BYU, Weber State women's basketball: Wildcats upend BYU in double OT thriller

OGDEN — Free throws ended up being a major catalyst in determining the fortunes of both Weber State and BYU on Wednesday night.

The Cougars could not hit them and the Wildcats did well enough in their trips to the foul line to take advantage of that shortcoming. Weber State hit five of its final six free throws to edge BYU 62-61 in double overtime at the Dee Events Center.

Ali Thorderson scored the go-ahead foul shot for the Wildcats (5-4) with 26.4 seconds remaining after Jazmine Foreman hit a jumper and layup on back-to-back possessions and Mindi Nielson added another layup to tie it up at 61-61 with 49 seconds left.

BYU (5-3) lost a chance to potentially grind out a win in regulation by making only six-of-15 second-half free throws.

"It cost us the game tonight," Cougars coach Jeff Judkins said. "You can't miss that many foul shots."

Turnovers also were a problem for BYU. The Cougars had 28 turnovers compared to 22 for the Wildcats and many of them came at the most costly moments. Thorderson's winning free throw, for example, was set up after she stripped the ball from Foreman.

"We get those by forcing the ball," Judkins said. "We get those by not executing what we're trying to do. We get those by trying to make our own play. You can't have 28 turnovers and hope to win a game."

BYU dug an early hole for itself through poor shooting and turnovers. Weber State took a 14-12 lead with 10:51 left before halftime when Abby Thorderson stole the ball near midcourt and drove in for a layup. The Wildcats led by as much as seven — going up 21-14 on Ali Thorderson's 3-pointer with 6:21 remaining in the first half.

Making a comeback was initially a difficult prospect for the Cougars, largely because their offense remained stuck in neutral. After Nielson scored a driving layup and made a three-pointer on consecutive possessions to make it 12-8, BYU produced just two more baskets over the final 13 minutes of the half.

The Cougars clawed back into it with a 10-2 run to open the second half. Haley Hall drained a 3-pointer to cap the spurt and give BYU a 27-25 lead at the 15:11 mark in the second half.

Weber State took control again and built up a 47-41 lead on a layup by Sarah Connor with 2:01 remaining in regulation. Once again, the Cougars rallied and managed to force overtime when Kristen Riley drilled a three-pointer with 28.1 seconds left.

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