BYU Downs Utah, 55-49, Earns Spot In Tourney Final

Dani Wright scores 14 points to lead Cougars past Utes; matchup with New Mexico scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars earned a spot in the tournament final with a win over Utah.
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March 9, 2007

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LAS VEGAS (AP) - Dani Wright scored a game-high 14 points and had six rebounds to lead BYU over Utah 55-49 in the Mountain West Conference women's semifinal round Thursday afternoon.

Mallary Gillespie added 13 points and nine rebounds, while Melinda Johnsen had 12 points for the top-seeded Cougars (23-8).

BYU will play No. 3 New Mexico, a 65-53 winner over Wyoming, in the championship game Saturday afternoon.

Kalee Whipple led the Utes (18-13) with 12 points and seven rebounds. Joh-Teena Filipe and Marie Warner each had 10 points for Utah, which won the conference tournament last year.

After the Cougars led 30-22 at halftime, the Utes went on a 17-4 run. Utah built two five-point leads, the last at 41-36 with 9:23 remaining. But BYU answered with an 8-0 run, taking the lead for good, 42-41 with 5:29 left.

The Cougars won despite shooting making just 3-of-17 from 3-point range. Utah, meanwhile, shot 13-of-13 from the free throw line.

The teams split the regular-season meetings, including BYUs 59-55 win 10 days earlier.

Last year in the championship game, Utah defeated BYU 84-60.

Except for a brief one-point Utah lead early, the Cougars led throughout the first half, once building a 28-15 advantage, their largest of the game.