PROVO -- A season-high 1,327 fans were in attendance to watch the BYU women’s basketball team take down conference rival Utah 68-50, Wednesday, at the Marriott Center.
“I’m really happy,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "It’s a nice win for us. We didn’t really shoot well until the end, but we took heart and kept playing defense. When a team misses shots like that, they tend not to rebound or stay aggressive, but we did.”
Haley Hall guided the Cougars (11-6, 3-0) to victory in the second half, scoring all of her 16 points after halftime. Jennifer Hamson and Mindy Bonham also hit double figures with 10 points each. Hall and Bonham led in assists, each with four. Coriann Fraughton grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, tying as a game-high.
The Cougars were hot under the hoop, grabbing 46 boards to Utah’s 29 and forcing 13 turnovers for the Utes. The BYU bench outscored Utah’s 24-4.
Tension was high in the opening minutes as BYU fired off six rapid points to take the lead and kept momentum rolling through the first half.
Full-court pressure from BYU did its job, running the shot clock out for the Utes and leading to four steals in the first half. The Cougars scored 10 points off the turnovers.
BYU kept at least a five-point lead for most of the half, but with four minutes left, Utah’s Chelsea Bridgewater put in a layup to bring the score to 25-24.
Dani Peterson scored four to end the half with a 29-26 Cougar lead.
No one scored for the first three minutes of the second half until Michelle Plouffe laid the ball in for the Utes (9-8, 2-1). Utah free throws tied the game, but a layup from Hamson pushed the Cougars ahead with 15 minutes left to play.
Redshirt freshman Kim Parker hit a key three-pointer with 12 minutes to play, giving the Cougars a seven-point lead. Kristen Riley pushed that lead to 10 at the seven minute mark.
“We didn’t shoot well for basically the first three quarters of the game, but when Kim hit that huge shot," Hall said. "That definitely took the lid off of the basket."
Hall had the final say of the game as she sank one last shot from behind the arc to end it at 68-50.
Utah’s Plouffe led the game with 20 points with 17 boards and Janita Badon had 17 points.
After a bye this weekend, the Cougars are back on the road to take on TCU at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19. They return to the Marriott Center on Jan. 22 to take on Colorado State.
Post-game Notes
Team Notes
-This is the fifth game this season to see three BYU players shooting in double-figures. This game is also the fourth consecutive game for the Cougars with more than two players scoring in double-digits
-The Cougars are now 10-0 when they lead at the half, 9-4 when they make more than five 3-pointers, 9-1 when they outrebound their opponent, 6-1 when they play in the Marriott Center and 8-1 when they have less than 11 turnovers
-BYU's 11 turnovers ties as the smallest amount they've had in conference action
-BYU's bench out-scored Utah's 24-4
Player Notes
-Coriann Wood was the only player to record double-digit rebounds against Utah. The 11 are her seventh double-digit rebound performance in her career and fourth this season
-Haley Hall's 16 points led the team for her fifth double-digit scoring performance this season
-Mindy Bonham's 10 points were her 11th double-digit scoring performance this season
-Jennifer Hamson's 10 points were her fourth double-digit scoring performance this season