Hall, Cougs Defeat No. 4 Stanford
by Ashley Henderson, BYU Athletic Communications


PALO ALTO, Calif. (Nov. 13, 2006) -- Behind the second-half heroics of freshman Haley Hall, No. 24 BYU (2-0) upset No. 4 Stanford (1-1), 55-52, in the second round of the Preseason Women's National Invitation Tournament, Monday evening. BYU is now one of four teams left in the 16-team tournament.

"I'm really excited about our program," head coach Jeff Judkins said. "This is a huge win for us. Stanford is well coached and a very talented team. I'm very proud of our team because we never quit or gave up. This is probably one of the best defensive games we have ever played."

Hall paced the Cougars with 15 points, including a three-pointer that gave BYU its first lead since 1:50 into the game. Mallary Gillespie chipped in 12 points, while Dani Kubik grabbed nine boards on the evening.

Stanford got on board first with a jumper from Cissy Pierce, followed by a three-point BYU bucket by Jennie Keele, giving the Cougars a 3-2 lead two minutes into the game.

Midway through the first half, the Cardinal went on a 6-0 run that included back-to-back baskets by Clare Bodensteiner. BYU immediately responded with a pair of three pointers from Mallary Gillespie and Shawnee Slade, closing the gap to one point, 19-18.

With just 1:33 remaining in the half, Brooke Smith nailed a mid-range jumper to give Stanford a 28-20 lead, but the Cougars quickly retaliated with another set of back-to-back three pointers from Haley Hall and Gillespie to bring the score within two, 28-26, at the half.

The Cardinal opened up the second half strong, going on a 9-3 run and taking a 37-29 lead. Only a three-point bucket from Keele at the 16:41 mark broke up the run.

With just over seven minutes remaining in the game, Jayne Appel netted two free throws for Stanford, giving the team its largest lead of the evening, 50-37.

The Cougars hung close and dominated the remaining minutes, only allowing the Cardinal to score two points, while netting 13 of their own.

Hall took matters into her own hands with 18 seconds left in the game, scoring her most important three pointer of the game. It marked the first time BYU lead since the score was 3-2. Sixteen seconds later, Hall hit a free throw to secure the victory.

Smith lead the Cardinal with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Pierce added 10 points and seven rebounds of her own.

The big difference of the game came from the benches' productivity with BYU winning the battle 23-11.

BYU will now head to Waco, Texas to challenge Baylor University Thursday. Game time is not yet determined.

Official Basketball Box ScoreBYU vs Stanford11/13/06 7:00 pm at Maples Pavilion--------------------------------------------------------------------------------VISITORS: BYU                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN32 SLADE, Shawnee...... f  3-10   1-4    0-0    0  2  2   2   7  2  1  0  0  2735 JOHNSEN, Melinda.... f  0-3    0-2    0-0    0  3  3   1   0  3  1  0  2  3245 WRIGHT, Dani........ c  3-8    0-1    0-2    5  4  9   2   6  2  3  0  0  3515 KEELE, Jennie....... g  2-9    2-6    1-2    2  2  4   3   7  2  4  1  4  2630 GILLESPIE, Mallary.. g  4-11   4-8    0-0    1  3  4   1  12  1  4  0  3  2505 Cheesman, Ashley....    0-0    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   0  1  0  0  0   433 HALL, Haley.........    5-9    4-6    1-2    0  2  2   2  15  2  2  0  0  2352 RILEY, Lauren.......    2-2    0-0    2-2    2  2  4   4   6  1  3  0  0  1554 KING, Cassie........    1-2    0-0    0-1    0  1  1   2   2  0  0  0  0  12   TEAM................                         4  1  5             1   Totals..............   20-54  11-27   4-9   14 20 34  17  55 14 19  1  9 201TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 10-30 33.3%   2nd Half: 10-24 41.7%   Game: 37.0%  DEADB3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  6-15 40.0%   2nd Half:  5-12 41.7%   Game: 40.7%   REBSF Throw % 1st Half:  0-0   0.0%   2nd Half:  4-9  44.4%   Game: 44.4%    1--------------------------------------------------------------------------------HOME TEAM: Stanford                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS## Player Name            FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN33 Harmon, Jillian..... f  3-8    0-0    1-3    5  2  7   1   7  3  1  0  0  2143 Newlin, Kristen..... f  2-7    0-1    0-0    5  2  7   4   4  0  4  1  1  2230 Smith, Brooke....... c  5-10   2-4    1-2    0  8  8   2  13  3  5  0  2  3711 Wiggins, Candice.... g  3-8    0-3    1-3    0  3  3   2   7  4  2  0  4  3913 Pierce, Cissy....... g  5-11   0-0    0-0    2  0  2   0  10  0  1  0  0  2402 Appel, Jayne........    1-5    0-0    2-2    1  4  5   2   4  1  2  2  0  1404 Bodensteiner, Clare.    1-3    1-3    2-2    1  0  1   0   5  0  0  0  0  1305 Harrison, Michelle..    1-2    0-0    0-0    0  0  0   0   2  0  1  0  0   410 Hones, JJ...........    0-1    0-1    0-1    0  2  2   1   0  4  1  0  1  26   TEAM................                         1  3  4   Totals..............   21-55   3-12   7-13  15 24 39  12  52 15 17  3  8 200TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-25 44.0%   2nd Half: 10-30 33.3%   Game: 38.2%  DEADB3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  3-7  42.9%   2nd Half:  0-5   0.0%   Game: 25.0%   REBSF Throw % 1st Half:  3-6  50.0%   2nd Half:  4-7  57.1%   Game: 53.8%    5--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Officials: Michael Price, Michol Murray, Lucy BanuelosTechnical fouls: BYU-None. Stanford-None.Attendance:Score by Periods                1st  2nd   TotalBYU...........................   26   29  -   55Stanford......................   28   24  -   52