Jan. 7, 2003
Box Score
Pocatello, ID---Cristal Fernandez and Ashley Toner led a furious second half comeback that fell just short as the Brigham Young University Cougars defeated the Idaho State University Bengals, 69-59, in women's basketball action Tuesday night at Reed Gymnasium.
A 17-5 run to start the second half turned a two-point Cougar halftime lead into a 16-point margin with 13:19 left in the game. The lead stayed at or near that margin for much of the second half, until the Bengals started a rally with seven minutes left. Fernandez, who scored a team-high 16 points, keyed a 16-6 ISU run that cut a 16-point margin to just six with 1:59 left. Fernandez scored eight of the 16 points during the run, while Toner added four more.
But that would be as close as the Bengals would get. Tiffany Williams fouled Erin Thorn, who led all scorers with 19 points. She hit 1-of-2 free throws to increase the margin to 66-59. ISU then missed all three of their shots down the stretch and BYU made three more free throws for the final margin.
Despite the loss, first year head coach Jon Newlee was pleased with the effort of his charges. "I was proud of the kids for battling back the way they did. We just can't give a team like (BYU) that many chances to score. We just made too many turnovers."
The Bengals committed 26 turnovers in the game, leading to 17 Cougar points. ISU shot 36.5 percent (19-52) from the field, including 42.9 (9-21) in the second half. However the Cougars shot 53.3 percent in the second half and 42.9 percent in the game. Fernandez also had a season high five steals, three of which came in the second half.
"She is excitement," Newlee said of Fernandez. "When she comes on to the floor she brings a high level of energy. She's the quickest player we have. She just needs to be more consistent."
The Bengals fell to 4-8 on the season with the loss, and have lost their last three in a row. The Cougars improved to 9-4. ISU will return to action on Thursday, January 16th when they open Big Sky Conference play at the University of Montana at 7:35 p.m.
