PROVO, Utah – Cassie Broadhead hit two clutch free throws with 1.8 seconds left to give BYU women’s basketball a 65-63 victory over Portland at the Marriott Center on Thursday.
"It was a tough game," BYU women's basketball head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought defensivley we did a good job at the end. You have to give a lot of credit to a kid who hasn't played a lot of minutes this year, Cassie Broadhead, making that play with the game tied."
Morgan Bailey led the Cougars in scoring with 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds, four blocks, three assists and two steals. Lexi Eaton scored 16 points and tallied eight rebounds, while Makenzi Morrison chipped in 10 points hitting 2 of 4 shots from beyond the arc.
After winning the tipoff, the Cougars (20-8, 12-5 West Coast Conference) scored on its first possession of the game when Bailey hit a cutting Xojian Harry in the paint for an uncontested layup. Following an Eaton wing 3-pointer on its second possession of the game, BYU scored only one basket over the next seven minutes in the first half falling behind 15-7 to Portland (4-24, 2-15 WCC).
Eaton drove baseline for a layup at the 11:32 mark, ending the 12-2 Portland run and sparking a 9-2 run for the Cougars to cut the Pilot lead to one, 17-16.
With 51 seconds left in the first half, BYU took its first lead since the 18:48 mark when Eaton converted a 3-point play making a five-foot jumper while being fouled. After the ensuing free throw, the Cougars led 30-29.
BYU held a 32-29 lead at the break with Eaton leading the way with 16 points, converting on 6 of 10 shots from the field. Eaton was also active on the glass pulling down seven rebounds.
Portland began the second half much like the first half going on a 10-2 run to take a 39-34 lead two minutes in to the half. Harry buried a straight-away 3-pointer and a left-handed finger roll by Bailey a minute later tied the game up, 39-39 with 16:37 left in the half.
The Cougars took a 45-44 lead with a Morrison 3-pointer assisted by Kylie Maeda with 12:05 left in the half. Less than 30 seconds later, Maeda’s corner 3-pointer put BYU up 50-46. Morrison and Maeda’s shots sparked a 19-7 run that gave the Cougars a 10-point lead with 6:03 left in the game.
The Pilots fought back over the final five minutes with a 12-2 run that tied the game at 63 with 13.8 seconds left. With five seconds left, Cassie Broadhead received a pass on the left wing, drove left past the Portland defender and drew a foul with 1.3 seconds left. Broadhead drained the following two free throws to put the Cougars back up by two. A deep 3-point shot by Portland as time expired went long and BYU held on to defeat the Pilots, 65-63.
The Cougars will play their final home game of the season against Gonzaga on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143. Live stats will also be available on the BYU women's basketball schedule page.
Postgame notes
Team
With 51 seconds left in the first half, BYU took the lead back 30-29 after a made free throw by Eaton. Maeda found Bailey by the bucket to extend the halftime lead to 32-29.
BYU won the game late with free throws made by Broadhead to seal the 65-63 victory. The Cougars shot 46 percent on the game and the Pilots shot 44 percent.
This is the 10th game of the season where BYU has had three players score in double figures. Eaton, Bailey and Morrison all scored in double digits.
After the first 20 minutes of action, both teams had 17 rebounds. Despite losing the game, Portland outrebounded BYU 33 to 29.
BYU dished out 10 assists in the first half, while Portland had seven. The Cougars ended the game with 18, compared to 15 from the Pilots. This is the 22nd game that BYU has had more assists than its opponents.
In the first half, the Cougars had five steals and the Pilots had three. The teams combined for 13 first-half turnovers. BYU ended the game with 10 steals compared to Portland's nine.
This is the sixth straight season and ninth overall that Judkins has led his team to 20-win seasons.
Player
Eaton led the team in scoring and rebounding in the first half with 16 points and seven boards, respectively. She finished with 16 points to go along with her eight rebounds.
Bailey had six points and four rebounds after the first 20 minutes of action. She ended the game with a team-high in both points and rebounds, 17 and 12 respectively. This is her 14th double-double of the season and 22nd of her career.
Morrison had 10 points, including two 3-pointers. She also had two steals.
Maeda had five points and team-highs in assists and steals with five and three.
Harry scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in the win.
Broadhead sealed the game after making two free throws with one second left. She finished the game with four points and two assists.