PROVO, Utah –In their final home game at the Marriott Center, seniors Haley Steed, Dani Peterson and Kristen Riley left their mark en route to a 84-57 BYU women’s basketball victory over the Santa Clara Broncos on Thursday.

“I thought we played really well and I’m happy for my seniors,” said BYU coach Jeff Judkins. “You couldn’t ask for a better senior group. They’re well rounded, tough and they have great leadership. It’s definitely hard to say goodbye to these seniors.”

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The seniors dominated the game from start to finish, contributing on all ends of the floor. Riley led the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Peterson added 11 points and 13 rebounds. Steed was one point short of the third double-double by the seniors with nine points and 11 assists. With the total assists Steed set the all-time single season record for total assists with 206.

“Our inside presence tonight really hurt them,” Judkins said. “I think that was our advantage. The girls do well in finding out our advantage over the other team and I would attribute that to Haley. Her leadership guides the team.”

The Cougars (24-5, 12-3) started off quick, jumping out to an early 7-0 lead. However, Santa Clara (11-17, 4-11) clawed back, using a 5-2 run of its own to cut the lead.

From that point on, it was all Cougars.

With 13:35 left in the first half, Steed received a pass at the top of the key and drained a 3 from well beyond the arc, bringing the crowd to its feet. Steed would connect on her next two 3-point attempts, helping BYU to a 46-22 halftime lead.

The second half mirrored that of the first as Riley scored the first two points, giving her 1,000 for her career. She is the 22^nd Cougar to achieve that feat.

“All of our hard work boils down to these games,” Steed said. “We need to win against Gonzaga. Today was emotional though. We love playing here, it’s our home and we’re glad to have been able to play so well tonight.”

BYU will travel to Spokane on Saturday for a chance to win the West Coast Conference regular-season title. BYU and Gonzaga tip off at 2 p.m. PST.

Postgame Notes

Team

BYU took the early lead on a 7-0 run and didn’t give up the lead the entire game.

The Cougars shot 46.4 percent from the field and 42.1 percent from beyond the arc, holding Santa Clara to 28.3 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from 3-point.

BYU had 30 assists to the Broncos’ 11. BYU lead 48-14 in the paint and 24-0 on second chance points. BYU’s bench also outscored Santa Clara’s 28-15.

Two of the three seniors recorded double-doubles—Kristen Riley and Dani Peterson—and five players in double figures. The last time five scored in double digits was in BYU’s road victory against Santa Clara earlier this season.

Players

Senior Kristen Riley reached 1,000 career points, becoming the 22nd Cougar in history to reach 1,000. Riley passed former teammate Coriann Fraughton to become No. 21 on the all-time career points list with 1,009. She also recorded a double-double in her last game in the Marriott Center with her 17 points and 10 rebounds. In addition, Riley contributed two assists and two blocks. The double-double was her 10th double-double this season and 14th of her career.

Senior Dani Peterson also ended her career in the Marriott Center with a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 boards, a season and career high, for her . She also had four assists.

Senior Haley Steed was just short of a double-double with nine points and 11 assists. She also had three 3-pointers, shooting 75 percent from beyond the arc, five rebounds and three steals. With the 11 assists, Steed set the all-time single season record for total assists with 206. The previous record was set by Valerie Cravens during the 1981-82 season.

Jennifer Hamson totaled 14 points and six rebounds, shooting 100 percent from the free-throw line.

Stephanie Vermunt shot a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc for 12 points. She also had three rebounds and three assists.

Kim Parker was the fifth Cougar in double figures with 11 points. She also had six assists and two rebounds.

In second place in the latest WCC standings, BYU women’s basketball (23-5, 11-3) competes in the last two regular season WCC games.
On Thurs. Feb. 23 the Cougars host Santa Clara (11-16, 4-10) in a 7 p.m. tip off.
The team then travels to Spokane on Sat. Feb. 25 for a showdown with Gonzaga (24-4, 13-2). That game tips off at 2 p.m., PT.
Thursday night’s game airs live worldwide on BYUtv.
Saturday afternoon’s game airs live on BYU Radio.

GAME PROMOTION - SANTA CLARA: Senior Day Celebration.

2011-12 Team Summary
- Shooting from field: (.439, 737-1679)
- Shooting from three-point line: (.341, 186-546)
- Shooting from free-throw line: (.730, 344-471)
- Average points per game: 71.6
- Average rebounds per game: 40.6
- Average assists per game: 19.0
- Average steals per game: 9.5
- Average blocks per game: 6.0
- Average turnovers per game: 15.8

2011-12 Player Summary
-Leading scorer: Senior Kristen Riley - averages 11.6 points
-Leading rebounder: Riley - averages 7.8 boards per game
-Assist & Steals leader: Senior co-captain Haley Steed - 196 and 60 respectively.
-Top blocker: Jennifer Hamson - 71 total
-Best field goal percentage: Jennifer Hamson - (.571, 88-154)
-Best free throw percentage: Kim Parker - (.845, 49-58)
-Best 3-pt field goal percentage: Stephanie Vermunt - (.470, 39-83)

Record Breaking Players
- Haley Steed has recorded 518 assists as of 02/20/12, which places her in second place all-time. She needs 95 to tie for first place with Valerie Cravens who dished out a career-record 613.
- Steed has 208 steals to date for eighth place all-time and needs 21 to tie for seventh place with Karina Zapata’s career high 229.
- Steed has made 176 3-pointers as of 02/20/12 putting her in fifth place overall. She needs four to tie for fourth place with Behka Stafford’s career best 180.
- Kristen Riley has 76 blocks as of 02/20/12 and needs three to tie for fifth place all-time with Cathy Nixon’s 79.
- Riley has grabbed 693 rebounds as of 02/20/12, putting her in seventh place overall. She needs 22 to tie for sixth place with Danielle Cheesman who ended her career with a total of 715 rebounds.
- Riley has a total of 992 points scored as of 02/20/12, and needs eight to become BYU's 22nd player to reach 1,000 points in her career.
- Riley has played in a total of 124 games as of 2/20/12, which puts her in a three-way tie for fifth place all-time with Cougar standouts Mallary Carling (Gillespie), Jeanette Weston and Jackie McBride (Bean).
- As of 02/20/12, 6-7 sophomore center Jennifer Hamson has tallied 116 blocks and needs nine to tie for fourth place all-time with the 125 recorded by Jill Adams.

THURSDAY WCC OPPONENT
SANTA CLARA
Santa Clara enters this week’s WCC race in fifth place with a (11-16, 4-10) record. The Broncos have three players that are putting up double figures in points. Senior guard Alyssa Shoji tops the list with 15.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. She’s followed by Meagan Fulps, a 5-7 junior guard, who contributes 10.7 points and 3.7 boards in games. Rounding out double digits in scoring is 6-2 junior forward Lindsay Leo with her 10.4 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per contest. Santa Clara is averaging 66.0 points while shooting 41 percent from the field, 70 percent at the free throw line and 36 percent from three-point range. Shoji has the most assists with 80 while Ricki Radanovich gets the most steals with 33 to date. Head coach Jennifer Mountain is in her fourth season at the helm of the women’s basketball program for the Broncos.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: BYU leads the series 3-1
BYU Record in Provo: 1-0
BYU Record in Santa Clara: 2-1
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: n/a
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 3-0
BYU Record in Overtime Games: n/a

Last Meeting
In the first game between BYU and Santa Clara on Jan. 28, the Cougars were able to secure a 10-point 74-64 road victory over the Broncos with five players scoring in double figures, the first of the season. Kristen Riley led the way 17 points followed by Jennifer Hamson with 16, 11 points came from Dani Peterson while Kim Parker and Lexi Eaton scoring 10 points each. Riley also grabbed 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year. BYU found itself down by three, 36-39 for just the second time in league play in a first half that saw 16 lead changes. In the second half a layup by Dani Peterson tied the game at 44 before Santa Clara went on a 6-0 run to take a 50-44 lead with 12:33 left in the game. A bucket by Hamson tied up the score again at 50-50 but back-to-back field goals from the Broncos gave them a 58-53 lead with seven minutes remaining. A tough Cougar defense held Santa Clara scoreless for nearly four minutes before Hamson’s made free throws gave BYU a 59-58 advantage. A 3-pointer by Haley Steed with 1:22 left extended the Cougars lead to 68-63 as they held on for the 10-point win from the free throw line. The win gave coach Jeff Judkins his 20th win of the year marking his sixth season with 20 or more wins.

SATURDAY WCC OPPONENT
No. 21GONZAGA
The Gonzaga Bulldogs enter this week’s WCC action ranked No. 21 in the polls with a 24-4, 13-2 record and are in first place in the league’s standings. The Bulldogs have three players scoring in double figures with 6-3 senior forward Kayla Standish leading the way averaging 15.2 points and grabbing a team high 7.9 rebounds per game. Katelan Redmon, a 6-1 senior guard/forward combo is next contributing 13.1 points and 5.8 boards a contest. Rounding out the double digit scoring is sophomore guard Haiden Palmer who tallies 12.0 points and grabs 4.7 rebounds per game. Taelor Karr, a 5-8 junior guard has the most assists on the team with 123 while Palmer gets the most steals with 62 to date. Gonzaga averages 75.6 points and shoots 44 percent from the field, 32 percent from behind the arc and 72 percent at the free throw line. Head coach Kelly Graves is in his 12th year with the Bulldogs.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: 4-3
BYU Record in Provo: 2-1
BYU Record in Spokane: 2-2
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: n/a
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 1-2
BYU Record in Overtime Games: n/a

Last Meeting
BYU and Gonzaga played in Provo on Feb. 9, where both teams struggled from the field in the first half as BYU shot just 28.6 percent and Gonzaga shot 15.2 percent. The Cougars were able to outscore the Bulldogs 10-6 allowing them to take a four-point 24-20 lead heading into the break.
In the second half both teams exchanged baskets but with 13:27 remaining BYU took over as a Stephanie Vermunt 3-pointer sparked a 20-0, highlighted by a Kim Parker three-point play as well as five points and a block from sophomore center Jennifer Hamson. The Cougars took a 26-point lead off another three-point play, this time by Lexi Eaton. BYU shot 65.2 percent from the field in the second half and finished outrebounding Gonzaga 44 to 37. Prior to the victory over the Bulldogs, the Cougars had not beaten a ranked team since Nov. 13, 2006 when they defeated No. 4 Stanford, 55-52 on the Cardinal’s home court.

Travel Plans to Spokane
Team Flight: Delta #4646 departs from Salt Lake City on Fri., Feb. 24 at 3:14 p.m., arriving in Spokane at 3:51 p.m.
Team Flight: Delta #4442 departs from Spokane on Sun., Feb. 26 at 10:15 a.m., arriving in Salt Lake City at 12:53 p.m.
Team Hotel: The Davenport Hotel, 10 South Post Street, 509-455-8888, 509-624-4455, fax.

What’s Next
After the game at Gonzaga, the Cougars will prepare to compete in their first ever WCC championship in Las Vegas from Feb. 29 to Mar. 5. The winner of the championships receives an automatic berth into the 2012 NCAA Championships. The tournament games will be played at the New Orleans Arena.