PROVO, Utah—BYU women’s basketball (7-6, 1-1) picked up its first win in West Coast Conference play with a 76-59 home win over LMU.
The Cougar women continue WCC play at home hosting Saint Mary’s (6-7, 1-1) Thursday, Jan. 5, at 7 p.m. MT. The game will be televised live on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio.
BYU at a glance
Junior guard Cassie Broadhead leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging 17.1 points and 4.0 rebounds a game. Senior guard Makenzi Pulsipher is next with 13.0 points and 4.0 boards per contest. Senior forward Kalani Purcell rounds out the double-digit scoring for BYU, contributing 12.1 points and a team-high 9.2 rebounds a game.
After playing in 13 games, the Cougars are scoring 64.8 points per game while shooting 41.5 percent from the field, 32.6 percent from 3-point range and 69.1 percent from the free throw line. The team also pulls down 35.8 rebounds a contest.
In this year’s WCC preseason poll voted on 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-WCC team.
• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78), 16th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #20 C. Broadhead, 17.1 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 9.2 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 4.9 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #32 K. Purcell, 2.2 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20 C. Broadhead, 1.0 bpg
SMC at a glance
Saint Mary’s has compiled a 6-7, 1-1 record, recording a league win over LMU. The Gaels lost to San Diego last Saturday.
The Gaels return seven letterwinners and four starters from last year’s team that compiled a 24-8, 14-4 record.
Similar to the Cougars, Saint Mary’s has three players scoring in double figures, led by 13.8 points from Stella Beck. Sydney Raggio is next, contributing 11.6 points a game. Megan McKay rounds out the scoring, chipping in 11.1 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per contest.
SMC is scoring 71.2 points per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 33.7 percent from 3-point range and 67.9 percent from the free-throw line. The Gaels grab 42.2 rebounds a game.
• Head coach: Paul Thomas (Wayne State College, ‘88), 11th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 S. Beck, 13.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #25 M. McKay, 7.6 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #25 M. McKay, 3.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #21 S. Beck, 1.2 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #10 C. Turner, .92 bpg
The Series
The all-time series between these two schools is tied at 6-6. Last season, the Cougars swept the series over the Gaels. When playing in Provo, SMC has a 2-4 mark and head coach Jeff Judkins is 5-6 against Saint Mary’s.
Coming up
After Thursday’s home game, BYU is back in WCC action on the road. The team travels to Stockton to play at Pacific on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 2 p.m. PT. The game can be heard live on BYU Radio and streamed online on TheW.tv.