Beeston propels BYU to 19-point victory

PROVO, Utah - Junior Kim Parker Beeston scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the BYU women's basketball team defeat the Loyola Marymount Lions 72-53 at the Marriott Center on Thursday night.

"I thought we played a good game tonight," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought our bench the first half really helped us get going. I thought Ashley Garfield and Morgan Bailey came in and gave us a good lift. It’s nice having depth. It’s nice having people that will be ready to go."

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All of Beeston's 15 points came from behind the arc as she hit 5-of-7 3-pointers and four of her nine rebounds came off the offensive glass. She also recorded three assists.

Junior Jennifer Hamson and sophomore Morgan Bailey each tallied 10 points and five rebounds and  senior Haley Steed dished out  a season-high 13 assists and added eight points to aid in the Cougar victory.

BYU (13-5, 4-1) hit exactly half of its field goals while holding Loyola Marymount (8-12, 2-5)  to just 32.8 percent shooting on the night. 

The Cougars' first bucket came from a Steed trey with just over three minutes into the game.

About six minutes into the half, Bailey received the ball down low then passed out of the block to an open Stephanie Vermunt Seaborn in the corner for a 3-pointer to cut the lead to three, 11-8. The Lions couldn't convert on their next possession and Steed pushed the ball up the court to give Ashley Garfield a fast-break layup with 13:35 left in the half.

Immediately following the layup, the Cougars went into a full-court press resulting in an offensive foul on the Lions. BYU got its first lead of the game from the turnover as Garfield converted a layup right under the rim to put BYU up 12-11.

With 8:48 left in the half, Steed drained a shot from beyond the arc, which would be the start of a 15-4 BYU run. Beeston then stole the ball on defense which led to a field goal from Hamson. The 6-foot-7 center blocked the next Lion shot attempt and got the ball in the low post on the other side of the court for another score to increase the lead 26-21 with about eight minutes remaining.

Hamson, Bailey and Garfield layups and consecutive Beeston 3-pointers also fueled the run to give BYU a 34-23 lead.

Both teams traded baskets the last five minutes and BYU maintained a double-digit lead at the half, 46-34, partially due to the Cougars' 22-8 advantage in the paint. 

Loyola Marymount scored four second-half points before Unga grabbed an offensive rebound and found the bottom of the net with 17:49 left in the game. Steed assisted on two more buckets as the offense began clicking and BYU scored seven points in less than two minutes to increase its lead, 53-38.

That offensive burst started a 14-4 run and the Cougars found themselves with a 20-point lead 60-40 with 10:30 left.

Over the next six minutes, BYU hit four free throws and Harry hit two shots to add to the point differential, 68-46.

BYU held its lead through the remainder of the game and held Loyola Marymount to 27.6 percent shooting in the second half.

The Cougars will play on the road against San Francisco Saturday at 2 p.m. PST.

Postgame notes

Team

Haley Steed’s 3-pointer with 9:05 left in the first half put the Cougars ahead 22-21, taking the lead for good.

BYU’s 8-0 run to end the first half cemented the Cougar lead, giving them a 46-34 advantage.

BYU hit 52.8 percent from the field in the first half and 57.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Cougars shot 50 percent overall and 43.5 percent from 3-point land for the game.

The Cougars began the second half with a 12-0 run to go ahead 58-38.

BYU won on the boards 46-28 and outscored in the paint 38-18. The BYU bench also outscored the LMU bench 29-18.

Player

Kim Parker Beeston recorded 15 points on five 3-pointers, tying her career high for 3-pointers in a game. She also had a career-high nine rebounds to lead the Cougars in both points and boards.

Haley Steed led the team with 13 assists, a season high, and also had eight points.

Jennifer Hamson scored in double figures with 10 points. She also had five rebounds.

Morgan Bailey recorded 10 points and had five rebounds.