BYU women’s basketball, led by three players who scored in double-digits, blew out Saint Mary’s 65-44 on Saturday for their twelfth consecutive win.
“I’m really proud of the girls. I think this was one of the best games we played all year, and the win is a huge victory for our program,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “We started the game strong and made a great effort defensively, especially in the first quarter. Our defense really set the tone for the rest of the game. We had incredible play from our guards. Kenzi, Lexi and Kylie all played wonderfully, and really let their shots come to them.”
Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher lead BYU’s scoring with 26 points, which included a career-high seven 3-pointers shots that powered BYU’s offense to victory. Lexi Eaton Rydalch and Kylie Maeda were the other Cougars with double figure points. Kalani Purcell grabbed nine rebounds and dished out 10 assists.
BYU’s offense exploded from the beginning with a 16 point lead at the end of the first quarter. The Cougars’ fast start and strong defense held down the Gaels the rest of the game.
Saint Mary’s fought back with a 7-0 run in the third quarter and closed the gap 46-31 with three minutes to go. The Gaels scored 14 points and held BYU to six, but the Gaels still couldn’t catch-up. BYU retained a 52-38 lead at the end of the third.
Pulsipher, fueled BYU’s momentum, hit a 3-pointer to bump the lead back to 20 points with 7:01 left in the fourth. The Gaels are averaging 75.9 points this season, to put BYU’s defense in perspective
The Gaels just couldn’t keep up as the Cougars’ capitalized on Saint Mary’s 23 total turnovers and ran away with the victory.
The victory over Saint Mary’s was the Cougars’ first win at the McKeown Pavilian in the series history and the Cougars spoiled the Gaels eight-game winning streak.
BYU returns home to the Marriott Center to host San Fransisco and Santa Clara next week.
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