LAS VEGAS – BYU women’s basketball got 23 points apiece from sophomore guard Nani Falatea and junior forward Lauren Gustin to fuel a 74-59 win over Pepperdine to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2023 University Credit U West Coast Conference Tournament on Friday afternoon at the Orleans Arena.

"I feel like they are coming together at the right time," BYU head coach Amber Whiting said. "They are learning about each other and really buying into the defensive game plans that we are setting forward and they are doing pretty well."

Falatea posted 23 points and seven assists while Gustin continued to be a force on the boards with 18 rebounds to go along with her 23 points. It was her 26th double-double of the season. The 18 boards tied the WCC record for rebounds in a tournament game. 

BYU was in control for most of the game, building leads throughout every quarter, putting the game further out of reach out of halftime with a 24-point third quarter.

The Cougars shot 48.3 percent from the field while holding Pepperdine to 42.1 percent, including a 3 for 12 mark from distance. BYU also got 13 points, four assists, four rebounds and three steals from Arielle Mackey-Williams while Emma Calvert chipped in seven points and four rebounds. 

Box Score

First quarter
BYU got its first lead after a make from Gustin on the baseline and a steal and score right away by Mackey-Williams for two more to make it 6-4 in the first two minutes of the game. Mackey-Williams added her first trey of the game inside of four minutes to go in the first quarter for an 11-8 edge.

Falatea hit a buzzer-beater step-back triple at the end of the first quarter to give BYU a 16-10 lead. Falatea had seven points in the quarter to lead all scorers.

Second quarter
BYU got on an 8-2 run to start the second quarter, capped off by an easy Gustin two thanks to a pass into the post by Mackey-Wiliams for a 24-12 advantage to double up the Waves.

After a 6-1 run from Pepperdine, Falatea answered with a three from the corner after an offensive board from Heather Hamson to keep the possession alive and fuel a 28-18 advantage.  

BYU took a 34-27 lead into halftime, despite both Gustin and Falatea having two fouls apiece and Calvert on the bench with three. Falatea led all scorers with 12 points, the fifth time in seven games Falatea had double digits before halftime.

The Cougars shot 50 percent from the field in the first half while holding the Waves to just 37.9 percent and 1 of 7 from the 3-point line.

Third quarter
BYU kept the pressure on to start the second half, pushing the lead to 45-36 with 4:48 to go in the third quarter. Kaylee Smiler drained a 3-pointer after a Pepperdine timeout to make it 48-36.

A 13-2 run over three minutes pushed the Cougar lead to 56-38 with just under two minutes left until the final frame. Falatea made it an even 20-points with another score inside of one minute.

Fourth quarter
Pepperdine continued to hang around with a 7-3 run to start the fourth quarter, trimming BYU’s lead to 61-47 at the 7:13 mark.

The Waves tried a full-court press to try to chip away at the deficit and make it a single-digit lead at one time but came away empty-handed in the end as the Cougars stayed in control for and won it 74-59 to advance.

BYU will play No. 4 seed San Francisco on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT at the Orleans Arena. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and the WCC Network.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The West Coast Conference announced the seeding for the 2022-23 University Credit Union WCC Women's Basketball Tournament Monday night. 

BYU women’s basketball earned a first-round bye with the No. 5 seed and is slated to play on Friday, March 3 at 12 p.m. PT. The Cougars will face the winner of Santa Clara and Pepperdine who play the 8/9 game on Thursday, March 2 at 12 p.m. PT.

This afternoon, Portland defeated BYU in Provo. As a result of that outcome, BYU and San Francisco tied in the WCC standings. Conference seeding tiebreakers for two teams factor in head-to-head competition, then won-loss record versus each league member from the top down. The Cougars and Dons split in regular season action and both first-place Gonzaga and second-place Portland swept BYU and USF. Against third-placed San Diego, USF was 2-0 while BYU split. The Dons secured the double bye as the No. 4 seed and will take the court for the first time on Saturday, March 4. 

Following Gonzaga's Saturday afternoon win over BYU and Portland's loss to San Diego; the Zags are the WCC 2022-23 Regular Season Champions and will be the No. 1 seed. Top-seed Gonzaga and No. 2 seed Portland were each awarded triple byes heading into the tournament as the Conference announced the full women's tournament bracket on Monday. 

Both the Bulldogs and the Pilots will advance to Monday's semifinals.

Having won seven of its last nine to conclude the regular season, San Diego is positioned as the No. 3 seed. The Toreros edged Santa Clara in overtime two weeks ago before taking down Portland last Saturday. USD will take the court for the first time on Saturday, March 4. 

The opening round on Thursday will feature the No. 8 seed Santa Clara battling No. 9 Pepperdine in the first women's game at 12 p.m. PT, followed by No. 7 seed Saint Mary's facing No. 10 LMU at 2:30 p.m. PT. 

BYU will play the winner of Santa Clara/Pepperdine on Friday, March 3, at 12 p.m. PT and Pacific will play the winner of Saint Mary's/LMU on Friday, March 3, at 2:30 p.m. PT. 

The 2023 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament will be held from March 2-7 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The first four rounds of the women’s tournament and the first two rounds of the men’s tournament will be televised on the WCC’s regional sports network partners, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports California, ROOT Sports NW, Bally Sports West, Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports San Diego, as well as BYUtv. These games will also be available online on the WCC Network. ESPN will televise the quarterfinals and semifinals of the men’s tournament, and the championship games of both the men’s and women’s tournament.
 
FINAL 2022-23 REGULAR SEASON WCC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS

 
2023 UNIVERSITY CREDIT UNION WCC WOMEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT 
 
Thursday, March 2 – Women’s and Men’s First Round
12:00 p.m. – Women’s Game 1: No. 8 Santa Clara vs. No. 9 Pepperdine  (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
2:30 p.m. – Women’s Game 2: No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 LMU (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
6:00 p.m. – Men’s Game 1: No.  8 Portland vs. No. 9 San Diego (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
8:30 p.m. – Men’s Game 2: No. 7 Pacific vs. No. 10 Pepperdine (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
 
Friday, March 3 – Women’s and Men’s Second Round
12:00 p.m. – Women’s Game 3: No. 5 BYU vs. Winner Game 1 (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
2:30 p.m. – Women’s Game 4: No. 6 Pacific vs. Winner Game 2 (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
6:00 p.m. – Men’s Game 3: No. 5 seed BYU vs. Winner Game 1 (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
8:30 p.m. Men’s Game 4: No. 6 seed San Francisco vs. Winner Game 2 (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
 
Saturday, March 4 –Women’s and Men’s Quarterfinals
1:00 p.m. – Women’s Game 5: No. 4 USF vs. Winner Game 3 (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
3:30 p.m. – Women’s Game 6: No. 3 San Diego vs. Winner Game 4 (RSNs/BYUtv/WCC Network)
7:00 p.m. – Men’s Game 5: No. 4 seed LMU vs. Winner Game 3 (ESPN2)
9:30 p.m. – Men’s game 6: No. 3 seed Santa Clara vs. Winner Game 4 (ESPN2)
 
Monday, March 6 –Women’s and Men’s Semifinals
12:00 p.m. – Women’s game 7: No. 1 Gonzaga vs. Winner Game 5 (RSNs/BYUtv)
2:30 p.m. – Women’s Game 8: No. 2 Portland vs. Winner Game 6 (RSNs/BYUtv)
6:00 p.m. – Men’s Game 7: No. 1 seed Saint Mary's vs. Winner Game 5 (ESPN)
8:30 p.m. – Men’s Game 8: No. 2 seed Gonzaga vs. Winner Game 6 (ESPN2)
 
Tuesday, March 7 – Women’s and Men’s Finals
1:00 p.m. – Women’s Basketball Championship: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (ESPNU)
6:00 p.m. – Men’s Basketball Championship: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (ESPN)
 
Single-session tickets for the University Credit Union WCC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament are available here.