PROVO, Utah – Lexi Eaton led BYU women's basketball past Pepperdine 77-58 Thursday night at the Marriott Center for head coach Jeff Judkins' 300th win.

"I'm really excited for this win because it keeps us in the hunt for the conference championship," Judkins said. "It's amazing that I've been here that long to get 300 wins. I've had so many great memories here at BYU. Lexi showed tonight why she's not only one of the best players in the conference but in the whole country."

In 14 seasons at the helm of the Cougars, Judkins has now compiled a 300-138 overall record. 

Eaton led BYU with a career high in points (37) and rebounds (14) to go along with five assists. Morgan Bailey added 12 points, all from the second half, as well as eight boards. Makenzi Morrison contributed 10 points and five assists while Kylie Maeda added a team-high eight assists in the Cougar win.

Pepperdine (6-17, 1-11 West Coast Conference) collected the first four points of the game from the charity stripe to take an early 4-0 advantage. BYU (18-5, 10-2 WCC) countered with back-to-back 3-pointers from Morrison and Xojian Harry to take an 8-7 edge.

The teams traded points from there with an Eaton layup tying the game at 15 apiece. Maeda hit an outside shot - assisted by Eaton - to put her team up 20-17, forcing a Waves timeout. 

Eaton scored the next eight points for the Cougars, including consecutive treys, to extend BYU's advantage to eight. That was followed by a Micaelee Orton transition bucket to put the Cougars up by 10, 30-20, forcing another timeout from Pepperdine.

The scoring went back-and-forth until the end of the half as Orton drained a shot at the buzzer to keep BYU in front by double digits, 36-26. Eaton had a near double-double at the intermission with 24 points and eight boards.

Orton scored three of the Cougars' first five points coming out of the break to give her a new career high in that category and put BYU up 41-28. Morrison then completed a three-point play to extend the Cougar lead to 18 at 48-30 as part of an 8-2 BYU run.

Both teams took turns scoring baskets following the Cougar rally as an Eaton free throw extended BYU's advantage at 64-41 and tied her previous career high in points. The Waves followed by making five of their next six shots while limiting the Cougars to 1 of 6 shooting in the same stretch.

BYU stayed composed, however, maintaining its near-20 point advantange through the end of the game, eventually winning 77-58. 

The Cougars return to the Marriott Center Saturday to face off against Loyola Marymount at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Links to live stats and a video feed can be found on the BYU women's basketball schedule page. 

Postgame Notes

Team

BYU led Pepperdine 36-26 going into the half after Micaelee Orton hit a midrange jumper at the buzzer. The Cougars’ largest lead of the game was 23 with 12:03 left in the game. BYU shot 50 percent in the win, holding Pepperdine to 39 percent.

The Cougars outrebounded the Waves 25-14 in the first half, led by eight from Eaton. By the end of the game, the advantage was 42-33.

After the first 20 minutes of action, BYU dished out 10 assists, five more than Pepperdine. The Cougars finished the game with 23 assists, compared to the Waves’ 12.

In the paint, the Cougars outscored the Waves 36-18. BYU also had 10 fast break points compared to Pepperdine’s two.

Player

Lexi Eaton

Eaton scored 37 points and 14 rebounds, both of which are career-highs. This was also her third double-double of the season, the second in a row. She also shot a career-high in field goals made with 14 and field goal attempts with 26.

She led all scorers in the first half with 24 points on 9 of 14 shooting, including three treys. She also had eight rebounds after the first 20 minutes, which were also a game-high.

Kylie Maeda

After the first half, Maeda led all players with four assists. She finished with eight assists, one away from tying her current career-high of nine.

Micaelee Orton

Orton started in the second half for Xojian Harry, who had not yet returned to the game due to injury. She scored a career-high seven points. She also grabbed four rebounds.

Morgan Bailey

Bailey scored her first points on the Cougars’ first possession of the second half on a layup. She finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

Makenzi Morrison

Morrison scored 10 points, including two 3-pointers. She also dished out five assists, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals.

At home for two Thursday and Saturday

Notes for game vs. Loyola Marymount

Notes for game vs. Pepperdine

PROVO, Utah — Fresh off two huge road wins over San Francisco and Santa Clara, BYU women’s basketball is back home this week for two important league games.

The Cougar women (17-5, 9-2) host Pepperdine (6-16, 1-10) Thursday at 7 p.m., and Loyola Marymount (3-19, 1-10) Saturday at 2 p.m. Thursday’s game airs live on BYUtv, while Saturday’s game vs. LMU airs on TheW.tv.

GAME PROMOTIONS 
LMU:  Pink Game, everyone who wears pink gets in for $1

About BYU
Lexi Eaton, a 5-foot-10 junior guard/forward combo, leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging 19.8 points per game. She ranks third in rebounds, pulling down 6.1 boards a contest. Morgan Bailey, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, is in second place in scoring, tallying 18.5 points while leading the way in rebounding, averaging 10.8 boards per game. Bailey became BYU’s 26th player to eclipse 1,000 points in the USF game. The team’s assist leader is Kylie Maeda, who averages 4.2 assists a game.

BYU is averaging 68.1 points per game, while shooting 42.6 percent from the field, 69.8 percent at the free-throw line and 35.5 percent from 3-point land. In all but three games, (at LMU, vs. USF and at Gonzaga), BYU has dished out more assists than its opponents. Most recently, in the home game vs. SMC, both teams tied in the assists category with 11 each. The Cougars have recorded more rebounds in 11 contests to date, have a 13-1 mark when leading at the break and have scored at least 80 points in five games (most recent, a season-high 89 vs. Pacific).

The team has had four players score in double figures in three contests, (most recent at USF) and has had three players finish with double-digit points in seven (most recent vs. USD).

The combined 63 points from Lexi Eaton’s 32 and Morgan Bailey’s 31 points in the win over Pacific on Jan. 15 were the first in program history. No two players have ever scored 30-plus points each in the same game. Bailey has played all 40 minutes in five league games including the last three.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 14th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton, 19.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 M. Bailey, 10.8 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #15 K. Maeda, 4.2 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Morrison, 1.6 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #41, M. Bailey, .55 bpg

About PEPPERDINE
Pepperdine has compiled a 6-16, 1-10 record. Most recently, they dropped home games to Saint Mary’s and Pacific. The Waves are tied with LMU for last place in the most updated league standings.

Bria Richardson (15.3 ppg), Keitra Wallace (13.0 ppg), and Allie Green (11.7 ppg) are the three Pepperdine players scoring in double digits. Wallace also tops the leaderboard in the rebound category, grabbing 5.6 boards a game. The Waves are averaging 63.0 points a game, while shooting 39.1 percent from the field, 30.2 from behind the arc and 72.4 percent from the free-throw line. 

• Head coach: Ryan Weisenberg (Cal Poly, 1997) 2nd Season
• Team’s leading scorer: #10 B. Richardson, 15.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: # 51 K. Wallace, 5.6 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #11 E. Shoushtari, 4.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: # 10 B. Richardson, 2.6 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: # 24 K. Pettepier and #44 K. Brockway, .59 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 9-2. When playing in Provo, Pepperdine is 0-5. Head coach Jeff Judkins has a perfect 8-1 mark vs. the Waves.

Last Meeting
The first meting between these two league foes was played in Malibu on Jan. 10. In that contest, the Cougars recorded an 84-78 victory behind perfect 3-point shooting from Makenzi Morrison. She broke the single-game school record in 3-point field goal percentage going 7 of 7 from behind the arc. Morrison finished the game with a career-high 25 points. Lexi Eaton also scored 20-plus points with 29. Morgan Bailey nearly had a double-double from a game-best 14 rebounds and nine points.

After being down by 10 with 10 minutes left in the first half, BYU went on a 8-0 run to close out the half with a 33-31 lead on a buzzer-beater by Kylie Maeda.

Pepperdine got within two until BYU went on a 6-0 run of its own to push it to 69-62 with 4:36 left. The Cougars had their largest lead of the night after Morrison made her sixth trey to make their lead 74-64.Despite a late push by Pepperdine, BYU held on to the 84-78 win with free throw shooting by Eaton and Maeda.

About LMU
Loyola Marymount enters this week’s league play with a 3-19, 1-10 record and will play at San Diego on Thursday prior to making the trip to Provo.   The Lions are on a three-game losing skid, having dropped home games vs. Saint Mary’s and Pacific.

Three players are tallying double digits in scoring for the Lions, led by 11.9 points from Leslie Lopez-Wood. Taylor Anderson follows with 11.6 points a contest. Rounding out the scoring threat for LMU is Emily Ben-Jumbo, who puts up 10.3 points a game. She, along with Anderson, tops the list in the rebound category, grabbing 6.0 boards each. LMU is averaging 65.5 points per game, while pulling down 36.5 rebounds. The team is shooting 39.2 percent from the field and 71.2 percent from the free-throw line. When shooting from behind the arc, the Lions shoot 30.2 percent.

• Head coach: Charity Elliott (SW Missouri State, 1992) Third Season
• Team’s leading scorer: #23 L. Lopez-Wood, 11.9 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #21 T. Anderson and #15 E. Ben-Jumbo, 6.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #21 T. Anderson, 2.6 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #20 S. Taylor, 1.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: # 20 S. Taylor, .95 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 9-1. LMU has an 0-3 mark when playing in Provo. Head coach Jeff Judkins has a 7-1 record against Loyola Marymount.

Last Meeting
The two WCC foes played each other in Los Angeles on Jan. 8, with the Cougars getting the 71-63 road win. Three BYU players recorded double digits in points led by a double-double from Morgan Bailey who scored game highs in points (22) and rebounds (16). Teammates Lexi Eaton and Makenzi Morrison also had double digits in points with 20 and 14, respectively.

BYU started off shooting the ball poorly, going 2 for 7 in the first seven minutes of the game. LMU capitalized on the off-shooting start and took a 16-5 lead with 12:51 left in the first half. Bailey made a layup, the last bucket of the first half, with 30 seconds remaining to bring the Cougars within five, 23-28 at halftime. The Cougars closed out the half on a 6-0 run, holding the Lions scoreless for the last three minutes.

In the second half, BYU came out strong offensively, taking its first double-digit lead, 61-51 with eight minutes left in the game.

Bailey powered in for a layup with 4:43 remaining in the game for a 63-56 Cougar lead. LMU kept it close towards the end, getting within three points with one minute left. Morrison sealed the game for BYU late, making four free throws and stealing the ball with 10 seconds left. 

Up Next
After playing two WCC games at home, BYU takes its second to last road trip, playing at Saint Mary’s and at Pacific on Feb. 12 and 14.