Cougars and Waves face off in Vegas

LAS VEGAS – BYU women's basketball will begin postseason play against the Pepperdine Waves on Friday, March 3 at 12 p.m. PT in the second round of the 2023 University Credit Union WCC Basketball Tournament.

BYU (14-15, 9-9) vs. Pepperdine (11-18, 5-13)
Friday, March 3
12 p.m. PT
Orleans Arena
TV/Stream: BYUtv
Live Stats

Follow on Twitter: @byuwbb

Game Notes

PEPPERDINE. The Pepperdine Waves took down the Santa Clara Broncos 63-60 in the opening round of the 2023 University Credit Union West Coast Conference Tournament on Thursday. The Waves trailed for nearly 37 minutes during the opening game before Becky Obinma completed and and-1 score to take the lead with 34 seconds remaining. After shooting just 18.8 percent from the field in the first half, Pepperdine turned to junior Jane Nwaba who went 6-for-10 in the second period for 15 points with three assists, two rebounds and a steal en route to the three-point win.

LAST GAME. The Cougars are coming off a 61-49 loss to the Portland Pilots in which BYU held Portland to its sixth lowest scoring output of the season. The Cougars held the Pilots below their season average in points, field goal percentage and 3-point shooting. BYU’s struggles from 3-point land continued as they shot a combined 5-for-17 from downtown, with Nani Falatea hitting four of the five threes. Portland also forced 19 BYU turnovers leading to 23 points.

TOURNEY TIME. BYU finished 9-9 in league play and earned the No. 5 seed in the 2023 University Credit Union WCC Tournament. The Cougars will return to the floor to take on the Pepperdine Waves on Friday, March 3 at 12 p.m. PT at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

NATION’S BEST. Forward Lauren Gustin was named one of 10 final candidates for the 2023 Katrina McClain Award, her second-consecutive year with that honor. She leads the nation with with 16.5 rebounds per game and 478 total rebounds. She is second in the country with 25 double-doubles in 29 games. The junior from Salem, Utah has posted 20 or more rebounds eight times this year to lead the country. Gustin was also named to the Naismith College Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award watch list.

MILESTONES AND AWARDS. Lauren Gustin was named WCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and was joined by Nani Falatea on the All-WCC First Team while Amanda Barcello was selected to the WCC All-Freshman Team this week. With 24 rebounds against Portland on Saturday, the WCC Defensive Player of the Year set the BYU single-season record for total rebounds with 478, passing two-time All-American and 1980 National Player of the Year Tina Gunn Robison. She also joined the 1,000-points and 1,000-rebound club for her career, joining only Robison on the list that has accomplished both at BYU.