PROVO, Utah — With the 2014-15 basketball season fast approaching, the Cougar women have scheduled one more exhibition game this week. The team hosts Ft. Lewis College Saturday at 2 p.m. The game is free to the public.
BYU is looking to bounce back after a comeback fell short in a 59-54 loss to Westminster last Saturday. The women have set high expectations for themselves striving for another winning season, a conference title and making some noise in the NCAA tournament.
This year’s squad includes an experienced trio of starters and a veteran bench.
They have their sights set on continuing the winning ways from last year’s team that recorded the most wins in program history with 28, a second-place finish in the West Coast Conference and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.
BYU was picked to finish second in this year’s WCC race as selected by the league’s coaches earlier this week.
The Cougars return a very athletic and talented group of starters. At 6-foot-2, senior forward Morgan Bailey, the team’s rebounding leader (7.0) and second leading scorer (10.7) will provide a strong athletic and physical inside presence that will be critical to BYU’s success. Junior Lexi Eaton, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged 16.8 points a game and had the team’s best free throw percentage .834 (171-205) last year. Her scoring abilities will be a threat inside and outside. The third returning starter is junior guard Kylie Maeda, a great ball handler and distributor. Last season, the 5-foot-5 point guard was second in assists. Maeda dished out 112 assists and had 27 steals while shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range. She’ll run the Cougar offense and be a scoring threat from the outside.
The strength of a solid group of experienced players including two seniors and two sophomores will provide the Cougars with a lot of depth and balance. Senior Ashley Garfield is second on the team in rebounds pulling down 6.3 per game and scoring 4.0 points a contest. At 5-foot-11, her uncanny ability to be at the right place at the right time will be a force to be reckoned with in BYU’s inside game. Xojian Harry is playing in her final season with the Cougar program. Next to Garfield, Harry recorded the most minutes off the bench. The 5-foot-11 guard/forward combo was solid for the Cougars in their impressive run in the NCAA tournament last year finishing the season shooting nearly 30 percent from behind the arc.
Sophomores Kristine Fuller and Makenzi Morrison played a lot of minutes in nearly all games in their freshmen campaign. At 5-foot-11, the solid ball handlers understand the Cougar offense and can shoot the ball well.
Micaelee Orton, a 6-foot-2 forward who saw action in 19 games last year, along with redshirt freshman center Savanna Irwin and true freshman Alohi Robins-Hardy will strengthen the team’s post play and inside presence. Irwin is a 6-foot-5 center while Robins-Hardy is a 6-foot-2 forward that will join the team once her freshman season on the BYU volleyball team concludes.
Redshirt freshman Cassie Broadhead, a 5-foot-9 guard from Glenville, N.Y., makes her debut this season. Her athleticism, good shooting and ball handling skills will be vital to the team’s success at the point guard spot.
Utah standout Amanda Wayment, a 6-foot-1 true freshman forward from Ogden and Fremont High School, will be another impact player on this year’s Cougar roster. Her rebounding and athletic strength as a post player are expected to play a major role on the team.
Ft. Lewis College, out of Durango, Colorado, finished with a 16-11, 13-9 record. Most recently, they were picked to finish sixth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Poll. The Skyhawks return two starters and nine letterwinners.
BYU opens the regular season on the road at South Dakota State on Nov. 14. The team’s home opener is on Wednesday, Nov. 19 against Cal State Northridge. That game tips at 11 a.m. , so that local elementary school children can have an opportunity to come cheer on the women.
On Saturday, Nov. 22 the Cougars hosts Nevada in a 7:30 p.m. tip.