine rebounds.
"Jen had one of her best games as a Cougar with hustle plays and great effort," Judkins said.
Augspurger, the leading scorer for CSU, was held to 10 points in the game.
Starting for the first time, Kestlee Nelson gave the Cougars a solid performance at guard, playing 31 minutes with a career high 5 assists and 2 steals. Nelson was starting for the injured Julie Sullivan who tore her ACL in practice on Monday.
The Rams never threatened in the second half as the closest they narrowed the lead in the second half was 14 points.
BYU hosts the Wyoming Cowgirls Saturday at 1 p.m in the Marriott Center.
Official Basketball Box Score
Colorado State University vs BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars
01/16/03 4:00 PM at Brigham Young University
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VISITORS: Colorado State University 9-6
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 AUGSPURGER, Ashley.. f 5-12 0-4 0-0 2 2 4 4 10 3 4 1 2 27
24 CAMPBELL, Jackie.... f 0-3 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 11
50 STRECKER, Shannon... c 5-7 0-0 4-8 3 6 9 3 14 0 1 0 0 23
02 ENGLISH, Elizabeth.. g 3-6 2-4 1-2 0 3 3 2 9 5 2 0 1 30
03 VENEKAMP, Ashley.... g 2-8 1-3 0-0 2 3 5 1 5 0 0 0 1 27
05 ESPINOZA, Vanessa... 0-4 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 5 1 0 0 15
11 FERRUCHO, Jasai..... 1-2 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 1 4 1 2 0 1 9
21 WILHOIT, Val........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
22 BORTON, Katie....... 2-6 1-3 1-2 1 3 4 1 6 0 0 0 1 26
32 DENNETT, Melissa.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
33 JENKINS, Joy........ 0-2 0-1 6-6 0 1 1 2 6 0 2 0 0 22
43 TOR-AGBIDYE, Msur... 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
45 THOMAS, Lindsay..... 1-2 0-0 0-2 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 6
TEAM................ 4 4
Totals.............. 19-52 4-17 14-26 10 23 33 16 56 14 13 1 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 6-26 23.1% 2nd Half: 13-26 50.0% Game: 36.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-9 22.2% 2nd Half: 2-8 25.0% Game: 23.5% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 10-16 62.5% Game: 53.8% 7
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HOME TEAM: BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars 10-4
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
21 LEITNER, Jennifer... f 7-11 2-3 0-1 5 4 9 2 16 2 3 0 1 38
25 TAYLOR, Kali........ f 3-6 1-4 0-1 0 2 2 2 7 3 4 0 2 20
51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. c 4-11 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 3 9 2 0 0 1 17
04 NELSON, Kestlee..... g 1-4 0-2 0-0 1 2 3 2 2 5 2 0 2 31
11 THORN, Erin......... g 8-16 4-7 0-0 0 7 7 3 20 5 2 1 1 39
01 SELJAAS, Nancy...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2
10 MILLER, Marianne.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
12 GATTEN, Angie....... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
15 OVERDIEK, Jen....... 4-5 1-2 0-0 2 1 3 1 9 3 1 0 0 19
20 LARSON, Brittany.... 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 9
32 KOZLOWSKI, Kristen.. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia.. 1-6 1-3 0-0 1 2 3 0 3 1 1 0 0 7
40 CHAMBERLAIN, A...... 1-2 0-0 2-2 2 1 3 4 4 0 1 1 1 8
45 HANSEN, Lisa........ 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 3 1 0 2 0 1 5
TEAM................ 1 5 6
Totals.............. 29-61 10-24 3-7 13 28 41 24 71 21 18 2 9 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-30 53.3% 2nd Half: 13-31 41.9% Game: 47.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-10 40.0% 2nd Half: 6-14 42.9% Game: 41.7% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 1-2 50.0% Game: 42.9% 0
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Officials: ERIC LARSON, CONNIE PARDUE, KENT JOHNSON
Technical fouls: Colorado State University-None. BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars-None.
Attendance: 3641
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Colorado State University..... 18 38 - 56
BRIGHAM YOUNG Cougars......... 38 33 - 71
FIRST HALF OFFICIAL
SECOND HALF OFFICIAL