Women advance to semifinals of WCC Championships

BYU vs. Santa Clara Game Notes

LAS VEGAS —BYU women’s basketball (25-5) has advanced to the semifinals of the 2016 West Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Championships with a 72-59 win over Pepperdine. It’s the fifth straight time since joining the league that the women’s team has advanced to the semifinals. They won the title in 2012 and in 2015.

The No. 1 seeded Cougars battle No. 4 seed Santa Clara (23-7) Monday, March 7 at 12 p.m. PT. The game can be seen live on BYUtv and will be simulcast on BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143. The Broncos advanced into the semifinals with a 59-58 victory over No. 5 seed Gonzaga.

BYU at a Glance
Three Cougar players are scoring in double figures with a team-best 24.3 points from WCC Player of the Year and senior All-American Lexi Eaton Rydalch. She’s BYU’s second all-time leading scorer and the WCC’s all-time leading scorer. Rydalch ranks second on the team in rebounds, pulling down 5.9 boards a game. Junior Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher is second contributing 12.5 points to the Cougars’ offensive threat. The WCC’s Newcomer of Year and All-American Kalani Purcell, a JC transfer from Hutchinson Community College and Hamilton, New Zealand, rounds out the scoring with 11.8 points, and with a team-best 12.5 rebounds is averaging a double-double. Purcell tops the league in rebounds and in assists while Rydalch leads the way in scoring.

The Cougars are scoring 69.2 points and grabbing 38.0 rebounds while shooting 42.3 percent from the field, 69.3 percent from the free throw line and 36.7 percent from 3-point range. BYU is holding opponents to 61.1 points per game.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 15th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton Rydalch, 24.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 12.5 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 4.9 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Pulsipher, 2.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #32, K. Purcell, .83 bpg

SANTA CLARA at a Glance
Santa Clara is 23-7 on the year and has won eight of the last 10 games played. 

Currently, the Broncos have three players scoring in double digits with 11.3 points from Lori Parkinson, 11.1 points from Marie Bertholdt and 10.2 from Morgan McGwire. Bertholdt also leads the way in the rebound category, pulling down 6.5 boards a game.

After playing in 30 games, Santa Clara is averaging 65.8 points per game, shoots 39.9 percent from the field, 28.8 from 3-point range and 66.8 from the free throw line. On defense, they are holding opponents to 57.4 points a contest.

• Head coach: JR Payne, Second season
• Team’s leading scorer: #20 L. Parkinson, 11.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #15 M. Bertholdt, 6.5 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #24 S. Hanson, 2.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #03 T. Berry, 2.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20 Parkinson, 1.0 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 12-1. The Cougars swept the series over the Broncos. They won 68-63 in Santa Clara and 70-63 in Provo.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the WCC tournament.

Coming Up
A win over Santa Clara on Monday would send the Cougar women to the championship game of this year’s league tournament. That game is on Tuesday, March 8 at 1 p.m. PT and will be carried live on ESPNU. BYU Radio will also carry the game live.