PROVO, Utah—For the Thanksgiving holiday, BYU women’s basketball (1-2) is on the road spending the weekend in Albuquerque competing in the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament. The Cougars play St. Joseph’s (0-3) on Friday, Nov. 25, at 4:30 p.m. MT. The next day they either play Tulsa (1-3) or tournament hosts New Mexico (2-1) at either 12 p.m., or 2:30 p.m. MT.
BYU Game Notes vs. St. Joseph's
St. Joseph's Game Notes vs. BYU
BYU at a glance
Junior guard Cassie Broadhead leads the scoring threat for the Cougars, averaging 17.0 points per game. Senior guard Makenzi Pulsipher is right behind her with 16.5 points per contest. The duo is also getting 3.0 steals a game each. Senior All-American and the 2016 West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year, Kalani Purcell, grabs a team-best 9.7 rebounds per contest. Purcell also tops the lists in assists dishing out 3.7 a game.
As a team, BYU is scoring 60.0 points per game while shooting 38.9 percent from the field, 28.8 percent from behind the 3-point line and 67.2 percent 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: #20 C. Broadhead, 17.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 9.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 3.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Pulsipher/#20 C. Broadhead, 3.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20, C. Broadhead, 1.7 bpg
St. Joseph’s at a glance
St. Joseph’s enters the Thanksgiving Tournament in New Mexico with a 0-3 record. The Hawks were picked to finish 10th in the Atlantic 10 race this year. SJU returns two starters and 11 letterwinners.
Chelsea Woods and Adashia Franklin top the leader board in scoring for St. Joseph’s. The duo is averaging 12.7 points per game each. Alyssa Monaghan is the third player putting up double digits in scoring with 12.0 points a contest. Franklin pulls down a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game. After four games played, the Hawks are averaging 62.7 points a contest while shooting 35.3 percent from the field, 30.8 percent from behind the arc and 72.1 percent from the free-throw line.
• Head coach: Cindy Griffin (St. Joseph’s, ‘91, ‘93), 16th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #32 C. Woods/#33 A. Franklyn, 12.7 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #33 A. Franklyn, 7.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 C. Woods, 3.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #32 C. Woods, 3.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #33 A. Franklin, 1.3 bpg
The Series
The series is tied between these two opponents 1-1. They have not played each other since 1988. The two met in another tournament at Purdue on Nov. 26. In that matchup, St Joseph’s defeated the Cougars 101-79.
Tulsa at a glance
Tulsa has compiled a 1-3 record to date with their lone win, a 10-point, 80-70 victory over the University of Missouri at Kansas City (UMKC). The Golden Hurricane returns eight letterwinners including two starters and compete in the American Athletic Conference. In this year’s league race, they were picked to finish ninth.
Erika Wakefield leads the way in scoring for TU, averaging 14.8 points while pulling down 3.5 rebounds. Kendrian Elliott tops the leaderboard in the rebound category grabbing 5.0 boards a game. Tulsa is averaging 69.5 points per game and shoots 43.6 percent from the field and 69.8 percent from the free- throw line.
• Head coach: Matilda Mossman (Western Kentucky, ‘79), Sixth season
• Team’s leading scorer: #03 E. Wakefield, 14.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #00 K. Elliott, 5.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #10 A. Gaulden, 3.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #03 E. Wakefield/#02 T. Perez, 1.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #33 C. Polk, 1.0 bpg
The Series
BYU leads the overall series, 7-0. The last time the two teams played was on Dec. 5, 2012, in Provo where the Cougars recorded the 70-48 home victory.
New Mexico at a glance
The Lobos are hosting the tournament and have a 2-1 record to date. Their wins have been over Farleigh Dickinson and New Mexico State. New Mexico plays Tulsa in the second game on Friday. The Lobos just have one returning starter but have seven returning letterwinners. UNM was selected to finish sixth in the Mountain West Conference race this season.
The Lobos have three players recording double figures in scoring, led by 15.3 points per game from Alex Lapeyrolerie. Richelle van der Keijl, who is also the team’s leading rebounder pulling down 12.7 boards, follows with 15.0 points a contest. Mykiel Burleson rounds out the scoring output with her 14.7 points per game. New Mexico is shooting 40.6 percent from the field and 51.1 percent from the charity stripe.
• Head coach: Mike Bradbury (Chattanooga, ’94), First season
• Team’s leading scorer: #04 A. Lapeyrolerie, 15.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #15 R. van der Keijl, 12.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #00 C. Beynon, 9.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #32 K. Keller, 1.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #15 R. van der Keijl, 1.7 bpg
The Series
In the series between the two former conference foes, the Cougars lead 40-28. The last time the two teams played was on Mar. 3, 2011 in Albuquerque where BYU came away with the 65-49 win. Head Coach Jeff Judkins has an 8-16 record against the Lobos.
What’s up next
The Cougars continue their nonconference schedule on the road. They are in Maui, Hawaii, competing in the Maui Wahine Classic. They play UNLV on Friday, Dec. 2 and No. 18 Oregon State on Saturday, Dec. 3.