Cougars and Wildcats battle in the Marriott Center Tuesday

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball (5-3) continues its nonconference portion of the 2014-15 campaign, playing its next three games in the state of Utah. After winnings five of their last six contests, including the last two, the Cougars host in-state foe Weber State (4-4), Tuesday, Dec. 9 at 7 .m. in the Marriott Center. The battle between the Cougars and Wildcats airs live on BYUtv and will be simulcast on BYU Radio.

About BYU
BYU returns three starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s team that compiled a 28-7, 14-4 record. The team finished second in the West Coast Conference and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. This year BYU was picked to finish second in the WCC regular-season race.

Lexi Eaton, a 5-foot-10 junior guard/forward combo leads the team in points with17.9 per game. She ranks third in rebounds pulling down 6.0 boards a contest. Morgan Bailey, a 6-foot-2 senior forward follows with 16.7 points and a team-best 9.3 rebounds per game. Rounding out the double-digit scoring is Makenzi Morrison who tallies 10.3 points and 2.0 boards per game.

The Cougars are scoring 68.0 points per game while shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 72.0 percent at the free-throw line and 35.1 percent from 3-point land. In all games, BYU has dished out more assists than its opponents.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 14th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton, 17.9 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 M. Bailey, 9.3 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #15 K. Maeda, 4.6 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Morrison, 1.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20, C. Broadhead, .50 bpg

About WEBER STATE
Weber State is 4-4 on the season after picking up wins over Montana Western, Bristol, Air Force and New Mexico State. When playing on the road, WSU has a 2-1 mark.

The Wildcats are playing with five returning letterwinners, including four starters from last year’s team that compiled a 7-22, 3-17 record.

Weber State has two players that are scoring in double figures, led by 12.3 points from Jalen Carpenter, a 6-foot-1 junior forward. She also pulls down 6.5 rebounds a game, the second most on the team. A 5-foot-10 junior guard, Regina Okoge, follows with 11.9 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per contest.

The Wildcats average 67.8 points per game, shoot 36.2 percent from the field, 27.9 percent from behind the arc and 64.6 percent at the free-throw line.

• Head coach: Bethann Ord (Maryland-Baltimore County, 1989) 4th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #03 J. Carpenter, 12.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #34 R. Okoge, 7.3 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #05 B. Averette, 2.6 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #34 R. Okoge, 4.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #03 J. Carpenter, 1.9 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the overall series 41-9. When playing in the Marriott Center Weber State is 1-20. The last time the Wildcats won in Provo was on Dec. 20, 1989 when they picked up the 93-87 victory.

Last Meeting
The two in-state foes played last year in Ogden where the Cougars squeaked out a 90-85 win on Dec. 10.  After being down by 24 points three minutes into the second half of action, the BYU women’s basketball team battled back to take a five-point, 90-85 road win going on a 14-0 run to close out the game. The Cougars outscored Weber State in the second half 52 to 29. At the break, BYU was down by 18, 56-38. BYU shot 57 percent from the field and 56 percent from 3-point range.

Lexi Eaton led the BYU effort with 25 points with a double-double from Jennifer Hamson that included 23 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Kim Beeston was the third Cougar in double digits with 18 points and five assist.

For Weber State, Jalen Carpenter led the way with 20 points and six rebounds. Desiree Ramos and Amanda Hughes tallied 12 points each, followed by 11 points from Regina Okoge. The Wildcats shot 38 percent from the field, 43 percent from 3-point range and 76 percent from the free-throw line.

Up Next
Following Tuesday night’s home game, BYU women’s basketball takes a short trip to Salt Lake City to battle in-state foe Utah on Saturday at noon. That game at the Huntsman Center will air live on BYU Radio and on the Pac-12 Network.

The Cougars finish the nonconference portion of their schedule on Monday, Dec. 22 when they travel to Logan to take on in-state rival Utah State, in a 7 p.m. tip.