BYU women’s basketball (22-5, 12-4) is playing its final road game in West Coast Conference regular season play. The Cougar women, who are on a six-game winning streak, get set to battle Loyola Marymount (8-18, 5-10) Saturday in Los Angeles at Gersten Pavilion. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. PST. The game airs live on BYU Radio
About BYU
Leading the way in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots for BYU is senior center Jennifer Hamson. She’s averaging 18.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game. She leads the nation in blocked shots, ranks 12th in double-doubles, 16th in rebounds per game and 21st in field goal percentage.
Three other Cougar players are recording double figures in points, with Lexi Eaton putting up 17.3 followed by 11.0 points from Kim Beeston. Junior forward Morgan Bailey rounds out the scoring output, contributing 10.3 points. She is in second place in rebounds pulling down 7.2 per contest.
BYU is averaging 72.0 points per game, while holding opponents to 64.2 points. The Cougars, who rank fifth in the country in blocked shots per game, have recorded more blocks than opponents in 24 games and have dished out more assists in 21 of the 27 games played to date. The team has also recorded more rebounds than opponents in 20 contests.
About LMU
Loyola Marymount has compiled a (8-18, 5-10) record after dropping an 87-74 contest in Los Angeles against San Diego Wednesday.
The Lions are averaging 71.0 points per game, are pulling down 40.5 rebounds and they have two players scoring in double figures.
Hazel Ramirez tops the list in points for LMU with a 14.9 average with 13.3 points coming from teammate Deanna Johnson. Mackenzie Kerins tops the list in rebounds pulling down 9.4 boards a game.
Series History
BYU leads the overall series 7-1. When playing in Los Angeles, the Cougars are 1-1. During last season’s league race, the Lions beat BYU, 68-55, on Feb. 28, 2013 in Los Angeles.
Last Meeting
Senior Jennifer Hamson scored a career-high 31 points in the 90-72 BYU victory over Loyola Marymount, in Provo, on Dec. 28. Hamson added 11 rebounds for her eight double-double on the year.
Junior Ashley Garfield started her first game while leading the team in rebounds with 14, while collecting nine points from 4 of 4 shooting. In addition, Lexi Eaton (18), Kim Beeston (11) and Kylie Maeda (10) all had double figure point outings.
The Cougars shot a season high 58 percent from the field while tying a season-high in points with 90. It was BYU’s first conference win of the year, as the Cougars improved to 11-1, 1-0 on the season.
Up Next
After the game at LMU, the BYU women’s basketball team returns home to play its final WCC regular season game. The Cougars host San Diego, Sat. Mar. 2 at 1 p.m. The game will be seen live on BYUtv.
The following week BYU will compete in the 2014 WCC Basketball Championships in Las Vegas at Orleans Arena, Mar. 6-11. The winner of the championship receives an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.