PROVO -- A quick start in the first half fueled by Mallary Gillespie gave the Cougars (3-0) enough of a cushion to fend off the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara (0-3) on their way to a 72-39 victory Saturday night in the Marriott Center.
Gillespie came out with a hot hand, scoring 14 points in the first seven and a half minutes on 4 for 4 shooting from three-point range and adding a field goal. BYU's offense followed Gillespie's lead through the first half, shooting 52 percent from the field and 62 percent from behind the arc as they went into the locker room at halftime with a 41-20 lead. Gillespie finished the game with a season-best 20 points, including a season-high six three-pointers. Head coach Jeff Judkins said it was great to see Gillespie pour in the points since she had not scored much in the previous two games even though she played solid.
"It's nice to see her get her shot back and feel comfortable with it," Judkins said. "She's worked really hard on it and she shot the ball well today."
After the explosive first half, the Cougars came out sluggish to start the second and allowed the Gauchos to go on an 11-3 run and pull within 13 points at 44-31. That was as close as the Gauchos would get, however, as the BYU defense shut the Gauchos down from that point on, forcing 18 turnovers on the evening and holding UCSB to 24 percent shooting from the field. Judkins said although the game had its ups and downs for the Cougars, he's always happy to leave with a win.
"It was a nice win," Judkins said. "We had moments of playing very well and moments when we were asleep. Especially at the start of the second half. But it was a good win and I'll take it."
Complimenting Gillespie's great first half and BYU's tough second-half defense, Ambrosia Anderson got into the mix and racked up her first double-double of the season and seventh of her career, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The great scoring from Gillespie and Anderson and strong team defense allowed Judkins to play everyone on his bench, including freshman Cassie King, who was going to redshirt but will now play this season.
The Cougars now prepare to head to New York where they will face the Stony Brook University Seawolves (2-0) on November 30.
Official Basketball Box Score
UCSB Gauchos vs BYU Cougars
11-26-05 4:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO, UT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: UCSB Gauchos 0-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
34 Nichols, Autumn..... f 4-10 0-1 2-3 2 4 6 3 10 2 2 1 0 22
33 Green, Jenna........ c 5-11 0-0 2-2 1 2 3 2 12 0 2 1 1 25
05 Wilson, Jessica..... g 3-9 0-1 1-2 0 8 8 1 7 2 1 0 1 28
32 Bonds, Karena....... g 0-4 0-3 1-2 0 2 2 3 1 3 2 0 2 25
40 Fears, LaShay....... g 0-2 0-2 2-2 0 2 2 3 2 0 3 1 3 30
02 Warren, Whitney..... 1-5 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 4 0 1 15
10 Smith, Kim.......... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9
22 O'Bryan, Erin....... 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 18
35 Thomas, Shantel..... 0-5 0-2 1-2 2 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 13
42 Suderman, Kat....... 1-7 0-0 2-2 3 0 3 2 4 0 1 0 2 15
TEAM................ 2 2 4
Totals.............. 14-58 0-13 11-15 10 23 33 16 39 10 18 3 10 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-25 32.0% 2nd Half: 6-33 18.2% Game: 24.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-6 0.0% 2nd Half: 0-7 0.0% Game: 0.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 4-5 80.0% 2nd Half: 7-10 70.0% Game: 73.3% 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: BYU Cougars 3-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
15 KEELE, Jennie....... f 2-3 2-3 2-2 0 6 6 0 8 4 1 0 0 26
33 ANDERSON, Ambrosia.. f 8-15 3-5 2-3 1 11 12 3 21 1 3 0 0 28
45 KUBIK, Dani......... c 3-4 0-0 1-1 2 3 5 2 7 1 1 0 2 15
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g 7-13 6-9 0-0 1 1 2 1 20 4 4 0 1 22
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... g 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 20
01 SELJAAS, Nancy...... 1-6 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 3 1 1 0 2 17
10 STRATTON, Laura..... 1-2 0-1 2-2 0 3 3 0 4 1 1 0 0 11
13 AINA, Rachel........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
23 BROWN, Brit......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3
24 HUTSON, Vanessa..... 0-3 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 3 5 0 1 15
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... 1-5 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 1 2 0 0 12
41 FADDIS, Brittany.... 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 3
52 RILEY, Lauren....... 1-2 0-0 1-4 1 4 5 3 3 0 0 2 1 20
54 KING, Cassie........ 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 0 1 0 6
TEAM................ 3 3 6
Totals.............. 26-56 12-21 8-14 10 38 48 13 72 18 21 3 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-29 51.7% 2nd Half: 11-27 40.7% Game: 46.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 8-13 61.5% 2nd Half: 4-8 50.0% Game: 57.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 3-4 75.0% 2nd Half: 5-10 50.0% Game: 57.1% 3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: MIKE PETTY, LAURA RAHE, KEN SOWBY
Technical fouls: UCSB Gauchos-None. BYU Cougars-None.
Attendance: 654
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
UCSB Gauchos.................. 20 19 - 39
BYU Cougars................... 41 31 - 72
OFFICIAL FINAL