PROVO, Utah – For the second-straight game, Malia Nawahine set a new career high in points to lead BYU past Pacific on Saturday at the Marriott Center.
"I'm happy with the result," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We had a really good first half, especially defensively. I thought Malia (Nawahine) had a great week."
Nawahine scored 25 points two days after her 23 points against San Francisco broke her previous career best. She shot 9 of 15 from the field and also pulled down nine rebounds. Sara Hamson narrowly missed out on a triple-double, with eight points, 13 rebounds and nine blocks.
The Cougars (8-7, 3-1) rode a hot start from Nawahine. She scored seven of BYU's first 10 points for a 10-2 lead with 6:28 showing on the first quarter clock.
Amanda Wayment created a spark with a couple of baskets late in the quarter, the second of which put the Cougars up 16-9. Brenna Chase hit a 3-pointer in the last seconds to make it 21-11 for BYU.
Liz Eaton's third field goal came on a putback in the second quarter to put the Cougars up 32-19. She came off the bench to go 3 of 3 in the quarter. Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee hit a baseline jumper with a couple minutes left in the quarter to make the lead 41-24.
BYU led 45-27 at halftime. Nawahine led the team with 14 points.
Hamson's defensive presence highlighted the beginning of the third quarter. She recorded blocks on three-straight defensive possessions to bring her total to five for the game. The Cougars led 55-33 halfway through the quarter. Hamson got her first field goal with 2:33 on the third quarter clock to stop a Pacific (6-9, 0-4) run and put BYU up 59-42.
BYU was up 63-46 heading into the last quarter.
The Tigers chipped away at the Cougar lead and trailed 63-54 early in the fourth quarter. Nawahine made a left-handed lay-in and scored a couple of possessions later to tie her career high of 23 points and give BYU more breathing room with a 69-54 advantage.
Nawahine got to 25 points at the free throw line with under three minutes left to put the Cougars up 75-58. BYU coasted to the 12-point, 77-65 win.
The Cougars play at Pepperdine next Thursday at 7 p.m. PST. The game can be streamed on TheW.tv.
BYU vs. Pacific Postgame Notes
Team
BYU captured its largest halftime lead of the year against Pacific, leading 45-27 at the break, and the Cougars recorded their second-straight WCC victory, beating the Tigers 77-65.
BYU is now 6-0 on the year when leading at the half, and is 2-0 at the Marriott Center in West Coast Conference play.
For the 10th time during the 2017-18 campaign, BYU women’s basketball scored over 70 points.
Three Cougars scored in double digits for the fifth time this season: Nawahine (25), Chase (14) and Devashrayee (11).
BYU women’s basketball recorded 10 blocks as a team, while Pacific had zero. The Cougars are ranked first in the WCC in blocks.
The Cougars outscored the Tigers in points in the paint 44 to 22.
Player
Malia Nawahine scored 11 first-quarter points, helping the Cougars take the early 21-11 lead. After recording a career-high 23 points against San Francisco on Thursday, Nawahine recorded a new BYU career-high against the Tigers, scoring 25 points in 33 minutes. The transfer also recorded a new career-high in rebounds, with nine. Nawahine added three assists and a team-high two steal to her stat line.
Sara Hamson started her second-straight game for BYU. The Cougars now have a 2-0 record when Hamson starts. The freshman finished the contest with eight points and a new career-high 13 rebounds. Hamson also tallied nine blocks, logging six blocks in the third quarter alone.
Brenna Chase tallied 14 points for BYU, going 2 of 6 from behind the arc. Chase also had a team-high two steals, one rebound and one assist in the win.
Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee finished the game with 11 points and has scored in double figures in every game to date this season. Devashrayee dished out a game-high seven assists and brought down three rebounds.
Liz Eaton went 3 of 3 in the first half, scoring six points in four minutes.