WCC race ends with two home games for BYU women’s basketball

PROVO, Utah— BYU women’s basketball is 16-10, 11-5 on the year as it plays its final league games at home.

The Cougars host Pepperdine, Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m., MST. On Saturday, Feb. 29, at 2 p.m. MST, BYU will host LMU. The Cougars' four seniors will be recognized at the conclusion of the game. Fans can watch the action live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.

BYU vs. Pepperdine Game Notes

Pepperdine at BYU Game Notes

ABOUT BYU

• With a 16-10, 11-5 record, BYU women’s basketball is tied with San Diego for second place in the WCC as teams compete one last week
• BYU averaging 60.5 points and 39.6 rebounds a game; is 16-5 when it gets more blocks than its opponents; is 14-2 when dishing out more assists than opponents; is 14-1 when leading at the half
• The Cougars are nationally ranked 2nd in field goal percentage defense (32.2); 3rd in blocked shots per game (6.7); 4th in blocked shots (174); 14th in scoring defense (54.7); 25th in defensive rebounds (28.7)
• BYU ranks first in the WCC in field goal percentage defense, in rebounding offense and in blocked shots; ranks second in scoring defense and in defensive rebounds; places third in scoring margin, and in 3-point field goals made; ranks fourth in assists; ranks fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense & in 3-point field goal percentage
• Paisley Johnson leads in scoring for BYU with a 14.8 average; she ranks 31st all-time in career points with 1,016 and is the 15th player to reach the milestone as a junior; Brenna Drollinger is tallying 12 points; ranks 22nd all-time in career points with 1,262; leads in assists and steals with 4.2 and 1.8 averages
• Sara Hamson leads in rebounds and blocks, with 7.8 boards and 4.58 blocks; ranks 1st in the nation in blocked shots (119) and in blocked shots per game (4.58); ranks 3rd all-time at BYU in career blocks with 318
• The Cougars are holding opponents to just 54.7 points and are allowing only 37.5 rebounds a game
• In the all-time series record with the Waves, BYU has a 20-3 mark; when playing in Provo, Pepperdine has never won; in the first matchup between the two conference foes, BYU picked up the 65-47 victory in Malibu on December 30

ABOUT PEPPERDINE

• Entering the last week of WCC play, Pepperdine has a 14-12, 8-8 record, and is tied with Pacific for fifth place
• The Waves have two players scoring in double figures with a team-best 10.7 points from Hannah Friend; teammate Malia Bambrick contributes 10.2 points a contest; Monique Andriuolo leads the way in rebounds with a 6.9 average and in blocks with a 1.3 average; in the assists and steals category, Barbara Sitanggan tops the list with 4.7 and 2.3 averages, respectively
• Pepperdine is scoring 65.6 points a game and pulls down 38.5 rebounds a game while shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 67.1 percent from the free-throw line
• Head coach Kristen Dowling is in her first year with Pepperdine where she has a 14-12 record  

ABOUT LMU

• Loyola Marymount has a 6-22, 3-13 record on the season and will play at San Diego Thursday night before making the trip to Provo for Saturday’s game vs. BYU
• Three players are scoring in double figures for the Lions led by 13.1 points a game from Chelsey Gipson; she’s followed by Ciera Ellington who’s contributing 11.1 points a contest; the final player who puts up double-digit points is Jasmine Jones who’s tallying 10.9 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds a game
• The team’s assist leader is Ellington who’s dishing out 2.9 assists per contest; Gipson tops the list in steals with a 1.7 average; Meghan Mandel leads the way in blocked shots with a 1.5 average
• In the overall series vs. the Lions, the Cougars lead the way with a 16-2 mark; LMU has never won a game in Provo; in the first matchup of the conference season, BYU recorded a 59-44 win in Los Angeles on Dec. 28
• Charity Elliott is in her sixth season as LMU’s women’s basketball head coach where she has compiled a 98-146 record

UP NEXT
After closing out the conference season with back-to-back home league games, BYU prepares to compete in the 2020 WCC Women’s Basketball Championships March 5-10 in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena. The Cougars enter the tournament as the defending champions.