Riley, Hamson Lift Cougars Over Falcons

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PROVO -- Kristen Riley and Jennifer Hamson both scored 16 points on their way to another BYU women’s basketball (17-7, 9-1) win on Wednesday, recording the team’s sixth-straight victory against Air Force 78-51 to stay in first place in the MWC.

Hamson's points tie her career high and Riley's were just seven points shy of hers. Hot on the boards, Coriann Fraughton reached her sixth career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

"I was really proud of what we did in the first half," said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. "We play toughed out there and I think we did some good things on both offense and defense. I'm happy with how the girls played tonight and we'll keep working to get better."

Jazmine Foreman led in assists with five to make her the eighth all-time assist leader in BYU history and Haley Hall collected six steals for a new season-high.

BYU shot 46 percent for the game to Air Force’s 30.2 and had 22 assists to the Falcon’s three. The Cougars forced 18 turnovers on the Falcons while only recording eight themselves.

Hamson and Mindy Bonham led the charge on offense for the first half, putting up six and seven points respectively in the opening minutes. The Falcons got caught on BYU's full court press early, leading to 20 percent shooting and 10 turnovers on the Air Force side at halftime.

BYU shot 54.5 percent in the first and had six steals.

Back to start the second half, Fraughton put up five consecutive points to raise the lead to 46-15 and the Cougars took off from there to secure the win.

The Falcons had two players in double figures. Raimee Beck led Air Force with 15 points and six rebounds while teammate Dymond James added 13 points and eight rebounds.

The final game of the Deseret Duel this season for women's basketball is up next for the Cougars who head to Salt Lake City on Saturday to play the Utes at 4 p.m. MT.

Post-game Notes

Team Notes

-With tonight's win, the Cougars swept the series against Air Force this season.

-BYU is now 16-1 when they lead at the half, 14-4 when they make five or more 3-pointers, 14-2 when they outrebound their opponent, 14-1 when they have under 16 turnovers and 10-1 when they play at home.

-The 1,156 in attendance to see the BYU victory is the third largest crowd the Cougars have seen in conference action.

-The Cougars recorded only eight turnovers against the Falcons, just two more than their season-low.

-BYU kept the Falcons to just 13 first half points to tie the lowest score to date by a Cougar opponent.

-The Cougars are now 9-0 when they score more than 70 points.

-For the 22nd time this season and 17th consecutive outing, two or more players scored in double figures.

Player Notes

-Jennifer Hamson's 16 points tie her career-and season-high. The points are Hamson's fifth double-figure outing in conference play.

-Coriann Fraughton reached her sixth career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Her three assists tie her season-high. Coriann's points are her sixth double-digit performance in conference play.

-Kristen Riley scored 16 points for her fifth double-figure outing in conference play and 12th time this season she's had double digits.

-Jazmine Foreman led in assists with five to make her the eighth all-time assist leader in BYU history

-Haley Hall collected six steals for a new season-high.