PROVO — It wasn't the prettiest 10-point win, but the BYU women's basketball team will take it.

The Cougars extended their winning streak to seven games with a hard-fought 49-39 victory over Arkansas State Tuesday night at the Marriott Center.

"It was an ugly win tonight," admitted Cougar guard Mindy Nielson, who led all scorers with 13 points.

BYU (9-2) rallied from a six-point first-half deficit, then held off the Red Wolves (6-7) in the second half. The Cougars shot only 34 percent from the floor while limiting Arkansas State to 28.3 percent shooting.

Tuesday marked BYU's first contest since a 66-49 win at Long Beach State on Dec. 20.

"We weren't mentally in the game," said coach Jeff Judkins. "I don't know if it's because of the long layoff, but we seemed to be a step slow."

Shawnee Slade and Coriann Wood scored seven points apiece for the Cougars. Cassi King pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.

Veronica Smith scored a team-high 11 points for Arkansas State, while Shania Hurst chipped in 10.

In the first half, the Cougars suffered through nearly an eight-minute scoring drought, during which the Red Wolves went on an 8-0 run. With 1:30 remaining until halftime, Arkansas State had seized a 23-17 advantage.

But BYU scored the final five points of the half, then the first six points of the second half to go up 28-23. The Cougars built a somewhat comfortable 35-25 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the game.

From the final minute of the first half through the first eight minutes of the second, BYU outscored Arkansas State, 18-2.

Yet the Red Wolves whittled the Cougars' lead to as little as four points a couple of times. BYU knocked down only 4-of-8 free throws in the final 1:30, but it was enough to seal the win. Overall, the Cougars hit only 10-of-16 attempts from the charity stripe.

BYU is off to its best start since the 2005-06 season, but Judkins knows his team needs to improve.

"We've got a long ways to go," he said. "I'm not satisfied, but as I told the team, we're on the right track. We're 9-2, but we could be 2-9."

The Cougars finish up their non-conference schedule Jan. 3 at

Portland. They open up Mountain West Conference play Jan. 10 at home against Colorado State.

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com