By Rebekah Romney
Brigham Young University or Bring Your Upset, as ESPN is saying? The NCAA isn''t so sure anymore.
The women''s basketball team pulled off the fourth biggest upset in the tournament''s history. Only three other teams seeded as low as BYU have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
BYU shocked the basketball world beating No. 3 Iowa State 75-69 in the second round of the tournament - in the Cyclones'' house Monday night.
'This is college basketball,' said senior forward Melanie Pearson before the game. 'It''s exciting for us.'
The Cougars were not expected to even win the first game of the tournament and are now looking No. 2 Tennessee in the eyes as they advance to their first ever trip to the Sweet Sixteen.
'People in basketball know how good this BYU team is,' analyst Brenda Van Lengen said.
BYU started out with senior guard Stacy Jensen''s three-point basket and proved it could hang with the Cyclones by displaying a solid defense led by senior forward Lisa Osguthorpe.
'Osguthorpe is the best defensive player on BYU''s team,' Van Lengen said, which is quite a compliment after holding a No. 3 team to 69 points when it averages almost 78.
Osguthorpe picked up five steals throughout the game, the most of any player on the court.
The lead changed seven times in the first half as each team pulled ahead by small margins.
Junior guard Erin Thorn, who made seven three-pointers against Florida, did not even take a shot until the clock read 6:16 in the first half. She quickly sank two three''s in a row, but Iowa State''s Angie Welle was too much for the Cougars.
The Cyclones pounded the ball inside to their 6''4 center Welle as she dropped the ball into the basket over the head of junior forward Jennifer Leitner.
The Cougars and Cyclones were neck and neck throughout the first half, entering the locker room with Iowa State ahead 36-34.
The second half started out poorly for the Cougars as the Cyclones made a 12-2 run. Iowa State held the lead for most of the second half until BYU started to pick apart the Cyclone''s zone defense.
BYU''s momentum soared as Leitner made a crucial steal and Osguthorpe bounced in two points.
Iowa State started to panic and called a time-out. BYU had come from a 12-point deficit to pull ahead with 5:50 left after making 21 unanswered points.
Welle sealed the game for the Cougars when she commited a blocking foul and sent Osguthorpe to the free-throw line with less than a minute remaining.
The Cougars ended the game on Thorn''s last two points and erupted with excitement as they earned their place with the best 16 teams in the nation.
The Cyclones shot better than the Cougars from the field and from the arc in both halves. BYU was out-rebounded and allowed Welle to drop 22 points over the defense.
So what was the difference? Turnovers.
'It''s a central big factor tonight,' Van Lengen said.
The Cougars committed 10 turnovers while the Cyclones picked up 20. BYU pulled 21 points out of the Iowa State''s mistakes but the Cyclones only made 12.
BYU will have this week to rest up before taking on the Tennessee Vols on Saturday. The game is at 1 p.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on ESPN.