PROVO, Utah – Jennifer Hamson and Morgan Bailey led the women’s basketball team to a 67-39 home victory over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in the teams’ first meeting in five years Tuesday afternoon.

“I thought that we played very good defense, we were very physical," BYU head coach Jeff Judins said. "We did a good job of not letting them get the ball inside where they want to get it. I think Jen (Hamson) and Morgan (Bailey) did a really good job of trying to get position and scoring inside. Keilani (Unga) did a good job on their leading scorer. I'm very lucky I've got a lot of depth on this team. So when people get tired or when there is a mismatch, I can switch up and get what we want and I think that's what happened a lot this afternoon.”

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In addition to Hamson’s 16 points, she also had eight rebounds and three blocks. Bailey finished with 15 points, a career high, and six rebounds. Haley Steed ended the afternoon with seven points and 11 assists.

BYU improves to 7-4 overall. UCSB falls to 4-6 on the year. The series between the two teams is now tied 4-4.

To start things off in the first half, UCSB struck first, but BYU answered right back feeding Hamson in the post to tie the game 2-2. On the defensive end the Cougars forced a UCSB turnover and found Kim Parker Beeston on the other end who hit a three putting the Cougars up 5-3 for their first lead of the night. Following another Gaucho basket, the Cougars found Xojian Harry at the top of the arc who hit another three for the Cougars.

With 12:23 left in the half, the Gauchos tied it up 12-12 before the Cougars went on an 11-0 run putting them up 23-12. Three consecutive times down the court the Cougars found Morgan Bailey for the layup. Following a Gaucho turnover, Kylie Maeda found Stephanie Vermunt Seaborn in the corner who knocked down the third three of the afternoon. The Cougars extended their lead with three more Hamson baskets and a layup from Beeston.

With 1:50 left on the clock, Harry stole the ball from UCSB’s Nicole Nesbit and drove the length of the floor, getting fouled on the layup. Harry hit both free throws putting the Cougars up 33-18. The next trip up the floor Steed found Hamson again in the post for the layup.

With six seconds left on the clock Steed dribbled to half court and in the corner found Seaborn, who hit a baseline jumper at the buzzer.

At the half, the Cougars led 38-20 while shooting 55 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. The Gauchos shot 33 percent from the field with zero shots beyond the arc.

Going into the second half, Steed kept the momentum going for the Cougars, hitting her first trey of the night. On the defensive end, Hamson blocked UCSB’s Kirsten Tilleman twice, while Steed recovered the ball and fed Hamson again in transition to put the Cougars up 43-24. The Cougars’ next possession, Steed fed Beeston who hit her second three of the afternoon. With 14:11 left Steed snatched a defensive rebound, drove the length of the floor and fed Seaborn, who knocked down her second 3-pointer.

BYU led 56-29 with 11:14 left in the game outscoring UCSB 18-9. Two Hamson blocks set up a layup from Ashley Garfield, the Cougar’s first basket after more than five minutes, putting the Cougars up 58-33. Following another Gaucho score, Maeda fed Bailey on an out-of-bounds play. Bailey knocked down her first three of the season, only the third 3-pointer of her career. Bailey scored two more following two free throws with 1:40 left.

The women’s basketball team is back in action on Thursday at 3 p.m. MST against Seattle University at the Marriott Center.

Notes

Team

BYU’s 11-0 run in the first half gave the Cougars an 11-point advantage. The Gauchos missed eight straight shots during the run. BYU led 38-20 at halftime.

The Cougars took their largest lead of the game with 3:21 left in the second half, when they led by 28.

BYU had four players in double figures, the second game in a row BYU has had four with 10 or more points.

BYU shot 47 percent, holding UCSB to 32 percent. The Cougars outrebounded 40-33.

The BYU bench outscored the Gaucho bench 27-12 and BYU scored 30 points in the paint to UCSB’s 18.

Player

Morgan Bailey recorded a career-high 15 points. She also had six rebounds.

Hamson had 16 points to lead all scorers and eight rebounds.

Stephanie Vermunt Seaborn scored in double figures with 10 points.

Kim Parker Beeston was the fourth Cougar to reach double figures in scoring, collecting 10 points during the game.

Haley Steed dished out 11 assists. She also had five points and seven rebounds.

With a 6-4 record and a three-game win streak, BYU women’s basketball continues play at home this week.
The Cougars host UC Santa Barbara (4-5) on Tuesday at 2 p.m. MST. Then on Thursday, Seattle University (3-5) makes an appearance in the Marriott Center. That game is set to tip off at 3 p.m. MST. Both games can be seen live on BYUtv.

BYU Capsule
On the season, BYU has outrebounded its opponents in six of the games played, including the last four. In all but two contests (at Boston College and at Washington State) the Cougars have dished out more assists than their opponents. BYU has enjoyed a halftime lead in all but one game to date (at Washington State). For the first time this year the Cougars had four players put up double digits in points in the home win over Tulsa.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78), enters his 12th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #5 Jennifer Hamson, 12.7 ppg*
• Team’s leading rebounder: #5 Hamson, 10.3 rpg
• Team’s assist leader: #33 Haley Steed, 7.2 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #33 Steed, 2.0 spg
*Has only played in three games, rejoins the team now after the volleyball season concluded

UC Santa Barbara Capsule
UCSB has compiled a 4-5 record to date, picking up wins over New Mexico Sate, Mississippi State, LMU and Washington. It enters the week on a two-game win streak. When playing on the road, the Gauchos are 2-1. The team returns eight letterwinners including three starters. Last year UCSB concluded the season with a 17-16 record, going 8-8 for a sixth place finish in the Big West campaign. They won the Big West Championship and participated in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

• Head coach: Carlene Mitchell is in her second year with UCSB
• Team’s leading scorer: #01 Sweets Underwood, 12.1 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #01 Underwood, 8.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #3 Nicole Nesbit, 2.8 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #3 Nesbit,1.3 spg

Series History
UCSB leads the series 4-3
Head coach Jeff Judkins is 2-1 against the Gauchos

Last Meeting
BYU and UC Santa Barbara have not played each other since the 2007-08 season when the Cougars defeated the Gauchos on their home court 61-50 on Nov. 9, 2007. The game was the season opener for both teams.

Seattle Capsule
The Redhawks are 3-5 on the season, 3-3 at home and 0-2 on the road. Seattle returns five letterwinners and three starters that last year compiled a 20-12 record. This is the first year that the university will compete in the Western Athletic Conference. The team’s three wins are over Portland, Sacred Heart and Portland State. Three players are scoring in double figures for the Redhawks.

• Head coach: Joan Bonvicini is in her fourth year with Seattle
• Team’s leading scorer: #41 Kacie Sowell, 18.5 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 Sowell, 10.3 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #1 Sylvia Shephard, 5.3 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #1 Shephard, 4.3 spg

Series History
BYU leads the series 1-0

Last Meeting
The two teams played for the first time last season in Seattle on Jan. 25, 2012. In that game the Cougars walked away with a 69-55 victory. Senior Kristen Riley picked up a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Kim Parker Beeston and Stephanie Vermunt Seaborn finished in double figures as well with 15 and 14, respectively. BYU shot 50 percent from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point line while holding Seattle to shooting just 28.6 percent from the field and 21.7 percent from behind the arc. A long Haley Steed 3-pointer opened the game for BYU. Two back-to-back treys by Vermunt and Parker were part of a 9-0 run to give the Cougars a 19-10 lead. Riley took BYU to a double-figure lead on a jumper and Vermunt’s third 3 of the night took the score to 33-20 as the half wound down. Heading into the locker room, the Cougars were up 36-22. In the second half BYU got off to a quick start extending its lead to 21 points. Seattle battled back in the final minutes of the game but were unable to get any closer, eventually losing by 14 points.

Up Next
BYU plays one more home game this month before preparing for the 2013 West Coast Conference campaign. The Cougars host Western New Mexico on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 4 p.m. , MST. That game can be seen live on BYUtv. The 2013 WCC race begins for BYU on Jan. 5 when they get set to host San Francisco.