After missing last season due to an ACL injury, Lexi Eaton has now proven she’s back and fully healthy as she led BYU to an 80-73 victory over Washington State.
Eaton was one of three players to score in double figures in the game. She finished with a career high of 27 points and nine rebounds.
“I thought tonight Lexi played a really nice game for us,” said head coach Jeff Juddkins. “She was aggressive offensively and really helped us in the first half when we had a hard time getting the ball inside to Jen (Hamson) and Morgan (Bailey).”
Jennifer Hamson added 20 points; 18 of those points came in the second half. Last but not least, Kim Beeston remained on fire from beyond the arch and had four threes, 21 points and seven assists. With those four threes, Beeston is now sixth in career threes at BYU, ahead of Thais Kidd
After toying with the Matadors on the road, the Cougars returned home to face a tougher opponent, the Cougars of Washington State.
BYU started the game out very flat, and if it hadn’t been for Eaton the game may have gotten out of hand for the Cougars.
“We came out a little bit flat,” said Beeston. “I don’t really know what it was. I just don’t think that we (were) as intense.”
It wasn’t until coach Judkins called a timeout and gave his team a good talk that they finally woke up.
“I’m not a big one to yell and scream,” said Judkins. “But my players know when I’m not happy. I felt like we needed to get something, and they responded.”
Following the timeout, BYU was able to go on a 10-0 run and gained the lead 28-24. It was a very tight first half, but the Cougars were able to hold onto the lead going into halftime 37-32.
The Cougars (blue) shot 48 percent from the field and had 14 points in the paint in the first half.
Second half was no different than the first, with neither team giving an inch. With the game tied at 63-63, Hamson hit a critical jumper that sealed the game for BYU.
“We have confidence at the end of games ’cause we’ve won in close ones,” Eaton said after the game. “I think everybody did their job at the end, and that was the real key.”
BYU returns to action Saturday against Arizona at 2 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv.
