BYU at Saint Mary's Box Score

MORAGA, Calif. — BYU women’s basketball fell to Saint Mary’s 57-49 on Saturday afternoon at McKeon Pavilion despite double-digit points from senior guard Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee. 

"We didn't come out in the first half ready to play," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought we found back and played much better in the second half. Sara (Hamson) gave us a good lift in the second half with her inside presence. We played solid but we need to learn not to foul so much."

Devashrayee led the Cougars with a team-high 12 points, scoring 10 points in the second half. Brenna Chase, Malia Nawahine and Sara Hamson each chipped in seven points apiece.

Chase and Nawahine hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game and give BYU (6-7, 1-1 WCC) the early 6-4 lead. After Saint Mary’s (8-5, 1-1 WCC) pulled ahead by one, Devashrayee made a runner in the lane to give the Cougars the slight 10-9 edge with 4:23 to go in the first quarter. 

The Gaels then scored seven-straight points before Liz Eaton stopped the run, draining BYU’s third 3-point field goal of the game. Saint Mary’s took the narrow 16-13 lead into the second quarter. 

After Saint Mary’s opened the second quarter on a 5-0 run, Amanda Wayment scored on the block to bring BYU within six, 21-15. Both teams struggled to find their rhythm offensively throughout the middle of the second quarter, with SMC leading 27-18 with 2:38 to go in the half. The Gaels took the 32-21 lead into halftime. 

Chase opened the second half with her second 3-pointer of the game and closed the gap to eight, 32-24. After back-to-back scores by Devashrayee and Wayment, Hamson scored a layup to bring BYU within two, 34-32. 

Saint Mary’s extended its lead to eight out of the media timeout, but Devashrayee knocked down a 3 to keep the Cougars within five, 42-37, as the third quarter came to a close.

After the Gaels opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run, Paisley Johnson responded scoring five-straight points for the Cougars. With 2:43 left in the game, Devashrayee knocked down a floater to put BYU within four, 52-48, and force a Saint Mary’s timeout.

With 29 seconds to go, Stella Beck went 2 of 2 from the foul line to increase the Gaels’ lead to six, 55-49. BYU wasn’t able to convert on the offensive end late to cut into Saint Mary's lead.

The Cougars return to Provo on Jan. 4, 2018, to take on San Francisco in a 7 p.m. MT tip. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143.

Postgame Notes at Saint Mary’s – 12/30/17

Team
BYU was down by 11, 32-21 at the break and ended the game with an eight-point, 57-49 loss. The Cougars are now 6-7, 1-1 on the season.

For the game, BYU shot 30.5 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from the free-throw line. From behind the 3-point line, they shot 30.0 percent.

The Cougars had three steals heading into the locker room, while the Gaels had two. In that category, BYU finished with the advantage, 6 to 2.

The Gaels had the advantage in rebounds in the first half of play with 25 to the Cougars 18. Saint Mary’s outrebounded BYU 46 to 31.

Saint Mary’s had tallied 12 points in the paint compared with four for BYU in the first half of play. For the game, the Gaels had 24 points inside the paint while the Cougars had 18.

Player
At halftime, Sara Hamson led in blocks with five and in rebounds with four. She ended the game with a game-best seven blocks while tying for team highs in rebounds with six. Hamson also contributed seven points in the contest.

Malia Nawahine had seven points to lead BYU after two quarters. For the game, she finished with the seven points along with three rebounds, one bock and one steal.

Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee dished out a game-high six assists while leading the team in scoring with 12 points. She also pulled down six rebounds, which tied for team bests in 36 minutes of playing time.

Brenna Chase had a game-high three steals along with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.

BYU at Saint Mary's Game Notes

After a 72-58 road win at Portland, BYU women’s basketball  (6-6, 1-0 WCC) continues West Coast Conference on the road.

The Cougars travel to Moraga, Calif., to take on Saint Mary’s (7-5, 0-1 WCC) on Sat. Dec. 30 at 2 p.m. PST. Fans can follow the action online with a web video stream at TheW.tv. Live stats are also available at byucougars.com/schedule/w-basketball/.

ABOUT BYU

BYU is on a two-game winning streak. The team is averaging 68.7 points and pulls down 40.2 rebounds a game. The Cougars are shooting 41.9 percent from the field, 29.9 percent from the 3-point line and 67.6 percent from the charity stripe.

At  least two players for BYU have scored in double figures in all contests except at Cal. Four players have scored in double digits in three games, most recently in the road win at Portland. The Cougars have outrebounded seven of their opponents, most recently at Portland. BYU also has had more blocks in seven games, most recently at Portland. With the 72 points scored against the Pilots on Thursday night, the Cougars have scored at least 70 points in seven games played.

In the upcoming WCC 2017-18 regular season battle, BYU was picked to finish in third place behind Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.

ABOUT SAINT MARY’S

Saint Mary’s has compiled a 7-5, 0-1 record on the year. SMC opened league play with a 69-57 road loss at LMU.

The Gaels are averaging 72.4 points and pull down 39.6 rebounds per game. Saint Mary's is shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 31.6 from 3-point range and 64.2 percent from the free-throw line.

Paul Thomas is in his 12th season with Saint Mary’s where he has complied a 222-141 record.

The Gaels were selected to finish second in the 2017-18 WCC race.

SMC and BYU played three common opponents during nonconference action. The Gaels lost to Cal and Utah while defeating Eastern Washington.

SERIES HISTORY

Saint Mary’s leads the overall series 8-7. When playing in Moraga, the Cougars have a 1-5 record. Coach Judkins is 7-8 against the Gaels. The last time that BYU won at McKeon Pavilion was on Feb. 6, 2016.

D

uring last year’s WCC race, the two league foes split the series with each team winning on its home court. In Provo, the Cougars got the five-point, 70-65 and at McKeon Pavilion, the Gaels picked up the six-point, 64-58 win.

The two met a third time last season in the semifinals of the WCC Championships. In that game, Saint Mary’s picked up the 59-49 win to advance to the title game vs. Gonzaga.

UP NEXT

BYU returns home for two league games next week. The Cougars host San Francisco on Thurs., Jan. 4 and Pacific on Sat. Jan. 6. Both games will air live on BYUtv.