PROVO, Utah - Morgan Bailey’s double-double carried BYU women’s basketball to a 65-62 victory over San Francisco at the Marriott Center Saturday.
“I'm happy to get the win,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “This is a hard stretch with finals, Christmas, New Year's and half of my team is sick, but the girls have pulled through."
Bailey led all scorers with 26 points and added 12 rebounds while converting on 11 of 18 shot attempts. Lexi Eaton scored 18 points, while Ashley Garfield tied Bailey for a team-high 12 rebounds. Kylie Maeda and Xojian Harry contributed four assists.
"Bailey is so good under pressure,” Judkins said. “She plays so much better with the game on the line and Ashley was great tonight.”
Maeda scored for BYU (11-4, 3-1 WCC) on its first possession of the game making a floating jump shot along the baseline as the shot clock was running down.
After the Cougars built a 9-3 advantage early, San Francisco (9-6, 0-4 WCC) went on a 13-0 run hitting six-straight shots to take a 16-9 lead. BYU responded with a 10-0 run to regain the lead at 19-16 midway through the first half. The run was sparked by Bailey’s play in the low post, utilizing her size and quickness for a couple of easy lay-ins.
The Dons would go into the break with a two-point edge, 35-33. Eaton led the way for the Cougars with 11 points in the first half followed by Bailey with 10 points.
Eaton began the second half driving along the baseline and finding Bailey open underneath the basket for a lay-in to tie the game, 35-35.
The teams went back-and-forth exchanging the lead until BYU began to capture the momentum in the final 10 minutes of the half. Out of a timeout, another Bailey bucket in the paint and a free throw by Eaton gave the Cougars a seven-point lead with seven minutes left, 56-49.
With 3:14 left and BYU hanging on to a 59-53 lead, Garfield found Bailey with good position in the low-post for an easy lay-in. Bailey was fouled on the shot and made the following free throw to extend its lead to its largest of the game, 62-53.
The Dons answered on the next few possessions, hitting four free throws and draining a 3-pointer at the top of the key to cut the Cougars’ lead to 62-60 with just under two minutes to play.
However, the Cougar defense stiffened and Maeda made four free throws in the final minute to hold off San Francisco for the win.
"Kylie is one of my best foul shooters so I had confidence in her that she would knock down those two at the end to put us up three,” Judkins said. “Kylie and Lexi are my two best foul shooters and they're usually money but luckily she stepped up on those last two shots."
BYU’s next game will be on the road next week playing Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Jan. 8, at 7:00 p.m. PST.
Postgame Notes
Team
The Cougars led the rebound category 20-14 at halftime and ended the game with a 38-33 advantage. BYU also led in second-chance points 11-2 and bench points 7-0.
San Francisco had a seven-minute lead with 15:04 left in the first quarter while BYU's largest lead was at 62-53 with 3:14 remaining in the game.
The Cougars went just 20 for 32 from the charity stripe while the Dons went 12 for 14.
Player
Lexi Eaton led all BYU scorers at halftime with 11 points, and Ashley Garfield had a team-high seven boards at the break. Eaton finished the game with 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Garfield ended the game with a near double-double of eight points and a team-high 12 rebounds.
Morgan Bailey collected her sixth double-double of the season, ending with 26 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. It was also her fifth 20-point game of the year.
Xojian Harry and Kylie Maeda each tied with a team-high four assists with Harry adding a team-high two blocks.