PROVO -- The backcourt tandem of Jennie Keele and Mallary Gillespie connected on 11-of-18 three-point attempts, helping lead BYU (7-3) past Weber St. (4-6) 79-42.
Gillespie, whose eight three-point field goals were one shy of Erin Thorn's record nine three-point field goals in a game, scored a game-high and career-high 30 points. The Cougars' 13 three-point field goals made marked a new season-high. BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said Gillespie's performance was a product of her first-one-to-the-gym, last-one-to-leave work ethic.
"Mallary's a very hard worker," Judkins said. " I think by working hard and dedicating yourself to the game, things like tonight happen for you. What you saw tonight [from Gillespie], I see every day in practice."
Judkins credited the team's effort on both sides of the ball for the win, which was displayed no better than in five of the game's first seven possessions when each Cougar starter made a play. Keele got BYU rolling by nailing the first of many three-pointers with the shot clock winding down. On the next possession, center Dani Kubik Wright blocked Tashina Taylor's layup attempt, which led to a Gillespie jumper on the other end. Later, senior Melinda Johnsen made a steal that led to a Lauren Riley turnaround jumper in the lane.
"Tonight was the first night that I think a lot of things clicked," Judkins said. "We got the ball moving in good spots. It was one of our best team defense efforts of the season. It was a real nice effort by our team."
The Cougars' 7-0 early lead soon blew up into a 31-8 advantage, the team's largest lead of the first half. The Wildcats mustered little resistance allowing BYU to go into the locker room at halftime up 42-20. As a team, BYU shot 58.6 percent in the opening half, while holding Weber St. to a 33.3 percent clip. The Cougars also out-rebounded their opponent 20-9 before the break.
A 20-7 BYU run to begin the second half broke the game open for the Cougars. Gillespie's sixth three-pointer of the night with a little more than 13 minutes left to play was followed by a Johnsen trey a couple minutes later. The two shots capped the run and gave BYU a 62-27 lead.
After centers Wright and Cassie King converted back-to-back baby hooks on the low block, Gillespie nailed back-to-back long-distance shots to put BYU up 72-32, the largest margin of the night. It also gave Judkins a chance to unload his bench with 5:11 still on the clock.
The Cougars continue instate competition by traveling to Orem to play at UVSC on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
Weber State Universi vs BYU COUGARS
12-14-06 7:00 PM at MARRIOTT CTR, BYU, PROVO UT
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VISITORS: Weber State Universi 4-6
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
04 Warburton, Chelsey.. * 3-12 2-8 2-2 0 3 3 2 10 1 4 0 3 40
05 Tuomi, Sara......... * 4-9 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 8 1 4 0 0 33
11 Taylor, Tashina..... * 2-3 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 14
14 Porter, Laura....... * 3-6 1-1 1-1 0 3 3 0 8 2 1 1 0 24
54 Rayback, Janie...... * 0-5 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 2 1 0 2 2 0 27
15 Anderson, Caitlin... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20 Thorderson, Ali..... 0-2 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3
21 Smith, Jessica...... 0-2 0-0 3-4 1 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 18
22 Releford, Shantee... 1-4 0-0 1-1 1 2 3 1 3 0 2 3 0 14
23 Hunter, Ahkiah...... 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 8
24 Schnibbe, Tonya..... 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 12
30 Barnes, Lacie....... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
32 Hayden, Ashlynn..... 1-1 0-0 1-1 1 1 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 6
TEAM................ 2 1 3
Totals.............. 15-48 3-12 9-14 6 16 22 10 42 5 14 6 5 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 8-24 33.3% 2nd Half: 7-24 29.2% Game: 31.3% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 1-7 14.3% Game: 25.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 2-2 100 % 2nd Half: 7-12 58.3% Game: 64.3% 3
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HOME TEAM: BYU COUGARS 7-3
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
35 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f 4-5 1-1 0-0 1 1 2 2 9 6 2 0 1 29
52 RILEY, Lauren....... f 2-3 0-0 0-0 3 5 8 5 4 2 1 0 0 13
45 WRIGHT, Dani........ c 3-6 0-1 3-4 3 3 6 4 9 2 2 1 0 25
15 KEELE, Jennie....... g 5-8 3-6 0-0 0 3 3 0 13 4 3 0 0 25
30 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g 11-17 8-12 0-0 0 5 5 1 30 2 0 1 2 29
05 CHEESMAN, Ashley.... 1-3 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 0 2 0 1 18
10 RICE, Kaitln........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
13 JUDKINS, Jaime...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 5
22 FADDIS, Brittany.... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5
24 EYESTONE, Erica..... 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1
31 AINA, Rachel........ 0-2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 5
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 4 5 0 1 4 3 1 1 25
54 KING, Cassie........ 4-8 0-0 0-0 1 3 4 4 8 0 2 0 0 19
TEAM................ 3 3
Totals.............. 31-58 13-24 4-6 12 27 39 19 79 23 16 3 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-29 58.6% 2nd Half: 14-29 48.3% Game: 53.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 7-11 63.6% 2nd Half: 6-13 46.2% Game: 54.2% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-2 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-4 75.0% Game: 66.7% 1
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Officials: SHELLEY NAKASONE, MARIANNE KARP, RANDY CAMPBELL
Technical fouls: Weber State Universi-None. BYU COUGARS-None.
Attendance: 592
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Weber State Universi.......... 20 22 - 42
BYU COUGARS................... 42 37 - 79
OFFICIAL FINAL