Box Score

NORMAN, Okla. — Despite double figure performances from Lexi Eaton Rydalch and Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher, BYU women’s basketball fell to No. 24 Oklahoma 73-47, Thursday night.

“It seemed like we didn’t work well as a team tonight,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “Defensively we gave them easy baskets which gave them momentum early. You’ve got to give Oklahoma a lot of credit. They did a good job of not letting us penetrate and kick the ball out to open shooters. We are a great shooting team, but we didn’t swing the ball enough tonight to get great quality shots. We'll learn from this and move forward."

Rydalch finished the game with a team-high 15 points, while Pulsipher, who had a career-high 27 points last week against UVU, chipped in 10. Junior transfer Kalani Purcell grabbed a game-high, and and season-best 14 rebounds.  Purcell also finished the game with a game-high five assists and six points.

The Sooners (2-1) started the game on a 15-5 run over the Cougars (1-1) ending the quarter up 26-17. Oklahoma shot 11 for 16 through the first 10 minutes of play, while BYU shot a solid 7 of 14 from the field shooting 2 of 4 from behind the arc. Pulsipher and Rydalch contributed 12 of the Cougars 17 points scored.

Both teams were plagued by turnovers throughout the first half, giving away nine apiece, with the majority of the giveaways coming in the second period. Oklahoma outscored BYU 14-8 in the second quarter. Rydalch, who played all 20 minutes of the first half, chipped in six of those eight points, which came from back-to-back 3-point plays as she was fouled driving to the hoop. She finished the half with a team-high 13 points with BYU going into the half down 40-25.

Pulsipher got the Cougars on the board to start the second half with her second 3-pointer of the game at the 8:52 mark for a 43-28 score. The Sooners then went on an 11-1 run triggered by a series of BYU turnovers to go up 54-29. The Cougars finished the game with a total of 24 turnovers to the Sooners 16.

Amanda Wayment came in off the bench and stopped the Sooner run with back-to-back buckets. The first was an 18-foot jumper, which was then followed by a 3-point play. Wayment finished the game with a career-high five points.

Oklahoma outscored the Cougars 25-15 in the third period to go up 60-45 going into the final period of play.

It was a low scoring fourth quarter with just 15 total points scored between both teams, with six of those points coming from the free-throw line. BYU finished the game shooting 13 for 21 from the charity stripe while the Sooners went 8 for 16.

The Cougars grabbed 35 boards to the Sooners 36. 

BYU’s bench outscored Oklahoma’s bench 14 to 10. Wayment and teammate Kristine Fuller Nielson both contributed five points each. Freshman Jasmine Moody added another four points, and sophomore Cassie Broadhead added four rebounds.

BYU will travel to Fort Collins, Colorado, to play Colorado State Saturday at 7 p.m. MST. The game can be heard live on BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143 and on the internet at byuradio.org/listen. The game can also be seen on the Mountain West Network.

Postgame Notes

Team
For the game, the Cougars concluded the game with the advantage in points scored by the bench, 14 to 10.

The Cougars shot 62 percent from the free throw line compared with just 50 percent for the Sooners.

In the rebound category, the Cougars had 14 compared with 16 for the Sooners at the break. For the game, BYU finished with 35 boards while Oklahoma grabbed 36.

BYU shot just 37 percent from the field in the first half and finished the game shooting 32 percent from the field and 29 percent from behind the arc.

Player
Kalani Purcell

Kalani Purcell had the most rebounds for BYU after two periods with five. She also dished out the most assists with four. For the game, Purcell finished with a game-best 15 rebounds and a team-high five assists. She also contributed six points in the game.

Lexi Eaton Rydalch

Lexi Eaton Rydalch led the way for the Cougars in the first half with 13 points. Rydalch finished the game with a team-high 15 points for her second straight double figure outing in points on the year. The total points are the 86^th career game with double digits in points for Rydalch.

Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher

Makenzi Morrision Pulsipher picked up her second straight game scoring in double figures with 10 points. It’s the 18^th career outing putting up double figures in points. She also had three rebounds and went 2 for 2 from the free throw line.

Amanda Wayment

Amanda Wayment came off the bench for the Cougars and recorded season-and career-bests in points with five. 

PROVO, Utah— After opening the season at home with a 78-62 win over in-state foe Utah Valley, BYU women’s basketball continues its nonconference schedule with its first road trip of the year. The Cougar women (1-0) are at No. 18 Oklahoma (1-0) on Thurs., Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. CT. Fans can listen to the game on BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143 and on the internet at byuradio.org/listen. The game will also have streamed video on the Fox Sports Go app., and can be watch on Fox Sports if you have the Fox Sports Regional package on your cable plan. Video link to Fox SportsGo.

Game Notes for game #2

ABOUT BYU
Three returning starters and nine letterwinners anchor this year’s team. Senior All-American Lexi Eaton Rydalch is back for her final year in a BYU uniform as the team’s leading scorer (20.5) and leading rebounder (6.5). Point guard Kylie Maeda also returns as the second senior on the squad. Maeda is the team’s assist leader (4.2) while also contributing 6.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.  Junior Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher is the third returning starter on the 2015-16 squad. Pulsipher has the team’s best 3-point field goal percentage, shooting .411 and adds 9.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

Key letterwinners back with solid playing experience include juniors Kristine Fuller Nielson and Micaelee Orton who have the most experience, being on teams that played  in back-to-back NCAA tournaments and won a conference championship title. Sophomores Cassie Broadhead and Amanda Wayment will come off the bench providing solid minutes for the team.

JC transfer Kalani Purcell, from Hamilton, New Zealand, is one of the top newcomers on this year’s squad. In her two years at Hutchinson Community College (Kansas), she averaged a double-double with 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game and guided the team to a 72-2 record including back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA national championship game. She also brings a lot of international playing experience having been a member of the New Zealand National Team in 2013 and 2015.

Freshmen Jasmine Moody and MaCayla Hanks are also expected to contribute this year. Haley Bodnar, another freshmen, will sit out this season per NCAA rules since transferring from Purdue.

In the first game of the year vs. UVU, Pulsipher led the way with a career afternoon from 27 points, 18  of which came from behind the arc. Maeda dished out a game-high seven assists. Purcell and Wayment topped the list in the rebound category with seven apiece. BYU shot 44 percent from the field and 85 percent from the free throw line vs. the Wolverines.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 15th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #23 M. Morrison Pulsipher, 27.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell & #4 A. Wayment, 7.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #03 K. Maeda, 7.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 Pulsipher & #20 C. Broadhead, 2.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #34, M. Orton, .1.0  bpg

ABOUT OKLAHOMA
No. 24 Oklahoma (1-1) on the year defeated Winthrop 78-48 and then dropped a close 61-57 game to North Texas. Both games were played at home. The Sooners return four starters from a team that compiled a 21-12 record last season and finished in second place in the Big 12 with a 13-5 mark. Oklahoma advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament losing in overtime to Stanford.

After two games, the Sooners are scoring 67.5 points per game while shooting 41 percent from the field, 34 percent from behind the arc and 63 percent at the free throw line.

• Head coach: Sherri Coale (Oklahoma Christian, ‘87) 19 years
• Team’s leading scorer: #10 P. Little, 17.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #42 K. Williams, 9.5 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #02 T. Edwards, 2,7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #03 M. Seals, 1.2 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #40 S. Loggins, 1.2 bpg

Series History
Oklahoma leads the series 3-1.

Last Time
These two teams met last during the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2006. In that game on March 20, 2006, the Sooners ended BYU’s season with an 86-70 victory in Denver, Colorado at the Pepsi Center.

What’s Next
After the game at Oklahoma, the BYU women continue competing on the road. They are Colorado State on Sat. Nov. 21. The Cougars and Rams game tips off at 7 p.m. MT and can be heard live on BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143 and on the internet at byuradio.org/listen