BYU basketball: Cougars in cruise control vs. Pilots

PORTLAND, Ore. — In their first game of the new year, the BYU women's basketball team continued its winning ways, cruising to a 65-37 win over Portland on Saturday for the Cougars' eighth-straight victory.

"I'm very happy with this win, especially for our bench players," said head coach Jeff Judkins, whose team improved to 10-2.

After jumping to a 10-3 lead just 3:22 into the game, the Cougars saw the Pilots close the lead to one, 10-9, before stretching the margin again through the rest of the first half. BYU would fight off each run from Portland, and went into the break with a 10-point advantage, 30-20.

In the second half, a consistent offensive attack helped BYU pull away from the Pilots. The Cougars outscored Portland 35-17 in the final twenty minutes.

Mindy Nielson had five assists in the game, and Shawnee Slade led the team and all scorers with nine points. Neither team had a player in double-figures.

Freshman Kristen Riley led all rebounders with seven, and Megan Marks added six boards. As a team, BYU outrebounded Portland 46-31.

The Cougars shot 44 percent (26-of-59) from the field and held the Pilots to just 27 percent (13-of-49) shooting.

BYU outscored Portland 24-14 in the paint, and the Cougar bench outscored the Pilots' reserves 36-19.

"Our bench players played very well today. They all (Megan, Stephanie, Jenteal, Jaime, Dani) came in and did their part. They proved they can play with anyone," added Judkins.

The Cougars return home to the Marriott Center to open the 2008-09 Mountain West Conference season when they take on Colorado State at 3 p.m. on Jan. 10. The game will be broadcast live on BYUTV.

UTAH VALLEY 84, UTAH STATE 79: At Orem, Utah, the Canadian duo of Robyn Fairbanks and Julie McMurray combined for 64 points as Utah Valley held off Utah State, 84-79, on Saturday afternoon in the McKay Center.

Fairbanks finished with 33 points, including 21 in the second half, while McMurray scored 18 of her career high 31 in the first half. McMurray hit 13-for-18 from the field including 5-for-8 from the three point line, tying the school record for three pointers made in a game. Fairbanks hit 13-for-20 for the game and was 8-of-10 in the second half as the Wolverines (6-7) hit 55.2 percent from the field.