OGDEN, Utah – Jennifer Hamson led BYU women’s basketball to a 90-85 win on the road at Weber State on Tuesday for the team’s best start in school history.

“Great comback,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “I can't say enough about these girls to believe in themselves and not give up and just continue to execute and do what we needed to do. I think the zone won us the game in the second half. It got them (Weber State) out of rhythm. It got them standing around. This was a great performance by a lot of players.”

Hamson led the team with 23 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks. Lexi Eaton had 25 points and three boards, while Kim Beeston went 6 of 9 from the 3-point line to get 18 points.

BYU (9-0) finished the game shooting 57 percent compared to just 38 percent from the floor for the Wildcats (4-4), but Weber State shot 23 more shots than the Cougars. BYU outrebounded the Wildcats 37-35 overall.

The Wildcats started the second half on a 9-1 run,  extending their largest lead at 24 points. Eaton quickly followed with three-straight layups to cut into the Weber State lead and make the score 65-48, Wildcats.

A 3-pointer from Beeston and a bucket from Hamson cut the Weber State lead to 10 at 72-62, and a pair of Hamson free throws cut the lead to single digits at 77-68.

Beeston hit another 3-pointer to cut the Wildcat lead to two and a Hamson bucket followed to tie the score at 85. Xojian Harry hit a 3-pointer assisted by Stephanie Rovetti to take the Cougars’ first lead since the 6-4 mark. Rovetti sealed the road victory with a pair of free throws, making the final score 90-85.

The Cougars jumped out to a 6-0 lead to begin the game with points coming from three different players. The Wildcats then went on a 7-0 run of their own to counter and take a 7-6 advantage.

BYU turned the ball over often in the first few minutes of the game resulting in 13 points for Weber State helping them pull ahead with an 11-point lead at 33-22.

A 7-0 run fueled the Wildcats to a 16-point lead at 38-22. The run was helped in part by the Wildcats shooting 4 for 5 from the 3-point line early on.

Weber State took its largest lead of the half, 56-38 from a fast-break layup as time expired in the first half of action.

The Wildcats led by as many as 24 points at 63-39 in the second half of play, while the Cougars’ largest lead was six when they opened the game.

BYU returns home to the Marriott Center this Saturday to play Utah in its second of three consecutive in-state rival games. The game will begin at 2 p.m. MST and will be broadcast live on BYUtv. Links to live stats can be found on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page. 

Postgame Notes
Team
After being down by 24 points three minutes into the second half of action, the BYU women’s basketball team battled back to take a five-point, 90-85 road win going on a 14-0 run to close out the game. The Cougars outscored Weber State in the second half 52 to 29. BYU went into the break down by 18, 56-38.

BYU shot 57 percent from the field and 56 percent from 3-point range, both are season bests for the team to date.

The 90 points the Cougars scored against the Wildcats are the most points scored by the team this season.

For the fourth time this year, four Cougar players finished with double digits in scoring, Lexi Eaton (25), Jennifer Hamson (23), Kim Beeston (18) and Xojian Harry (11).

The Cougars outrebounded the Wildcats by two, 37-35 making it the seventh time the team has pulled down more boards than their opponents this season.

Player
Lexi Eaton led all scorers with a game-high 25 points on 7 of 15 shooting. She also grabbed three rebounds before fouling out late in the game.

Jennifer Hamson nearly recorded a triple double, scoring 23 points, pulling down 11 rebounds and tallying a game-best nine blocks.

Kim Beeston tallied double digit scoring for the sixth time this season with 18 points on 6 of 10 shooting while dishing out five assists, which tied for team highs.

Ashley Garfield dished out career bests in assists with five tying for team highs in that category. She also contributed five points and three rebounds before fouling out with seven minutes remaining in the game.

The 11 points scored off the bench by Xojian Harry mark the second time this year that she has put up double digits in scoring.

After a closely fought 52-51 road win at Creighton on Saturday, the BYU women’s basketball team (8-0) takes its undefeated record on the road for one last time in December. The Cougar women take a short trip to Ogden to battle in-state foe Weber State (4-3) on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. Fans can follow the action live on BYU Radio.

About BYU
The 8-0 start to the 2013-14 season is the team’s best start since the 2005-06 campaign when they went 8-0 before losing a home game to NC State. They finished with a 10-1 record heading into league play that season.

BYU has three players scoring in double figures while averaging 71 points per game and holding opponents to 62 points.  The Cougars have recorded more blocks than opponents in all games and have dished out more assists in seven of the eight games played to date. They tied with Arizona at 18 assists each.

In the coaches’ preseason poll, BYU was picked to finish fourth in the WCC regular season race behind San Diego, Saint Mary’s and league favorite Gonzaga. Senior center Jennifer Hamson was named to the preseason all-conference team, her second such honor.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) enters his 13th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #5 Jennifer Hamson, 18.5 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #5 J. Hamson, 9.9 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #4 Kim Beeston, 4.1 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #4 Beeston, 1.6 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #5 Hamson, 3.8 bpg

About Weber State
Weber State has compiled a 4-3 record to date getting wins over Walla Walla, Montana Western, Air Force and Utah Valley Univ.

The Wildcats return 11 players from last year’s squad including all five starters. Weber State is averaging 73 points per game and pulling down 40 rebounds. They are holding opponents to scoring 61 points per contest. Four players on the team are putting up double figures in points in all games played to date.

The Wildcats were picked to finish 11th in the Big Sky Conference this year.

• Head coach: Bethann Ord (Maryland-Baltimore County, 1989) 2nd season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 Desiree Ramos, 14.4 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #14 Taysia Gray, 8.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #21 Ramos, 4.4 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #34 Regina Okoye, 4.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #34 Okoye, 1.5 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 40-9. When playing in Ogden, the Cougars have a 15-7 edge

Last Meeting
Second-chance points and a disruptive defense helped the BYU women’s basketball team defeat Weber State 80-55 on Nov. 9, 2012 in Provo in the team’s home opener.

BYU scored 16 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds and forced the visiting Wildcats to turn the ball over 27 times.

Three players scored in double digits for BYU, with Lexi Eaton leading the pack with 24 points, three rebounds and four assists. Kim Beeston scored 13 points on 5 for 11 shooting, making three 3-pointers on the night. Morgan Bailey grabbed seven rebounds and added 11 points for the Cougars.

After leading by 17, 42-25 at halftime, Bailey gave BYU a 21-point advantage on a layup two minutes into the second half before the Wildcats went on a 14-0 run closing the gap to seven.

The Cougars fought back and regained a 13-point cushion with just over seven minutes remaining in the game and would lead by 16, 71-55 with 2:53 showing on the clock.

Up Next
After the road game in Ogden, BYU women’s basketball returns to the comfort of the Marriott Center for its next two games against in-state rivals.

The Cougar women host Utah on Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2 p.m. The following Saturday, Dec. 21, Utah State comes to Provo for a 2 p.m., matchup. Both of the games are scheduled to air live on BYUtv.