OREM, Utah – Makenzi Pulsipher and Cassie Broadhead led the Cougars to a 68-50 victory over UVU in BYU’s season opener Friday at the UCCU Center.
"I have to give a lot of credit to UVU," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "They came out and were aggressive and took it to us and we almost backed down. I thought Cassie and Makenzi did a nice job, fighting and taking over the game. I'm happy for the win. We played really well the last four minutes before the half and right at the end of the third quarter, that was the difference of the game."
Pulsipher led the Cougars in scoring with 21 points, shooting a perfect 11-for-11 on free-throws and 4-for-11 from the field. She also added three assists and four steals on the night. Broadhead also had a strong performance with 17 points, four assists and five steals. As a team the Cougars (1-0) had 14 assists, 15 steals and 34 rebounds.
Kristine Nielson opened the scoring for BYU (1-0) with a 3-pointer with 8:33 to go in the first period. The Cougars led 5-0 before the Wolverines could answer. Pulsipher fired from the 3-point line and increased the Cougars lead to 8-2.
BYU turnovers helped UVU start a 10-0 run that included two 3-pointers to take a 12-8 lead with 1:45 to go in the first period.
Both teams exchanged free-throws before Micaelee Orton drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game 13-13 at the end of the first period.
Orton started the second period the way she ended the first, a 3-pointer to help the Cougars take the lead, 16-13.
The Wolverines quickly answered with their own 3-pointer to tie the game. The 3-point barrage continued as Pulsipher hit a trey followed by another from UVU. BYU’s offense then stalled and the Wolverines took advantage, jumping out to a 26-19 lead with 5:36 to go before the half.
A media timeout gave the Cougars time to recover before they started a 6-0 run. Kalani Purcell ended the scoring drought with a layup before passing the ball behind her back to Amanda Wayment to throw it in for two. With 3:12 to go in the half, the Cougars trailed the Wolverines 26-25.
The Cougars came within one of the Wolverines after Pulsipher was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit 3-for-3 from the line. The Cougars stole the ball on the ensuing inbounds pass and Broadhead sent it in for two to put the Cougars ahead, 30-29.
The teams traded free-throws back and forth until with just seconds on the clock, the Cougars drove down the court and a Broadhead layup ended the first half with the Cougars leading the Wolverines, 36-33.
BYU finished the half shooting 5-for-9 from the 3-point line and 7-for-12 from the free-throw line. The Cougars gave up 12 points to the Wolverines off of turnovers, but forced 10 turnovers and had five steals in the first 20 minutes.
The second half got off to a slow start as neither team scored until three minutes in when Pulsipher scored on a layup for a 38-33 BYU lead. The momentum got going and a few seconds after, Broadhead stole the ball and drove down the court for two to extend the Cougars’ lead to 40-33.
The Cougars struggled with fouls as the Wolverines cashed in from the free-throw to bring the score back within striking distance at 42-39. A Broadhead three-point play began an 11-2 Cougar run that also included four free-throws from Pulsipher to give BYU a 53-41 lead at the end of the third quarter – its largest lead of the night to that point. The Cougars limited UVU's offense to zero field goals in the quarter as the Wolverines hit 8 of 8 from the free-throw line. The Cougars were perfect on free-throws in the third period as well, shooting 7-for-7.
BYU began the fourth period on a 10-0 run that included points from five different players. The run was finally ended with two UVU free throws with 6:37 remaining in the game and the Cougars ahead 63-43. From there BYU held on for the 68-50 win.
The Cougars next game will be Wednesday, Nov. 16, against the University of Georgia at the Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST (9 p.m. MST) and can be heard live on BYU Radio on Satellite Sirius XM 143. Links to live stats can also be found on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.
Postgame Notes
Team
With a 68-50 win over Utah Valley University, BYU women’s basketball started the 2016-17 on a wining note. At halftime, the Cougars had a three-point advantage, 36-33, while shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 58.3 percent from the free throw line. They were up by 11 after three periods, 53-41.
For the game, BYU shot 45.3 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from 3-point range and 66.7 percent from the free throw line.
The Cougars scored 34 points in the paint and 32 points off of UVU turnovers. BYU’s bench was credited with 17 points compared with just one for the Wolverines. UVU outrebounded BYU 47 to 34.
In the game, the Cougars had 14 assists and 15 steals while the Wolverines tallied eight and 11 respectively.
Player
Senior guard Makenzi Pulsipher led the Cougars with 13 points, while shooting a perfect seven-for-seven mark from the free throw line through the first half. For the game, she finished with a game-high 21 points recording her 39th game scoring in double figures and the first this year. Pulsipher was perfect at the free throw line going 11 for 11 while tallying three assists, four steals and three rebounds.
Junior Cassie Broadhead started in her first collegiate game vs. Utah Valley University. Through the first 20 minutes of action, she tallied six points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Broadhead finished with a career-high 17 points for her first double-digit outing in scoring of the year, the sixth of her career. She also had a game-best five steals and tied for game and team highs in blocks with three. Broadhead also dished out four assists and grabbed three rebounds.
Senior Kalani Purcell pulled down a team-high seven rebounds along with four assists and four points through the first 20 minutes of action. She pulled down a team-best nine rebounds to go along with six points, a game-high five assists and two steals.
Micaelee Orton and Amanda Wayment both came off the bench for the Cougars contributing six and four points respectively. Orton tied with Broadhead in the blocks category with three. Wayment made both free throws attempted.
Freshmen Brenna Chase, Jessica Chatman, Shalae Salmon and Liz Eaton all played in their first collegiate game.
Haley Rydalch and MaCayla Hanks also came off the bench with Rydalch pulling down three rebounds and Hanks scoring two points in the team’s first win of the season.