LAS VEGAS – Five Cougars scored in double figures as No. 2 seed BYU women’s basketball defeated No. 3 seed Pacific 77-64 to advance to the West Coast Conference Tournament championship game. BYU will face Gonzaga in the title game on Tuesday at 1 p.m. PDT on ESPNU.

“I’m really proud of these girls,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “We started the game really well and then got into early foul trouble with two of our key players. Kim (Beeston) and Kylie (Maeda) then stepped up offensively for us. This team knows how to win.”

Video Highlights and Interviews

BYU (26-5) hit 48 percent of its shots from beyond-the-arc as 11 3-pointers found their way through the hoop. Pacific (18-12) was held to just 37 percent shooting from the floor during the game.

Lexi Eaton scored a team-high 17 points to lead BYU while Kim Beeston (12), Kylie Maeda (12), Jennifer Hamson (11) and Stephanie Rovetti (10) also reached double-digit point totals. Hamson also led the team on the glass, getting eight boards.

Beeston rattled in a 3-pointer to start the game for BYU. Pacific’s Hailie Eackles followed with a 3-pointer of her own to tie the game at 3-3.

Maeda soon after hit a pair of 3-pointers followed by an Ashley Garfield layup to cap a 15-2 run that gave the Cougars an 18-5 advantage.

BYU took an 18-point lead at 29-11 after Rovetti drove to the basket and followed with a made free throw to complete the three-point play.

The Cougars were in early foul trouble with nine minutes left to play in the first half after Eaton and Hamson each picked up three early fouls and were forced to take a seat on the bench.

The Tigers closed out the first 20 minutes of action on a 10-1 run to cut BYU’s lead to 35-24 at the break.

Both teams traded buckets coming out of halftime until five-straight points from Pacific’s Kiki Moore cut the Cougar lead to single digits at 40-31.

Pacific’s Moore then singlehandedly went on an 8-2 run by driving to the basket to bring her team within six at 51-45.

That was followed with a 11-0 run for BYU, helped by two 3-pointers from Eaton, to bring the Cougars’ lead back to 17 at 62-45.

It was all BYU from that point as the Cougars cruised to a 77-64 win.

The Cougars continue play in the WCC Tournament championship game tomorrow at 1 p.m. PDT. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. LInks to live stats can be found on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.

Postgame Notes
Team
For the first time this season, the Cougars finished the game with five players in double digit scoring. Lexi Eaton led the way with 17 points. Teammates Kylie Maeda and Kim Beeston recorded 12 points each. Jennifer Hamson tallied 11 points while pulling down a team-best eight rebounds. Stephanie Rovetti rounded out the double figure scoring with 10.

BYU dished out a total of 14 assists in the game, making it the 25^th time this season the Cougars have recorded more assists than their opponent. Pacific finished the game with eight.

For the 27^th time this year the Cougars had more blocks than their opponents. BYU had two while the Tigers didn’t have any.

BYU scored 22 points off of Pacific miscues.

The Cougars got 17 points from their bench. The Tigers had 12 points from their bench.

In second chance points, Pacific had the edge with 12 points compared with 11 from BYU.

Player
Lexi Eaton picked up her 24^th game this year tallying double digits in points with a team-best 17. She also pulled down three rebounds and dished out two assists.

Kylie Maeda led BYU with 11 points in the first half of action, nine were from 3-point range. She finished the game with 12 while also recording a team-best three steals. It’s the sixth time this year she has finished a game with 10-plus points.

Kim Beeston scored a total of 12 points for her 21^st game this year with double figures in points. She also led the way in assists with a team-best three, while grabbing four rebounds.

Despite fouling out of the game with 3:00 minutes remaining, Jennifer Hamson picked up her 28^th game scoring in double figures with 11 while pulling down a team-best eight rebounds.

Stephanie Rovetti came off the bench providing a big lift for the Cougars, tallying 10 points for her third game this season scoring in double figures. She also went 5 of 6 from the free throw line and pulled down four rebounds.

Morgan Bailey had a game-high two blocks along with eight points, five rebounds and two assists.

LAS VEGAS—With a 77-51 victory over Pepperdine, No. 2 seed BYU women’s basketball (25-5) advanced to the semifinals of the 2014 WCC Basketball Championships.

Riding a nine-game winning streak, the Cougar women will battle No. 3 Pacific (18-11), Monday, March 10 at approximately 2:30 p.m. The Tigers advanced in the tournament with an 84-72 victory over Portland.

About BYU
This will be the third straight time that BYU has advanced to the semiflinals of the WCC championships.  WCC Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Jennifer Hamson, leads BYU in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. She averages 18.3 ppg, 11.4 rpg and 4.2 bpg. Hamson leads the nation in blocked shots, ranks 13th in rebounds per game, 14th in double-doubles, and 18th in field goal percentage.

Three other Cougars are averaging double figures in points, with Lexi Eaton chipping in 17.0, followed by 11.6 points from Kim Beeston. Junior forward Morgan Bailey rounds out the scoring output, contributing 10.7 points. She is second on the team in rebounding, pulling down 7.1 per contest.

BYU is averaging 72.7 points per game, while holding opponents to 63.6 points. The Cougars, who rank sixth in the country in blocked shots per game, have recorded more blocks than their opponent in 26 games and have dished out more assists in 24 of the 30 games played to date. The team has also recorded more rebounds than its opponents in 23 contests.

About Pacific
Pacific (18-11) advanced to the semifinals of the 2014 WCC Championships with an 84-72 victory over Portland. It finished in third place in the WCC regular season and earned the No. 3 seed into the league championships.

The Tigers have three players scoring in double digits with 16.3 points coming from Kendall Kenyon. Teammate Kiki Moore follows with 16.1 points with Madison Parrish contributing 11.3 points per game. Kenyon leads the team in the rebound category, pulling down 10.5 boards. Moore tops the list in assists dishing out 4.5 assists per game.  Pacific averages 77.4 points and 39.2 rebounds a contest while holding opponents to 71.4 points per game.

Series History
BYU leads the series 6-2. The Cougars and Tigers split the regular season meetings with each squad winning on the opposing team’s home court. When playing at a neutral venue, the Cougars have the 1-0 edge. The last time the two played on a neutral court was during the 1993-94 season when the two teams participated in the Idaho Tournament. In that contest, the Cougars picked up a 77-56 win on Dec. 4, 1993.

Game Summaries in 2014 campaign
In the first meeting in Provo, Sam Pettinger scored four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 16 points in the 75-62 Pacific victory. Despite a game-high 22 points from Jennifer Hamson, BYU was unable to overcome a nine-point halftime deficit. The Cougars were without forward Morgan Bailey who had injured her Achilles tendon. BYU struggled from the three point arc, making just one of 13 attempts.

In the second meeting, Jennifer Hamson again led the Cougars with 25 points to go along with 18 rebounds in the 88-57 win. Three other Cougars also recorded double digits in points, with 19 from Lexi Eaton, 17 from Morgan Bailey and 15 from Kim Beeston. BYU also had the season’s best free throw percentage .909, (20-22). Kiki Moore led the Tigers with 17 points with 13 points coming from Kendall Kenyon and 10 from Madison Parrish. 

Up Next
A win over Pacific would send the Cougars to the league’s championship finals scheduled for Tuesday, March 11 at 1 p.m., versus the winner of the other semifinal game between Gonzaga and St. Mary’s. The winner of the WCC championships receives an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA tournament.