PROVO, Utah— BYU women’s basketball picked up its first victory of the 2016-17 campaign, a 68-50 road win at UVU last Friday. The team (1-0) takes to the road this week, traveling to the state of Georgia to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (2-0) on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast live on BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143. An audio stream is also available at byuradio.org/listen.
BYU at a glance
The Cougars return nine letterwinners including three starters. In addition to the returning players, BYU fans will also see seven new faces on the Marriott Center floor.
With one game played, the Cougars are led by senior guard Makenzi Pulsipher, who is averaging 21.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest. She’s followed in scoring by junior guard Cassie Broadhead, who is contributing 17.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and a team-best 5.0 steals per game. She started in her first collegiate game at UVU. Senior All-American and the 2016 West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year, Kalani Purcell, leads the way in the rebound category, pulling down 9.0 boards a game and is also the assist leader averaging 5.0 assists per contest.
BYU is scoring 68.0 points per game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field, 42.9 from behind the 3-point line and 66.7 from the charity stripe.
In this year’s WCC preseason poll chosen by the coaches, BYU, the defending regular season conference champion, was selected to finish second in the league race behind Gonzaga. Purcell and Pulsipher were named to the Preseason All-Conference team.
• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78), 16th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #23 M. Pulsipher, 21.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 9.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 5.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #20 C. Broadhead, 5.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #32, K. Purcell, #34 M. Orton, 3.0 bpg
GEORGIA at a glance
The University of Georgia has compiled a 2-0 record to date with wins over South Carolina State and Mercer. Both games were played at home. UGA returns six letterwinners including one starter from last year’s team that compiled a 21-10, 9-7 Southeastern Conference (SEC) record.
In this year’s SEC race, the team was picked to finish in 12th place.
• Head coach: Joni Taylor (Alabama, 2002), 2nd season
• Team’s leading scorer: #04 C. Robinson, 24.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #11 P. Roberts, 10.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #01 S. Ambrister, 5.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #11 P. Roberts/#12 H. Clark/#24 S. Costa, 1.5 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #04C. Robinson, 2.0 bpg
The Series
The Bulldogs lead the overall series 1-0. Last year was the first meeting between the two schools. They met in the first game of the CSUN Thanksgiving Classic in Northridge on Nov. 27, 2015 where Georgia defeated BYU, 66-58. The Cougars were led by a double-double from senior Lexi Rydalch, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kalani Purcell also pulled down 10 boards to go along with her seven points. Makenzi Pulsipher had a game-best four steals and 10 points in the contest. BYU shot 39.3 percent from the field, 33.9 from behind the arc and 53.8 percent from the free throw line.
Four players recorded double figures in points for Georgia, led by 23 from Tiaria Griffin. Shacobia Barbee tallied 18 points with Merritt Hempe and Mackenzie Engram chipping in 13 and 11 points, respectively. Hempe pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. UGA shot 34.4 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from 3-point range and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe
What’s up next
BYU opens up its home schedule hosting No. 18 Oklahoma on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 4 p.m. MST. Last year, the Cougars were undefeated in the Marriott Center with a 12-0 record. This will be the Sooners first game in Provo and the Marriott Center since the 1989-90 season.