PROVO, Utah— After a disappointing road loss at San Diego, BYU women’s basketball looks to bounce back in West Coast Conference action hosting two league foes this week.
The Cougar women (8-4, 0-1) open their home slate of WCC games hosting Saint Mary’s (10-3, 1-1) on Thursday, Dec. 31 in a 1 p.m. tip. Then on Saturday, Jan. 2, Pacific (8-5, 1-1) comes to the Marriott Center for a 2 p.m. start. Both league games can be seen live on BYUtv and will be simulcast on BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143. The Tigers play at San Diego on Thursday night before coming to Provo for Saturday’s contest.
ABOUT BYU
Entering the second week of WCC action, BYU has three players that are scoring in double figures. All-American senior guard Lexi Eaton Rydalch leads the way with 23.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Junior Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher follows with 11.4 points. All-American Kalani Purcell, a junior college transfer from Hutchinson Community College and Hamilton, New Zealand, is the third player scoring in double digits with 10.6 points and with a team best 12.0 rebounds is averaging a double-double.
The Cougars are scoring 67.7 points per game, shooting 42 percent from the field, 68 percent from the free throw line and 36 percent from 3-point range. BYU is holding opponents to 60.8 points per game.
• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 15th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton Rydalch, 23.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 12.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 3.8 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Morrison Pulsipher, 2.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #32, K. Purcell, .83 bpg
ABOUT SAINT MARY’S
The Gaels have compiled a 10-3 record to date and have a 1-1 mark after the first week of WCC action with a road win over USF and a home loss to Santa Clara.
Saint Mary’s College returns 10 letterwinners including three starters from a team that compiled a 23-11 record and finished third in the conference with a 13-5 mark. The Gaels advanced to the quarterfinals of the postseason WNIT.
Three Saint Mary’s players are scoring in double digits with 19.1 from Lauren Nicholson, 12.5 points from Devon Brookshire and 12.4 points from Sydney Raggio. Raggio tops the list in the rebound category, pulling down 9.1 boards per game.
The Gaels are scoring 76.1 points per game while holding opponents to 71.4 points a contest. Saint Mary’s shoots 46 percent from the field, 34 percent from behind the arc and 76 percent from the free throw line.
• Head coach: Paul Thomas, 10th year
• Team’s leading scorer: #01 L. Nicholson, 19.1 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #12 S. Raggio, 9.1 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #21 S. Beck, 2.9 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #21 S. Beck, .85 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #12 S. Raggio, 1.0 bpg
Series History
Saint Mary’s has a two-game edge in the series, leading 6-4. When playing in Provo, the Gaels have a 2-3 record. During last year’s WCC race, Saint Mary’s won both contests during the regular season. The Gaels and Cougars met a third time in the quarterfinals of the WCC Championships. BYU picked up the one-point, 65-64 win on a Lexi Eaton last second basket. The Cougars then went on to win their second WCC tournament title, with wins over Gonzaga and San Francisco.
In their first matchup in Provo on Jan. 17, the Gaels picked up the 10-point, 61-51 victory. In the second meeting in Moraga, the game went into overtime with Saint Mary’s getting the five-point win, 76-71.
Upcoming
After the two home WCC games this week vs. SMC and Pacific, the Cougar women play on the road for their next two league contests. BYU is at Santa Clara on Thursday, Jan. 7 and at San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 9. Both games can be heard live on BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143 and on the Internet at byuradio.org