RENO -- Behind a career-high 27 points from sophomore guard Mindy Nielson, BYU powered to a 81-63 win over the Nevada Wolfpack in Reno, Tuesday for their first win in the 2008-09 campaign.
This is a great win for us," said head coach Jeff Judkins. "We came out with a lot of energy and the first eight minutes were the best eight minutes of defense I've seen this team play."
Led by Nielson and fellow guard Jazmine Foreman, the Cougars got off to a quick start, leading 17-8 at the 12:44 mark. Forward Keilani Moeaki scored 14 points and had three rebounds, senior center Cassie King had 11 points and nine boards. BYU was also strong behind the three-point-arc, going 8-17 (47 percent). In all, five Cougars scored in double figures.
"We did a good job pushing the ball as well," said Judkins. "It was as a total team effort."
Nielson led all scorers, and powered the Cougar offensive attack throughout the game, 44 percent from the field and going 9-10 from the free-throw line.
Portland was able to match the Cougars for much of the second half, but wasn't able to overcome 31 percent shooting in the first half, which ended with BYU leading 48-31. The Cougars built the lead on 17-29 (58 percent) shooting in the first twenty minutes.
Senior guard Dellena Criner lead the Wolfpack with 20 points in 32 minutes, and forward Cherlanda Franklin had a team-high seven rebounds.
The Cougars now return to the friendly confines of the Marriott Center for their 2008 home-opener to play Pac-10 power Oregon on Friday, Nov. 21 at 3:30 p.m. Live internet stat and audio feeds will be available at www.byucougars.com/basketball_w/.
Official Basketball Box Score
Brigham Young vs Nevada
11/18/08 7 p.m. at Reno, Nev. (Lawlor Events Center)
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VISITORS: Brigham Young 1-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 FOREMAN, Jazmine.... * 4-6 2-4 0-0 0 3 3 3 10 3 1 0 0 33
22 NIELSON, Mindy...... * 8-18 2-4 9-10 1 2 3 2 27 5 0 0 4 34
32 SLADE, Shawnee...... * 2-11 1-3 2-2 3 3 6 4 7 2 2 1 2 29
45 MOEAKI, Keilani..... * 6-10 0-2 2-2 1 1 2 3 14 0 4 0 1 24
54 KING, Cassie........ * 4-5 1-1 2-2 4 5 9 1 11 0 2 0 0 20
01 JACKSON, Jenteal.... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 7
13 JUDKINS, Jaime...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
14 HOSTETTER, Sarah R.. 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 0 14
21 BUHLER, Stephanie... 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
23 WOOD, Coriann....... 4-4 2-2 0-0 1 4 5 2 10 1 1 0 0 14
24 PETERSON, Dani...... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
35 RILEY, Kristen...... 0-2 0-0 2-2 2 1 3 3 2 0 1 0 1 13
55 MARKS, Megan........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2
TEAM................ 2 2 4
Totals.............. 28-60 8-17 17-18 15 23 38 19 81 12 17 1 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 17-29 58.6% 2nd Half: 11-31 35.5% Game: 46.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-8 62.5% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% Game: 47.1% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-9 100 % 2nd Half: 8-9 88.9% Game: 94.4% 1
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HOME TEAM: Nevada 1-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
01 Jones, Brandi....... * 6-15 1-2 1-3 2 3 5 2 14 1 1 0 1 24
10 WARD, Johnna........ * 1-8 0-5 0-0 0 2 2 3 2 2 1 0 1 20
22 CRINER, Dellena..... * 6-9 1-2 7-8 1 1 2 2 20 3 2 0 0 32
25 FRANKLIN, Cherlanda. * 3-7 0-0 2-2 4 3 7 1 8 1 5 2 2 24
33 MOORE, Shavon....... * 1-6 0-1 0-0 4 2 6 1 2 0 3 0 1 19
00 HENRY, Bre'Anna..... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 7
02 Cherry, Megan....... 0-3 0-3 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 11
03 Woodard, Brittany... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 1 0 2 0 0 0 13
05 Williams, Nicole.... 1-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 11
23 JOHNSON, Amanda..... 0-3 0-1 2-4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 8
30 HAMMOND, Marissa.... 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 4 0 3 0 0 14
32 LOMBARDI, Marianne.. 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 2 4 1 0 0 0 5
34 WILLIAMS, Kayla..... 2-4 0-0 1-2 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 0 12
TEAM................ 5 3 8
Totals.............. 24-64 2-14 13-19 22 17 39 13 63 12 17 2 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-35 31.4% 2nd Half: 13-29 44.8% Game: 37.5% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-7 0.0% 2nd Half: 2-7 28.6% Game: 14.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 9-12 75.0% 2nd Half: 4-7 57.1% Game: 68.4% 2
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Officials: Melissa Barlow, Penny Davis, Wendy Dailey
Technical fouls: Brigham Young-None. Nevada-None.
Attendance: 426
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Brigham Young................. 48 33 - 81
Nevada........................ 31 32 - 63