Waves defeat No. 25 Cougars 79-65 in Malibu

MALIBU, Calif. – BYU women’s basketball team suffered its second conference loss of the season on Saturday, falling 79-65 to Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse. The No. 25 Cougars are now 17-5 overall and 9-2 in West Coast Conference play, while the Waves improved to 13-8 and 7-4.

BYU at Pepperdine Final Box Score

“We didn’t play well today,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said.  “We didn’t show up like we needed to and we didn’t get a big effort from anyone. We have to get better."

Shalae Salmon led the team with 13 points while also tallying six rebounds and two assists. Paisley Johnson added 11 points, going a perfect 6 for 6 at the charity line, while Babalu Ugwu contributed 10 points and three rebounds.

Coming off their first conference loss of the season, the No. 25 Cougars came out strong to start the game against Pepperdine, going on an eight-point run to quickly take an 8-2 advantage. The Waves, however, were able to close the gap to tie the game at 12-all. Pepperdine went on to take a one-point lead before the Cougars maintained a small lead to end the quarter, 19-18.

Pepperdine again took a one-point lead to start the second quarter, draining two free throws. Two free throws from Ugwu and a layup from Salmon put the Cougars back in the lead 23-20. With just over three minutes to go in the second quarter, Pepperdine started to take control of the game going on an 11-2 run to earn a 32-27 advantage. Pepperdine closed out the second quarter taking a double-digit lead, putting up a seven-point run to make the score 39-29 going into half time.

The Waves continued to score through the third quarter, keeping their margin near double digits. Free throws from Ugwu and a layup from Jasmine Moody chipped away at Pepperdine’s lead at the beginning of the quarter.  A 3-pointer from Chase brought the score within seven at 48-41. But, the quarter ended with the Waves up 12 points at 56-44.

BYU continued to see the gap widen in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of its 21 points off free throws. Pepperdine dominated throughout the quarter taking a 19- point lead and came out on top 79-65.  

After completing three road games, the Cougars now return to Provo to take on Saint Mary’s at the Marriott Center on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. MST in the annual Kid's Day game on Feb. 7. The game will be carried live on BYUtv and online at byutv.org.

Postgame Notes: BYU at Pepperdine (Sat., Feb. 2, 2019)
Team
With the 79-65 loss at Pepperdine, the BYU women’s basketball is now 17-5, 9-2 on the year.

For the 10th time on the season, the Cougars had three players that finished with double-figure points in a game. Shalae Salmon (13), Paisley Johnson (11), Babalu Ugwu (10).

The Cougars finished the game with 39 rebounds, 13 assists, six steals and four blocks.

Player
Shalae Salmon tallied eight points in the first half along with two rebounds. For the game, she picked up her fourth game with double-digit points with a team-best 13. She grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists.

Paisley Johnson picked up her ninth straight and 19th overall game with double-figure points with 11. She was perfect at the free throw line making all six attempted baskets and dished out two assists.

Babalu had six points in the first 20 minutes of the game. She finished with 10 points for her second double-digit outing of the season.  She shot 100 percent from the charity stripe, making all four baskets, grabbed three rebounds and got two steals.

Shaylee Gonzales led the team in the rebounds and assists categories with seven and three, respectively. She finished the game with six points.