Season review for 2014-15

BYU women’s basketball concluded another successful season with 20-plus wins, a second-straight trip to the NCAA tournament and a West Coast Conference tournament title.

In 2014-15 head coach Jeff Judkins recorded his sixth-straight 20-plus win season and the ninth of his BYU coaching career with a 23-10 record. The Cougars made their second-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament, the third in the last four years, the seventh under coach Judkins and the 11th overall as a No. 14 seed. BYU received the automatic bid with a 76-65 win over San Francisco in the WCC tournament title game.

At the 2015 WCC Women’s Basketball Championships played in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena, BYU was the No. 5 seed after compiling a 12-6 mark in league action. The team upset No. 4 seed Saint Mary’s and No. 1 seed Gonzaga on its way to winning the 2015 championship with the victory over San Francisco. BYU became the lowest seeded team to ever win a WCC basketball championship crown and it was the Cougars’ second WCC championship title in four years of competition in the WCC. Junior Lexi Eaton was named the tournament’s MVP, the second time that a BYU player garnered the honor. Current basketball operations director Haley Steed was named the tournament’s MVP in 2012.

For the third time in four years and the second straight, a BYU player won the league’s top honor when senior Morgan Bailey was named the 2015 WCC Player of the Year.

Head coach Jeff Judkins recorded his 300th career win during the season when the Cougars defeated Pepperdine in Provo, 77-58, on Feb. 5.

Other season highlights included compiling a 10-3 record at home and a 17-2 mark when leading at the half. The Cougars had four players score in double figures in four games and there were 13 games when three players tallied double digits in points. BYU recorded 24 games where it dished out more assists than its opponents and had 14 games where it pulled down more rebounds. The team also scored 80-plus points six times, winning five of those contests.

For the second-straight time, two Cougar players joined the program’s exclusive 1,000-point club when Lexi Eaton and Morgan reached the milestone during the year. Bailey concluded her career ranked 20th all-time in points with a total of 1,202.

Junior Lexi Eaton finished her third season with a total of 1,737 career points, placing her sixth all-time entering her final year in 2015-16. Last year, All-American Jennifer Hamson and Kim Beeston both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark. Bailey is sixth all-time in career rebounds with a total of 762.

Nationally, BYU ranked 22nd in assists per game and 36th in assist/turnover ratio. The team was in the top-50 in two additional categories; 43rd in both field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage.

Bailey finished her senior campaign ranked sixth nationally in defensive rebounds per game, 16th in double-doubles, 25th in rebounds per game and 44th in field goal percentage. Juniors Lexi Eaton and Kylie Maeda also saw their names show up in the national statistics. Eaton was 20th in points per game and 30th in 3-point field goal percentage. Maeda ranked 21st in assist/turnover ratio.

Several BYU players were recognized for their playing accomplishments as well as their academic achievements during the year. Bailey collected two WCC Player of the Week citations and a WCC First Team honor, to go along with her player of year award. She was also named 2014-15 AP All-America Honorable Mention and was on the 2015 WCC All-Tournament Team.

Lexi Eaton joined Bailey as a 2014-15 AP All-America Honorable Mention honoree and a WCC First Team recipient. She also recorded one WCC Player of the Week award.

Sophomore Makenzi Morrison was the third Cougar player to be named to the 2015 WCC All-Tournament Team. She also broke the school’s single game record for 3-point field goal percentage, going 7 for 7 from behind the arc in the road win at Pepperdine on Jan. 10.

Academically, senior Ashley Garfield and Eaton were named to the 2014-15 West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball All-Academic Team. Garfield had a 3.98 GPA in school health education, while Eaton had a 3.32 GPA as a psychology major.

Maeda, Morrison and Kristine Fuller were named WCC Women’s Basketball All-Academic Honorable Mention. Maeda and Fuller major in exercise and wellness and carry 3.46 and 3.38 GPA’s, respectively. Morrison holds a 3.26 GPA in experience management.

In the regular season of play, the Cougars recorded wins over all three instate rivals they played. They defeated Weber State in Provo and won at Utah and at Utah State. BYU went 2-1 at the Tom Weston Invitational played on the BYU-Hawaii campus. The Cougars defeated Butler and BYU-Hawaii before falling by 10, 71-61, to then ranked No. 19, Oregon State. BYU also went 4-0 against schools from the Mountain West Conference, capturing wins over Nevada, UNLV, CSU and USU.

During the WCC portion of the 2014-15 campaign with a 12-6 mark, BYU swept the series vs. Portland, Santa Clara, San Francisco, LMU and Pepperdine. They split the series with Pacific and San Diego with each team winning on its home court. Against Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga, BYU lost both games. The Cougars defeated those teams in the 2015 WCC Championships.