Bench play key as women’s basketball defeats Eastern Washington

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Twelve different BYU players scored to help the women’s basketball team defeat the Eastern Washington Eagles, 77-58, Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center. BYU bench players played a big role, as it outscored Eastern Washington’s bench, 40-16.

“Our bench did a really good job in the first half coming in and giving us a big spark,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “They really came in and scored and really, both offensively and defensively, got us going.”

Sophomores Kim Parker and Jennifer Hamson led the Cougars with 13 points each and freshman Lexi Eaton added 11 to round out the top scorers.

Eastern Washington scored the first basket and maintained the lead for the first nine minutes of the game. The Eagles were able to beat the Cougars’ early defensive press and score several quick buckets.

However, the momentum shifted with about 11 minutes left in the first half, with the Cougars down by one point. The Eagles drove the ball down the lane but 6-foot-7 center Hamson was there to block the shot. The Cougars quickly passed the ball downcourt to find an open Eaton for a layup to give BYU the lead for the first time.

“They tend to be a little shorter team and so thankfully our team saw it and we all worked it inside and were able to dominate more,” Hamson said.

From that point on, BYU never lost the lead. Defensively, the Cougars held the Eagles to just 19 points in the first half.

“I think the last 10 minutes, maybe 12 minutes of the first half, our defense was outstanding,” Judkins said. “I think that part of the game is when the game was won. I told these guys, defense wins games.”

Eastern Washington took a play right out of BYU’s scheme and played full-court press during the majority of the second half. The Eagles’ defensive play helped lead to quick transition points on their end and Eastern Washington more than doubled its scoring output of the first half with 39 in the second.

“We rushed,” Judkins said. “You think we’d be the opposite since we press all day long and do it in practice. We didn’t get in our spots, we just kind of threw the ball and did our own thing instead of let our press attack work. … They took away our point guard and I think that effected us a lot.”

The Eagles relied heavily on starting guard Brianne Ryan, who played 34 of the possible 40 minutes. She scored a game-high 22 points and also grabbed eight rebounds. BYU assigned Parker to guard Ryan for most of the game. Even though she had a difficult task on defense, she said the tough assignment on defense helped her overall play.

“For me personally, it’s almost easier just because you do have to focus so much more on your game,” Parker said. “When we get stops on defense, then that propels my offense.”

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