The BYU women's basketball team hopes to finish the regular season strong with its last West Coast Conference game at Portland on Saturday.
BYU (19–9, 10–5) is currently on a two game losing streak after dropping games against Gonzaga and LMU. This is the third time the Cougars have lost twice in a row and only the first time in WCC play.
Haley Steed shoots a jump shot against Portland last Thursday in the Marriott Center. (Photo by Chris Bunker)
Portland (10–18, 5–10) has lost four in a row, the most recent loss coming from Gonzaga in a hard fought battle where they ended up losing by only 3 points on the road. The Pilots have improved from last season when they ended with a 4–12 record, which they have already improved upon.
'Portland is a really good offensive team,' BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. 'They scare me. They can get hot.'
These two teams met just last Thursday in the Marriott Center. The Cougars won 79–64 led by Jennifer Hamson and Haley Steed who had 23 points each.
'The positive thing coming from this whole thing is (Hamson) is starting to play well,' Judkins said. 'We need (Hamson) to play like that for us to be good.'
In BYU's loss to LMU on Thursday, Hamson led all players in rebounds with 11 while also scoring eight points.
The seniors have to continue to play well in the final stretch of the season. On Thursday, Steed scored 11 points and Keilani Unga scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Cougars and the Pilots tip-off at 2 p.m. PST in Portland on Saturday. Fans can follow the game on BYU Radio.