BYU women's basketball: Cougars rebound against T-Birds

PROVO — The BYU women's basketball team was looking to rebound, in a figurative sense, after last Tuesday's 49-point walloping at home by No. 1-ranked UConn.

Then in the first half Friday night against Southern Utah, the Cougars weren't rebounding in a literal sense, which was a big reason they found themselves trailing at halftime.

But an improved second-half performance on the boards helped propel BYU past the Thunderbirds, 70-64, at the Marriott Center.

"Rebounding was definitely one of the many things we talked about at halftime," said Cougar forward Shawnee Slade, who scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed five offensive rebounds. "We decided it was all about pride. It comes down to effort and pride. We were lacking that in the first half. ... We didn't come ready to play tonight. Southern Utah did."

BYU improved to 3-2 on the season, while SUU fell to 1-4.

"You got to give Southern Utah a lot of credit," said Cougar coach Jeff Judkins. "(Friday's game) was like the Super Bowl for them. They have a lot of girls who wanted to play for BYU."

SUU outrebounded BYU, 29-13, and led by as many as eight points in the first half. At intermission, the T-Birds were up 35-31.

The Cougars turned things around in a hurry in the second half, though, scoring the first 10 points, including eight points during that stretch by Slade. Over the first 10 minutes of the half, BYU went on a 30-8 run to take a commanding 61-43 advantage.

SUU battled to stay in the game, cutting the deficit to five points in the final minute. Cougar guard Jazmine Foreman sank four crucial free throws to help preserve the victory.

In the second half, the Cougars outrebounded the T-Birds, 18-13. For the game, SUU outshot BYU, 47-42 percent, but the T-Birds committed 25 turnovers — 14 of which were Cougar steals. BYU hit only 3-of-23 3-point attempts.

For the Cougars, Foreman, Cassie King and Megan Marks each finished with eight points, and Coriann Wood chipped in 10. Kristen Riley scored nine.

For the T-Birds, sophomore Caitlyn Sears, who prepped at Lone Peak High, scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Anne Westwood-Higbee and Challis Pascucci contributed 10 points apiece. Judkins was pleased with the win, though he acknowledged his team has some work to do.

"We made more mistakes tonight that the other four games combined," he said. "I don't know if we were mentally ready tonight."

BYU travels to Hawaii next week to compete in the Seasider Challenge. The Cougars play Wright State on Friday and USC on Saturday.

SUU visits Boise State on Monday.

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com