Home opener Wednesday, BYU hosts CSUN

BYU women’s basketball opens up the home portion of the 2014-15 campaign hosting Cal State Northridge (CSUN) Wednesday at 11 a.m.

The Cougar women enter the week with a 0-1 record after suffering a 10-point, 75-65 setback at South Dakota State last Friday. Wednesday’s game airs live on BYUtv and will be simulcast on BYU Radio.

SPECIAL PROMOTION
Kids’ Day – Elementary school-age children from around the valley will be in attendance at the game vs. the Matadors. The game is  FREE to the public.

About BYU
After the disappointing road loss, the Cougar women are looking to bounce back returning to the Marriott Center this week.

The Cougars return three starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s team that won a program-best 28 wins, finished second in the West Coast Conference, advanced to the championship game of the league tournament and made some noise in the NCAA tournament, making it to the Sweet 16 before losing to eventual champion UConn.

This year BYU was selected to finish second in the WCC regular season race.

Morgan Bailey, a  6-foot-2 senior forward recorded a career-high 25 points in the loss to South Dakota State (SDSU). She also pulled down eight rebounds tying with teammate Ashley Garfield for the most boards in the game. Bailey also dished out a team best four assists. Garfield scored six points. In just the second start of her career, sophomore Makenzi Morrison picked up her first career double digit outing in points with 11, going 3 of 4 from 3-point range in the game at SDSU. Returning starter Lexi Eaton tallied seven points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game. Xojian Harry came off the bench and contributed seven points, three assists and two rebounds in the road contest.

The Cougars shot 42 percent from the field, 70 percent at the free throw line and dished out 14 assists, one more than the Jackrabbits.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 14th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #41 M. Bailey, 25.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 M. Bailey & #3 A. Garfield, 8.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #41 M. Bailey, 4.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #21 L. Eaton, 3.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20, Cassie Broadhead, 1.0 bpg

ABOUT CSUN
CSUN comes to Provo with a 2-0 record, picking up home wins over Idaho and Sacramento State. The game in Provo marks the first road contest for the Matadors.

CSUN returns all five starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s team that won the Big West Conference regular season and tournament title. The Matadors were picked to win this year’s league race as well.

Three players are scoring in double digits for CSUN led by senior guard Janae Sharp who is averaging 20.6 points per game. Cinnamon Lister another senior guard follows averaging 14.0 points and 2.5 rebounds a game. Camille Mahlknecht, a 6-foot-2 forward also scores in double digits with 11.5 points and she averages 9.0 rebounds per game. The Matadors are averaging 74 points per contest and are shooting 50 percent from the field.

• Head coach: Jason Flowers (UCLA, 2001) 5th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #03 J. Sharpe,  20.5 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #04 C. Mahlknecht, 9.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #05 A. Guay, 5.5 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #11 C. Lister, 3.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #04 C. Mahlknecht, 3.0 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 4-0.

Last Meeting
These two teams met in Northridge last season where the Cougars picked up the 82-66 road victory.  Jennifer Hamson and Lexi Eaton led the way for the Cougars. Hamson recorded her second-straight double-double from game highs in points with 24 and rebounds with 11. Eaton chipped in 16 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Ashley Garfield came off the bench and grabbed the second most boards with 10. BYU shot 47 percent from the field and 80 percent from the charity stripe.

Cinnamon Lister led the way for the Matadors with 20 points, 15 coming from behind the arc. Ashlee Guay was the other CSUN player in double digit points with 16. They shot 31 percent from the field and 79 percent from the free throw line.

UP NEXT
The team remains in Provo for its second straight home game when they host Nevada on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m.  That game airs live on BYUtv and will be simulcast on BYU Radio. 

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