Hamson leads Cougars past Pilots

PORTLAND, Ore. – Senior Jennifer Hamson led BYU women’s basketball to a 75-68 win over Portland Saturday on the road at the Chiles Center.

“In the first half we did a really good job of moving the ball,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “We only had six turnovers in the first half. In the second half we came out and had some really good looks, but then we started forcing shots up, getting turnovers and letting them back in the game. Overall, though, I'm proud of this team for digging out a win today.”

Hamson gave the Cougars her 11th double-double of the year from 21 points and 11 rebounds. Morgan Bailey was close to a double-double, getting 17 points and nine rebounds. Kylie Maeda led the team in assists by tying her career-high seven. Kim Beeston had 15 points for BYU, all coming in the first half from 3-pointers.

BYU (14-3, 4-2) finished the game shooting 48 percent from the field compared to 44 for Portland (9-7, 2-3). The Cougars outrebounded the Pilots 37-27 and had more assists, 18-14.

Bailey gave the Cougars their first four points of the game after a bucket and a pair of free throws. Hamson followed with six points of her own to give BYU a 10-8 advantage. Bailey and Hamson combined to give the Cougars their first 14 points of the game.

The Pilots struggled with turnovers early in the game, getting four within the first three minutes of play.

BYU shot 6 of 8 from the 3-point line early on in the first half to give the Cougars a 36-27 lead. Portland also shot well from 3-point land in the first 20 minutes, hitting 4 of 4 from beyond the arc.  

Kim Beeston gave BYU its largest lead of the half at 43-29 from her fifth 3-pointer to lead all scorers with 15 at halftime.

Hamson started the second half with two blocks, a layup and a pair of free throws to put the Cougars ahead by 18 at 47-29.

The Pilots followed Hamson’s outing with a 14-2 run of their own to cut BYU’s lead to six at 49-43. Following that sequence Portland hit two consecutive 3-pointers to cut their deficit to just two at 56-54 and force a BYU timeout.

Lexi Eaton helped the Cougars claw back to a double-digit lead by getting her first points from a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, capping off an 8-0 BYU run at 64-54.

Both teams played hard in the closing minutes of the game, but it was the Cougars who came out on top 75-68.

BYU stays on the road next week as they travel to San Diego on Saturday to face the Toreros. The game begins at 2 p.m. PST. Links to live stats can be found on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page. 

Postgame Notes

Team

With the seven-point 75-68 road win over Portland, BYU improved its record to 14-3, 4-2 on the season.

The Cougar team made all six free throws attempted in the first half and led 43-29 at the break. They shot 51.7 from the field and 70 percent from 3-point range in the first half. They finished shooting 48.1 percent from the field, 75 percent from the charity stripe and 50 percent from 3-point land.

BYU got seven points from the bench compared with 10 from the Portland team. 

For the game, BYU dished out 18 assists compared with 14 for the Pilots.

When comparing points in the paint, the Cougars finished with a two-point advantage, 32-30. They also had seven second chance points to the Pilots two. Additionally, the Cougars outrebounded the Pilots 37-27.

Player

Jennifer Hamson recorded her 11th double-double of the year with game highs in points (21) and in rebounds (11). The 21 points mark the eighth time she’s finished with 20-plus points this season.

Kim Beeston scored 15 points in the game, all coming from 3-point range. She also dished out five assists, had three steals and one block.

Morgan Bailey pulled down seven rebounds in the first half of action, finishing the contest with a total of nine, the second most of the game. She also recorded her seventh game with double figures in points with 17, one shy of her career high.

Kylie Maeda dished out a game-high seven assists, tying her career high.