WCC action takes Cougar women to southern California for two games

PROVO, Utah —With two week’s of league action completed, BYU women’s basketball has an 11-4, 3-1 record and is in a tie with San Diego for fourth place in the West Coast Conference standings.

The Cougar women take their three-game league win streak on the road this week, playing at LMU (2-12, 0-3) Thursday and at Pepperdine (6-8, 1-2) Saturday.

The Jan. 8 matchup against the Lions tips at 7 p.m. PST, while the Jan. 10 game on the Waves home court starts at noon, PST. Saturday’s game at Pepperdine can be heard live on BYU Radio on the internet and on satellite radio at Sirius XM 143.

About BYU
Lexi Eaton, a 5-foot-10 junior guard/forward combo, leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging 18.6 points per game. She ranks third in rebounds, pulling down 5.8 boards a contest. Morgan Bailey, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, is in second place in scoring, tallying 18.4 points while leading the way in rebounding, averaging 10.4 boards per game. The team’s assist leader is Kylie Maeda, who averages 4.1 assists a game.

Heading into the third week of conference play, the Cougars score 68.5 points per game, shoot 42.7 percent from the field, 68.1 percent at the free-throw line and 35.3 percent from 3-point land. In all but two game, (vs. USF and at Gonzaga), BYU has dished out more assists than its opponents, has recorded more rebounds in nine contests to date, has a 9-0 mark when leading at the break and has scored at least 80 points in three games. The team has also had three players score in double figures in five contests, (most recent vs. SCU) and has had four players finish with double digit points in two, (most recent vs. UNLV).

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 14th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton, 18.6 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 M. Bailey, 10.3 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #15 K. Maeda, 4.1 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Morrison, 1.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #41, M. Bailey, .47 bpg

About LMU
Loyola Marymount has a 2-12, 0-3 mark, having played all three league games on the road to date. They are tied with Portland for seventh place in the latest conference standings.

LMU returns eight letterwinners, including three starters from a team that went 9-21, 6-12 and a seventh place finish in last year’s WCC regular season.

Three players are tallying double digits in scoring for the Lions, led by 12.6 points from Taylor Anderson. She’s followed by Leslie Lopez-Wood, who contributes 11.9 points a contest. Rounding out the scoring threat for LMU is Emily Ben-Jumbo, who puts up 10.1 points a game. She, along with Anderson, tops the list in the rebound category, grabbing 6.9 boards each. LMU is averaging 68.7 points per game, while pulling down 37.3 rebounds. The team is shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 72.3 percent from the free-throw line. 

• Head coach: Charity Elliott (SW Missouri State, 1992) Third Season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 T. Anderson, 12.6 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #21 T. Anderson and #15 E. Ben-Jumbo, 6.9 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #21 T. Anderson, 2.1 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #24 B. Alford, 1.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: # 21 T. Anderson, 1.0 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 8-1. In Los Angeles, the Cougars are 2-1. Last season, BYU swept the series with LMU. Head Coach Jeff Judkins has a 6-1 record against Loyola Marymount.

Last Meeting
In last year’s two games, the Cougars picked up a 90-72 win in Provo, on Dec. 28 and then recorded a 91-67 road victory on Feb. 22 in Los Angeles.

About PEPPERDINE
Pepperdine has compiled a 6-8, 1-2 record to date and hosts San Diego Thursday night before the Cougars make a stop in Malibu Saturday. The Waves picked up a home win over LMU and then dropped games at Saint Mary’s and at Pacific. Currently, they are in sixth place in the league standings entering this week’s action.

Pepperdine opened the 2014-15 season with a roster made up of six letterwinners and eight newcomers. Last season, under then first-year coach Ryan Weisenberg, the Waves compiled a 6-25, 1-17 record.

Bria Richardson (14.4 ppg), Keitra Wallace (12.8 ppg), and Allie Green (12.4 ppg) are the three Pepperdine players scoring in double digits. Wallace also tops the leaderboard in the rebound category, grabbing 5.5 boards a game. The Waves are averaging 64.2 points a game, while shooting 40.0 percent from the field, 29.5 from behind the arc and 75.2 percent from the free-throw line. 

• Head coach: Ryan Weisenberg (Cal Poly, 1997) 2nd Season
• Team’s leading scorer: #10 B. Richardson, 14.4 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #51 K. Wallace, 5.5 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #10 B. Richardson, 3.6 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #10 B. Richardson, 2.5 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #44 K. Brockway and #24 K. Pettepier, .64 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 8-2. In Malibu, the Cougars have a 2-2 mark. Last season, BYU swept the series with Pepperdine. Head coach Jeff Judkins is 7-1 against the Waves.

Last Meeting
These two conference foes met three times last year, twice during the regular season race and then in the quarterfinals of the WCC championships.  In the first meeting, BYU won 65-50 in Provo on Dec. 30, and then in Malibu, the Cougars picked up an 89-75 victory on Feb. 20. Playing in the quarterfinals of the 2014 WCC championships, BYU and Pepperdine battled in one of four games on March 7 with the Cougars advancing in the tournament with a 77-51 win.

Up Next
After the two-game road trip, BYU returns home for its next three league matchups. The Cougars host Pacific and Saint Mary’s on Jan. 15 and Jan. 17. The following week, WCC foe San Diego comes to Provo on Jan. 24.