Cassie Broadhead dribbles the ball against Oklahoma. Broadhead finished with double-digit points against No. 16 Oklahoma. (Maddi Dayton)
The BYU women's basketball team fell short against Oklahoma 68-61 in its home opener at the Marriott Center Saturday night, battling back from a 12-point first quarter deficit.
'I thought we did a great job coming back from getting down, showed a lot of character,' BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said.
Makenzi Pulsipher and Cassie Broadhead continued to be the scorers for the Cougars. Pulsipher scored 15 points and Broadhead added 18 points.
BYU trailed 20-8 at the end of the first quarter, but the team came out ready to play in the second quarter. They continued playing aggressively and found their offensive rhythm. In the first two minutes of the second quarter, the Cougars scored three 3-pointers, one by Broadhead and two by Pulsipher.
'I thought we did a really good job with fighting back that second quarter and turned it around,' Pulsipher said.
The Cougars continued to drive on the offensive momentum. The team led 34-31 at the half. Both Pulsipher and Broadhead scored 10 points for the Cougars in the first half.
'One thing I’m proud about is we didn’t fold and back down,' Broadhead said. 'I think this is the first game of the season that everyone showed up to play.'
The Cougars continue battling with the Sooners in the third quarter.
The Sooners tied the score 34-34 at the start of the third quarter. But that didn't stop the Cougars from feeding off their offensive momentum. BYU led 54-47 at the end of the third quarter.
With one minute left in the third quarter, BYU lost their momentum after an injury, taking Broadhead out.
'Cassie was playing well for us. Losing her at the part of the game hurt us,' Judkins said.
The Cougars generated seven bench points, 26 points in the paint and 17 points off turnovers in the game.
The team's next game is against St. Joseph in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Nov. 25.