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BYU Advances To Title Game ... Again
Cougars get 30 points from Erin Thorn in, 70-59, win over Utes.
March 14, 2003
LAS VEGAS - All-American Erin Thorn, on a record day, led the Cougars over No. 1 seed Utah, 70-59. The Cougars avenged the two regular season losses to Utah to make it the forth-straight year the team will play in the MWC tourney finals. BYU will defend their tournament title on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. PST. Thorn scored 30 points in the game, 27 in the second half. Her combined two game total of 64 points was good enough to break her own record of 60 points she set last year in MWC tournament play. Thorn will have the championship game on Saturday to add to her new scoring record. Head Coach Jeff Judkins said it took a team effort to win the game, "This was a gutsy team performance because I know we were tired and pretty beat up. Each player did what they needed to win." Danielle Cheesman led all scorers at the half with 11 points, giving the Cougars a 28-24 lead. Cheesman ended the game with 15 points. Kestlee Nelson scored 11 points in the game and grabbed five rebounds. Despite fouling out with just over three minutes left in the game, Ashleigh Chamberlain had a team-high seven rebounds and scored six points. In the first half, BYU held MWC Player of the Year Kim Smith to just two points, while Utah shot 35 percent as a team. Smith ended with seven points. The top performer for the Lady Utes was Shona Thorburn who scored 16 points and had a game-high eight rebounds. The Cougars shot 57 percent for the game and the Lady Utes shot 40 percent. BYU out rebounded Utah 32-23.
The MWC championship game is on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., PST in Las Vegas. The Cougars will face the winner of the New Mexico-Colorado State game. The championship game will be televised on tape delay at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2. BYU is 1-2 in finals play, and are the defending MWC tournament champions.
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