Cougars beats San Diego on senior night

PROVO, Utah – Behind Jennifer Hamson’s 21 points, BYU women’s basketball beat San Diego 71-58 at the last home game of the season on senior night.

"There are moments when this team can be a machine," head coach Jeff Judkins said. "They executed defensively and offensively. We have so many weapons, tonight we had four girls in double figures. Each of them had their turn in spurts and that's what makes this team great."

Highlights and Interviews

With the win over San Diego (22-7, 11-7), BYU (24-5, 14-4) will be guaranteed a No. 2 seed in the WCC tournament. 

Amy Kane was the leading scorer for the Toreros with 16 points.

At the start of the game Lexi Eaton put up the Cougars’ first points with a 3-pointer at 16:26, bringing the score to 6-3 San Diego.

BYU then went on a 13-0 run spanning over 3:14. An additional 3-pointer was put up by Xojian Harry while Kim Beeston added two more to the mix. The Cougars went 5 for 9 in the first half from downtown with Beeston as the leader, while the Toreros went 0 for 2.

The run quickly progressed to 22-4 over a five minute span, capped off by a final total of three 3-pointers by Beeston to end the half.

BYU led in assists at the break, earning 12, while San Diego earned just four. The Cougars took a 17-point lead, 39-22 after the first 20 minutes of action.

The Toreros started the second half with a 6-0 run, which the Cougars didn’t let last very long. With 14:50 showing on the clock the score was 46-33, giving BYU a comfortable lead.

San Diego went on 13-4 run cutting the lead to 10, 38-48, but that's as close as they would get.

The Cougars picked things up again with a 3-pointer from Beeston to bring the score to 59-48. With 2:06 left on the clock, BYU had comfortable19-point advantage, 70-51.

At the conclusion of the game Hamson and Beeston, the team's two seniors, were honored. 

BYU will play next in the West Coast Conference tournament which takes place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, beginning Mar. 6. The officisl seedings will be announced tomorrow.

Postgame Notes

Quotes on Senior Night - Coach Judkins
“It’s been a great season," Judkins said. "I can’t be more proud of those two seniors and what they’ve done at BYU. Both of them are great players but probably more importantly they set a great example for the team by doing all the things good seniors do. You’re lucky as a coach to have a player like Jen once every 10 years. The way she dominates the game inside is hard to replace. I think Kim has really come to her own and knowing what her role is. She’s a great passer, a great leader and her shot has gotten better every single year.”

Senior Kim Beeston -
“This has been one of the best experiences of my life," Beeston said. "Not only just playing basketball but the people I’ve met and the memories I’ve made here, it’s been incredible and will be something I’ll never forget.” 

Senior Jennifer Hamson -
“It’s a little bitter-sweet but it’s so fun being around these girls," Hamson said. "I’m so excited about the next two weeks, about the tournaments we’ll be in. I’m just really excited about the end.” 

Team
The Cougars ended the game with a 22-13 advantage in assists and 36-22 in points in the point. BYU also outrebounded the Toreros 39-24.

San Diego led in points off turnovers 27-13 as well as in steals 14-7.

San Diego’s largest lead was at 6-0 to start the game. BYU’s largest advantage was at 19 with :24 left to go in the first half.

Player
Lexi Eaton and Kim Beeston led all BYU players at halftime with 11 points each. Eaton finished with 18 points and six boards while Beeston ended the game with 13 points and a team-high five assists. Beeston

Jennifer Hamson finished the game with 21 points, giving her 1,353 career points and putting her ahead of Thais Kidd as the 14th all-time scorer in women’s basketball history. She also collected team highs in nine rebounds and had four boards.

Morgan Bailey was the fourth player to score in double digit points with 13. She also had seven boards.