BYU women’s basketball picks up hard-fought win against San Francisco

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Cassie Broadhead drives around a San Francisco defender. Broadhead nearly had a triple-double against USF. (Maddi Driggs)
Cassie Broadhead drives around a San Francisco defender. Broadhead nearly had a triple-double against USF. (Maddi Driggs)

The BYU women’s basketball team defeated San Francisco 73-61 in a fast-paced game on Saturday at the Marriott Center.

The Cougars shot 65 percent through the first three quarters, with three players scoring double digits.

Cassie Broadhead was the top scorer of the game with 22 points and nearly had a triple-double with seven assists and eight rebounds.

Kalani Purcell scored 13 points and Makenzi Pulsipher added 12.

The Dons’ perimeter defense challenged the Cougars to change up tactics offensively. BYU made just one 3-pointer in the game, instead opting to pound the paint.

“They didn’t give us a lot of threes tonight,” BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. “They flew at us aggressively, they pressured us well, and we had to get more cuts to the basket. That’s where having Kalani is like an ace in your pocket because she is so versatile offensively.”

BYU opened the game with a strong defense in the first half. Pulsipher led they way aggressively by punching holes in USF’s offense with five steals, leading to a team total of nine steals in the first half.

Pulsipher explained how watching film from the last match-up against the Dons helped her see how to play more aggressively this game.

“Last game we let them get too much of what they wanted and where they wanted it,” Pulsipher said. “Our game plan was to make it as hard for them to get catches where they wanted, and in doing that, it puts you in a great spot to get those steals.”

BYU women’s basketball improves to 16-9 with the win and will travel to San Diego to face the Toreros on Thursday night.

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