By Katherine Gholson
In a defensively tight game, the BYU women''s basketball team beat George Washington University 76-70.
'Tonight was a great team effort,' Cougar head coach Jeff Judkins said.
BYU (4-1) forwards Kristen Kozlowski and Danielle Cheesman kept the Colonials (3-3) from scoring in the middle, while Julie Sullivan''s intensity kept the Cougars motivated.
With a 6-0 Cougar run at the 14- minute mark, the Colonials began scrapping.
'After about 5-8 minutes, the girls hit a wall,' Judkins said.
The Colonials scored 14 points off BYU''s 14 turnovers in the first half, but not from defensive pressure.
'In the first half we were playing hot potato too much,' freshman guard Mallory Gillespie said.
Going into the locker room the Colonials were up six, 28-22. Kozlowski led the Cougars with eight first-half points shooting 80 percent.
'We had no intensity in the first half,' senior center Danielle Cheesman said. 'We had to be the aggressors.'
After halftime the Cougars set the tone, going on a 4-0 run in the first minute.
'I make adjustments at halftime, and this team does a great job of making the changes,' Judkins said.
With two ties and four lead changes, the Cougars came out a different team in the second half.
The Colonials scored six points off turnovers, while BYU scored 22 points off Colonial turnovers.
'The second half is what we do in practice,' Judkins said.
Gillespie came out of the second half with three crucial three-pointers.
'I was lucky to get a good pick and get those shots off,' Gillespie said.
After a crucial three-point play by Sullivan with two minutes left, Cheesman said she knew they had the game if they could continue to play.
With the tight defense from George Washington, the Cougars went to the free throw line 10 times in the final two minutes.
But as BYU went to the free throw line, the Colonials were shooting from downtown.
George Washington senior Anna Montanana went 5-7, with four of those being heavily guarded in the last two minutes.
Ambrosia Anderson made several clutch foul shots as BYU shot 87.5 percent from the line.
'We shoot at least 50 free throws in practice,' Gillespie said. 'We have the confidence.'
This is the second time this season BYU has gone at least 50 percent in field-goal shooting.
Ambrosia Anderson, Kozlowski Sullivan have scored in double digits in four out of five games.