PROVO, Utah – Four BYU players scored in double digits and sealed the 88-49 win over Pepperdine at the Marriott Center on Thursday.
“I was really proud of our defense tonight,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “We did some things a little bit differently than we did last time against them because they made some adjustments, and I thought our team did a good job of addressing that. I thought our zone offense looked sharp, we moved the ball well and we took the shots that they gave us tonight. We also got the ball inside and scored. It was just a good team effort.”
Kalani Purcell led the Cougars with 16 total points, eight rebounds and four assists. Makenzi Pulsipher followed in points with 14 and also had four assists. Cassie Broadhead had eight assists in addition to her 13 points. Brenna Chase ended the game with 11 points and made 3 of 4 from the 3-point line. The Cougars shot 50.0 percent from the field to Pepperdine’s 29.4 percent.
Pepperdine (6-18, 4-8 West Coast Conference) scored the first points of the game on a 3-pointer, but BYU (15-9, 9-4 WCC) came back on a 7-0 run to put the score at 7-3 within the first two minutes of the game.
With under four minutes to go in the first quarter, Pulsipher added two points after an Amanda Wayment jumper, which made the score 17-13 and sparked a 12-0 run that progressed into the second quarter. Chase entered the game in the final minutes of the first quarter to make a last three before the buzzer sounded, making the score 22-13.
After Purcell’s four points, the 12-0 run ended as Pepperdine made a jump shot. The Cougars responded with two points in the paint form Purcell, bringing the score to 31-15 with 5:27 to go in the half.
Fast passing and movement created a lane for Purcell to convert a lay up and extend the Cougar lead to 35-15 with 3:24 on the clock. Micaelee Orton scored the next five Cougar points with a jumper, layup and a free-throw. Additional points from Purcell and Broadhead fueled a 9-0 run and the half ended with a 44-17 score in the Cougars favor.
Going scoreless for almost four minutes of the third quarter, Pulsipher ended the drought with a trey, increasing the BYU lead to 47-19. Lay ups by Broadhead and Orton extended the Cougar lead and Purcell’s additional four points created a 6-0 run, making the score 57-23 with under three minutes to play. Three-pointers from Chase, Broadhead and Pulsipher sealed the third quarter with a score of 68-27.
The last quarter opened with two 3-pointers from Chase and Broadhead, giving BYU the 41-point, 74-33 advantage. MaCayla Hanks entered the game and scored the next four points with two layups, followed by a three from Liz Eaton, making the score 81-37. This was also the Cougars largest lead of the game, with Pepperdine trailing by 44 points.
Combined efforts from Haley Rydalch and Jessica Chatman increased the final lead and sealed the 88-49 BYU victory.
BYU women’s basketball will take on San Francisco on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Marriott Center. It will be broadcast on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143. Links to live stats and other media can be found on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.
Postgame Notes
Team
The Cougars scored 22 points in the first period, tying for the most points scored in the first quarter all season. BYU then took the 44-17 lead into halftime.
With the 39-point 88-49 win, BYU moves to 15-9 on the year. Eighty-eight is the highest amount of points the Cougars have scored this season.
Wiht the victory over the Waves, BYU remains undefeated at home in WCC action with a 6-0 record.
Four Cougars finished in double figures for the sixth time this season—Purcell (16), Pulsipher (14), Broadhead (13) and Chase (11).
BYU is now 12-3 when the team records more steals than its opponent, and 12-1 when the Cougars dish out more assists.
The Cougars had 31 assists to the Waves’ 10. BYU’s 31 assists make for a season high.
BYU also had 38 bench points to Pepperdine’s 21, and tallied 38 points in the paint to the Waves’ six.
Thursday night’s attendance of 1,049 was the largest crowd attendance in conference play. Also, every eligible player on the BYU roster played in the contest.
BYU swept the 2016-17 series 2-0 against Pepperdine.
Player
Kalani Purcell led all scorers at halftime with 12 points and six rebounds. The senior finished with a game-high 16 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Makenzi Pulsipher finished the contest with 14 points. At the 6:19 mark of the third quarter, Pulsipher hit her third 3-pointer of the game to pass Thais Kidd as eighth all-time in 3-pointers made in BYU history. Pulsipher made four treys in the game, giving her 173 3-point field goals for her career. The senior guard also tallied four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Cassie Broadhead recorded 13 points in the win. The junior guard tied a career-high in assists, with eight. Broadhead also tallied six rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
Brenna Chase scored 11 points in the victory, going 3 of 4 from behind the arc. Her 11 points tie her career-high. She also totaled a season- and career-high four assists.
Micaelee Orton finished the game with nine points and a career-high three assists. She also had two rebounds and one steal.
MaCayla Hanks tied her previous season-high six points. She went 3 of 4 from the field.