LAS VEGAS -- Morgan Bailey led No. 2 seed BYU women’s basketball to a 77-51 win over No. 10 seed Pepperdine in the second round of the West Coast Conference Tournament.

“I want to congratulate Pepperdine for playing a great tournament,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “It's tough to play back-to-back games. We had a lot of legs early in the game, and I think that kind of wore them down. I'm proud of this team. They don't care who gets the glory; they just go out there and play together to win.”

Video Highlights and Interviews

Bailey had 17 points and eight rebounds while Lexi Eaton contributed 17 points of her own. Jennifer Hamson had a double-double of 13 points and 12 boards while Ashley Garfield led all players with 13 rebounds. Kim Beeston led the team in assists with seven and steals with two.

BYU (25-5) hit 45 percent of its shots compared to just 26 percent for Pepperdine (6-25). The Cougars outrebounded the Waves 57-30 and had more assists, 15-7.

Bailey and Hamson each contributed four points to put the Cougars up 8-2 to start the game.

A Xojian Harry 3-pointer with 14:18 to go in the first half capped off a 13-2 BYU run that extended the Cougars’ lead to 15-4.

Despite turning the ball over five times early, BYU jumped out to a 26-9 advantage with five different Cougars adding points to the board.

Garfield and Bailey combined to go to the free throw line for six shots in the same trip down the floor thanks to a pair of offensive boards. A pair of makes extended BYU’s lead to 32-14 with just under four minutes to play before halftime.

Beeston made her first 3-pointer of the game with :43 left in the half to give the Cougars a 20-point 42-22 lead at the break.

Pepperdine started the second half with a 7-0 scoring blitz, cutting into BYU’s lead 42-29 and forcing Judkins to call his first timeout of the half. The Cougars followed with a 16-2 run of their own in just over six minutes of play.

Four of BYU’s players were in double figure scoring at the under-eight timeout as the Cougars took a 28 point lead at 64-38.

With a pair of Bailey free throws BYU took its largest lead of the game, 70-36, with six minutes left to play. It was Cougars from that point as BYU cruised to a 77-51 victory.

The Cougars continue WCC Tournament play on Monday, March 10, when they face No. 3 seed Pacific at 2 p.m. PDT. Links to live stats and video feeds can be found on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.  

Postgame Notes

Team

With the win over Pepperdine, the BYU women’s basketball team advances to the semifinals of the 2014 WCC Championships. The Cougars have played in the semifinals all three years since joining the league.

For the 13th time this season BYU had four players finish the game with double digit scoring. Lexi Eaton and Morgan Bailey each had 17. Jennifer Hamson tallied 13 with 10 from Kim Beeston.

The Cougars inside presence played a key role in the win over Pepperdine. BYU had 30 points in the paint, compared with 12 for the Waves.

BYU tallied 18-second chance points to the eight for Pepperdine.

For the 23rd time this season the Cougars have pulled down more rebounds than their opponents. Against the Waves, BYU had 57 while Pepperdine recorded 30. The 57 rebounds were one shy of the season high 58 versus San Francisco at home.

With seven blocks versus Pepperdine, the Cougars have tallied more blocked shots than their opponents in 26 games.

BYU dished out 15 assists to seven for Pepperdine making it the 24th time that BYU has had more assist than its opponents.

Player

Lexi Eaton led all scorers in the first half with 11 points, going 4 for 4 from the free throw line. She would finish the game with 17 points, remaining perfect from the charity stripe at 8 for 8. The 17 points mark the 23rd game she’s had double figures in points.

Jennifer Hamson topped the list in rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action with seven, and ended the contest with 12. With the 13 points she recorded her 20th double-double of the season. She was perfect from the free throw line making all five attempts and recorded a game-high three blocks.

Morgan Bailey picked up her 14th game scoring in double digits with 17 points, just one-point shy of her career high. She also pulled down eight rebounds, had one assist and one block.

Kim Beeston picked up her 20th double figure game in points with 10 while dishing out a game-high seven assists.

Ashley Garfield came off the bench and grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds to go with three points, one assist and one block. 

BYU women’s basketball (24-5, 14-4) concluded the 2014 West Coast Conference season in second place, earned a No. 2 seed into the 2014 league championships and a first round bye.

The Cougars, who are on an eight game winning streak, will play in the second of four quarterfinal games on Friday, March 7 versus No. 10 seed Pepperdine. Tip off is at 2:00 p.m., PST (approx.). BYU swept the series against the Waves. The quarterfinal game will air live on BYUtv.

Coach Judkins Previews Pepperdine Matchup

About BYU

WCC Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Jennifer Hamson, tops the list in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots for BYU. She averages 18.5 ppg, 11.4 rpg and 4.2 bpg. Hamson leads the nation in blocked shots, ranks 13th in rebounds per game, 14th in double-doubles, and 18th in field goal percentage. 

Three other Cougars are recording double figures in points, with Lexi Eaton chipping in 17.0 followed by 11.7 points from Kim Beeston. Junior forward Morgan Bailey rounds out the scoring output, contributing 10.4 points. She is in second place in rebounds, pulling down 7.1 per contest.

BYU is averaging 72.6 points per game, while holding opponents to 64.1 points. The Cougars, who rank sixth in the country in blocked shots per game, have recorded more blocks than opponents in 25 games and have dished out more assists in 23 of the 29 games played to date. The team has also recorded more rebounds than opponents in 22 contests.

BYU in WCC Championships 
2013-14

• BYU finishes in 2nd place in league race with 14-4 mark 
• Team is No. 2 seed, gets bye into quarterfinals

2012-13 

• BYU ties for 3rd place with SMC in regular season with 11-4 mark 
• Team is No.4 seed, advances to semifinals Loses in semifinal to eventual league champion Gonzaga

2011-12 

• BYU finishes tied for 2nd place with San Diego with a 12-4 mark 
• Is No. 2 seed because it swept the Toreros in the league race
• Team wins first ever WCC Championships with 78-66 victory over Gonzaga

About Pepperdine 
The Waves (5-24, 1-17) enter this year’s WCC championships as the No. 10 seed. They advanced to the quarterfinal round with an 80-74 win over No.7 seed Santa Clara.

Bria Richardson is one of four players for Pepperdine that tallies double digits in scoring with 16.9 points. Keitra Wallace follows with 12.3. Ea Shoushtari contributes 11.4 points and pulls down a game-best 6.7 rebounds per game. Allie Green rounds out the scoring output chipping in 11.3 points. The Waves score 64.3 points and grab 37.4 boards per contest.

Series History 
BYU leads the series 7-2, including a 1-0 mark on a neutral court. The Cougars swept the series over the Waves this year.

Game Summaries in 2014 campaign 
In Provo Lexi Eaton scored 18 and Jennifer Hamson had a double-double of 16 points and 13 boards in the 65-50 win. Pepperdine’s Allie Green scored a game-high 19 points for the Waves.

Increased offense was the story of the second game. Eaton gave the Cougars a game-high 25 points and three other players scored in double digits in the victory. Despite outscoring BYU in the second half and getting 23 points from Ea Shoushtari, Pepperdine fell to the Cougars 89-75.

Up Next 
A win in the quarterfinals would send the Cougar women to one of two semifinal games to be played Monday, March 10. The league’s championship game is set for Tuesday, March 11 at 1 p.m., on ESPNU. The winner receives an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships.