Seniors Lead Cougars to Victory over Wildcats

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PROVO -- On the strength of a senior trio that accounted for nearly two-thirds the Cougars' offense, the BYU women's basketball team defeated the Weber State, 63-46, Thursday.

The Cougars were led by senior point guard Julie Sullivan, senior center Danielle Cheesman and senior forward Kristen Kozlowski. All three scored in double figures.

The Cougars overcame a sloppy first half and increased the defensive pressure to run away with the game in the second half.

"They just decided to step it up defensively in the second half," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. "When they do that, they're a pretty good team."

Sullivan led the Cougars with 16 points, including 12 first-half points that kept the Cougars in the game. The game marked her seventh game in double figures this season.

Cheesman was her usual steady self, collecting the tenth double-double of her career and third this season. Cheesman grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with 14 points.

The game also marked a milestone in Cheesman's career. She became fourteenth Cougar to join the 1000-point club when she drained a three-pointer with 15:16 left in the first half.

She became the first Cougar to join the club since her high school and Cougar teammate Erin Thorn did in '01-02.She joins other Cougar greats like Tina Gunn-Robinson, Tresa Spaulding-Hanson and Cathy Nixon in the club.

"I didn't even know I was close," Cheesman said. "But I'm happy about it. It's cool."

Judkins said he was happy for Cheesman and has been pleased with her play this season.

"What a great line she put up tonight," Judkins said. "She's playing really well right now, probably the best of her life."

Cheesman was the leader of an intimidating inside presence for the Cougars. Kozlowski also added to the Cougars' inside game with 10 points and nine rebounds. The Cougars outscored the Wildcats 38-8 in the paint, including 18 second-chance points.

"Tonight we had an inside presence and took advantage of it," Judkins said. "We tried to take the aggressive route."

The Cougars were also buoyed inside by the debut of sophomore transfer Dani Kubik. Kubik, a 6-3 center from Lawrenceville, Ga., contributed with five points and three blocks in 12 minutes of action. Judkins was impressed by what he saw from the transfer after she sat out the last year-and-a-half.

"You can see how good she'll be," he said. "She gives us a physical presence."

Despite shooting only 31 percent in the first half, the Cougars took a 27-25 halftime lead, thanks to the senior leadership of Sullivan. Sullivan scored 12 first half points on 5-8 shooting.

When the Cougars got down by eight points with a little more than six minutes left in the half, Sullivan pushed the ball downcourt in the final few minutes, tossing in six points including a key steal to start a Cougar fastbreak.

The Cougars (7-4) will remain at home next week to take on Montana State on Tuesday, January 4 at 7 p.m., in the Marriott Center.

Official Basketball Box Score

Weber State vs Brigham Young

12/30/04 7:05 PM at Provo, UT

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VISITORS: Weber State 6-4

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS

## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN

05 TUOMI, Sara......... f 2-5 0-1 0-2 1 2 3 0 4 2 0 1 0 20

30 HANSEN, Brooke...... f 1-4 0-0 3-4 1 2 3 1 5 1 3 0 1 27

35 NELSON, Brooke...... c 1-4 0-0 1-2 1 2 3 2 3 0 4 0 0 22

12 GJERTSEN, Julie..... g 4-10 1-4 7-10 3 2 5 2 16 3 3 0 0 30

14 PORTER, Laura....... g 2-4 2-3 0-0 0 2 2 3 6 1 2 0 1 21

03 SALEMON, Ninon...... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

04 WARBURTON, Chelsey.. 2-9 1-6 0-0 1 3 4 2 5 2 3 0 0 25

11 TAYLOR, Tashina..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2

15 ROBERTSON, Shelia... 1-8 1-6 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 21

25 KELLOGG, Taryn...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1

32 RICKS, Jillian...... 0-3 0-1 0-0 2 3 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 8

55 O'NEIL, Becky....... 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 4 4 0 2 1 0 21

TEAM................ 1 3 4

Totals.............. 15-52 5-22 11-18 12 23 35 15 46 10 20 2 2 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-27 37.0% 2nd Half: 5-25 20.0% Game: 28.8% DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-12 33.3% 2nd Half: 1-10 10.0% Game: 22.7% REBS

F Throw % 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 10-14 71.4% Game: 61.1% 3

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HOME TEAM: Brigham Young 7-4

TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS

## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN

32 KOZLOWSKI, Kristen.. f 3-7 0-0 4-6 5 4 9 4 10 0 3 0 1 24

33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia.. f 3-9 0-4 2-2 0 3 3 3 8 3 3 0 1 22

51 CHEESMAN, Danielle.. c 6-9 1-1 1-2 6 5 11 3 14 0 4 1 0 28

14 SULLIVAN, Julie..... g 7-13 0-3 2-2 0 3 3 0 16 2 1 0 3 28

35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... g 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 4 0 2 0 0 0 21

01 SELJAAS, Nancy...... 0-3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 9

10 STRATTON, Laura..... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 4

13 GOOLD, Tiari........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 9

21 COOK-TOWNER, Jenn... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

25 TAYLOR, Kali........ 2-3 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 2 6 1 1 0 1 12

30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. 1-5 0-3 0-0 0 5 5 0 2 1 0 0 2 19

45 KUBIK, Dani......... 2-2 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 4 5 0 3 3 0 12

50 ABELL, Mary Martha.. 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 4

52 RILEY, Lauren....... 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5

TEAM................ 3 2 5

Totals.............. 25-61 1-14 12-16 16 29 45 22 63 14 17 4 10 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-32 31.3% 2nd Half: 15-29 51.7% Game: 41.0% DEADB

3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 1-10 10.0% 2nd Half: 0-4 0.0% Game: 7.1% REBS

F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 6-8 75.0% Game: 75.0% 1

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Officials: SUE KENNEDY, MICHELLE RUSSI, ROY GULBEYAN

Technical fouls: Weber State-None. Brigham Young-None.

Attendance: 794

Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total

Weber State................... 25 21 - 46

Brigham Young................. 27 36 - 63

OFFICIAL FINAL