Final Box Score vs. USF

LAS VEGAS – BYU women’s basketball became the lowest seed to win the West Coast Conference Championship final with a 76-65 win over San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon in the Orleans Arena, punching its ticket to the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Highlights and Interviews

The Cougars (23-9, 12-6 WCC) won their second conference tournament since joining the WCC in the 2011-12 season, which was also the same year they won their first championship. Had the Dons (19-13, 8-10 WCC) won, it would have been their first tournament victory since 1997.

Lexi Eaton was named the WCC Tournament MVP after leading the Cougars with 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. She averaged 22.7 points during BYU's championship run. Morgan Bailey had 20 points and eight rebounds in the win. Shooting 5 of 8 from beyond the arc, Makenzi Morrison had 19 points along with three assists. Eaton, Bailey and Morrison were all named to the WCC All-Tournament Team.

"First of all, I am really proud of our team," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "This was a long four weeks, and to be able to top it off like this, shows a lot of the character of this team. This team could have quit. I think our experience helped today. We have a lot of players that have been in this situation before, but it always slips through their fingers."

"I also want to give San Francisco a lot of credit. They were playing, during the season, as good as any team in this league and I think it showed," added Judkins.

After hitting 4 of 6 from three in BYU's semifinal win against Gonzaga, Morrison’s hot hand continued right from the start in the final as she scored the Cougars’ first points on a 3-pointer. Back-to-back threes from Xojian Harry and Morrison put BYU up 15-7 with 14:48 left in the first half. San Francisco answered with a 10-0 run to take an 18-17 lead.

Behind four treys from three different players, the Cougars went on a 16-0 run over a six minute stretch to go up 33-20. With 4:28 left in the half, a three from Kylie Maeda capped off the run.

After the Dons scored four points to cut the lead back to single digits, BYU went on a 6-2 run to close out the half to lead San Francisco 39-27 at the break. Morrison hit a three with 39 seconds left for her third trey of the first half. Both she and Eaton had 11 points at halftime.

"We tried to mix it up a little bit on defense and that just keeps the other team guessing because it keeps them on their toes," said Lexi Eaton. "Whatever seed you are (in the WCC tournament), it doesn't matter, what matters is how you play at the end of the year."

Eaton opened the second half by going 3 of 3 from the free throw line to give the Cougars a 15-point advantage. From there the two teams traded buckets and San Francisco slowly picked away at BYU's lead, cutting it to 10 at 57-44 with 9:57 to go.

At the 8:52 mark, Morrison’s shot from beyond the arc bounced up off the rim and went through the net. That trey, which was her fifth of the game, sparked a 9-1 run over a four minute span as BYU opened up its biggest lead of the game at 66-48.

The Dons made a late run to close the gap back to single digits until they were forced to foul as time ran out. Cassie Broadhead, Bailey and Eaton closed out the game, making 6 of 8 shots from the charity stripe for the 76-65 victory.

BYU will learn its matchup in the NCAA tournament on Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN.

Postgame Notes

Team

BYU had a 13-point, 33-20 advantage with 4:26 left in the first half and took a 12-point lead into the break, 39-27. The Cougars won the game 76-65, clinching their second WCC Championship title in four years.

BYU is the lowest seeded team to ever win a league title in the WCC.

After the first 20 minutes of action, the Cougars had dished out 12 assists, compared with five for the Dons. BYU finished with 18 total assists, making it the 24th game that it has recorded more assists than its opponent. San Francisco had 11 for the game.

BYU finished the game with eight steals compared with seven for San Francisco.

The Cougars scored 24 points off of the Dons' turnovers. San Francisco had 14 points from BYU miscues.

For the 13th time this year and the second-straight game, BYU finished with three players scoring in double figures, led by Lexi Eaton with 22. Morgan Bailey had 20 and Makenzi Morrison contributed 19.

San Francisco had the edge in the rebound category with 42 compared with 30 for BYU. They also had one more block than the Cougars, 2 to 1.

Player

Lexi Eaton

Eaton had 11 points in the first half, making it the 29th time on the year that she’s had at least 10-plus points in a game. Eaton finished with 22 for her 16th game with 20-plus points. She also had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. She was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2015 WCC Championships. 

Morgan Bailey

Bailey led the way for the Cougars in rebounds with four in the first half and finished the game with a team-best eight boards. She also recorded her 25th game with double digits and her ninth with 20-plus points. She was named to the 2015 WCC All-Tournament Team.

Makenzi Morrison

Morrison was one of two players in double digit scoring with 11 for BYU in the first 20 minutes of action. She ended with 19 points for her 16th game and second straight in double figures. She also went 5 of 8 from 3-point range. She was also named to the 2015 WCC All-Tournament Team.

Kylie Maeda

Maeda had five assists in the first half and finished the contest with a game-high five. She also contributed eight points and a game-best three steals.

Additional coach and player quotes

BYU head coach Jeff Judkins:

"I was really proud for our team. These three up here (Lexi Eaton, Makenzi Morrison, Morgan Bailey) had a great tournament, but more importantly, they had a great season. They really stuck together and each one of them have done something for this team to be successful."

More on San Francisco:  "A lot of their players will be back; they've got a lot of younger kids. This will be a great experience for them. I want to give (USF coach) Jennifer Azzi and her staff a lot of compliments about this year. They are a very classy team."

BYU Player Morgan Bailey:

"I don't think it (BYU offense agains the USF zone defense) changed too much for us, in that we are good at getting the ball inside and kicking it out. Our coach is really good at letting us know where to put the ball. I have a lot of belief in these girls, and they have a lot of heart."

BYU Player Makenzi Morrison:

"As a shooter, I enjoy playing against zones. So for me, it was just as good as if they were playing man. We have a good inside presence so it didn't really make a difference for us."

Notes for game #32 vs. San Francisco

LAS VEGAS--BYU women’s basketball (22-9) is in the WCC Championship title game after a second-straight upset victory in this year’s league tournament. No. 5 seed BYU, upset No. 1 seed Gonzaga, 61-55 in the semifinals.

The Cougars will battle No. 6 seed San Francisco, who also got an upset in the semifinals, a 65-57 win over No. 2 seed San Diego. During the regular season, BYU swept the series vs. the Dons.

About BYU
Lexi Eaton, a 5-foot-10 junior guard/forward combo, leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging 20.7 points per game. She ranks third in rebounds, pulling down 6.5 boards. Morgan Bailey, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, the 2015 WCC Player of the Year, is in second place in scoring, tallying 17.2 points, while leading the way in rebounding, averaging 10.6 boards per game. Bailey became BYU’s 26th player to eclipse 1,000 points in the USF game in San Francisco. The team’s assist leader is Kylie Maeda, who averages 4.3 assists a game.

BYU is averaging 68.4 points per game, while shooting 43.2 percent from the field, 71.6 percent at the free-throw line and 35.3 percent from 3-point land. In 23 games (most recent vs. SMC in the WCC tourney) the Cougars have dished out more assists than their opponents and have pulled down more rebounds in 14 contests to date. When leading at the break, they are 16-2 and have scored at least 80 points in six games (most recent, 82 at Pacific).

The team has had four players score in double figures in four contests, (most recent at Pacific) and has had three players finish with double-digit points in 12 games (most recent vs. Gonzaga, in the WCC semifinals).

BYU head coach Jeff Judkins recorded his 300th win with the 77-58 home victory over Pepperdine on Feb. 5, 2015. With the home win vs. Portland, the program picked up the sixth straight 20-win season, the eighth under Judkins.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 14th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton, 20.7 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 M. Bailey, 10.6 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #15 K. Maeda, 4.3 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Morrison, 1.6 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #41, M. Bailey, .68 bpg

About SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco enters the WCC championship game with a 19-12 record after getting an upset 65-57 win over No. 2 seed San Diego.

Two players are scoring in double figures for USF, led by Taylor Proctor, who averages 15.7 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds per game. Taj Winston follows, contributing 12.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest.

San Francisco scores 70.0 points a game, grabs 38.4 rebounds, shoots 42.6 percent from the field and 75.9 percent from the free-throw line. When attempting shots from behind the arc, USF is shooting 32.2 percent.

• Head coach: Jennifer Azzi (Stanford, 1990) Fifth season
• Team’s leading scorer: #32 T. Proctor, 15.7 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 T. Proctor, 7.8 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #1 Z. Dikes, 2.5 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #2 T. Winston, 2.4 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #03 P. Spietz, 1.0 bpg

Series History
The Cougars lead the overall series 12-2 and swept USF this year. Head coach Jeff Judkins is 9-2 against the Dons. This will be the second time the two league foes have played on a neutral court.

Last Meeting
The first meeting was played in Provo on Jan. 3, with BYU getting the, 65-62 home victory behind a double-double from Morgan Bailey with 26 points and 12 boards. Lexi Eaton contributed 18 points with Ashley Garfield also grabbing 12 rebounds.  The visiting Dons took a 35-33 edge at the break.The teams went back-and-forth exchanging the lead in the second half until BYU captured the momentum in the final 10 minutes. With 3:14 left and BYU hanging on to a 59-53 lead, Garfield found Bailey in the low-post for an easy lay-in. Bailey was fouled on the shot and made the following free throw to extend its lead, the largest of the game, 62-53. The Dons answered on the next few possessions, hitting four free throws and draining a 3-pointer at the top of the key to cut the Cougars’ lead to 62-60 with just under two minutes to play. However, the Cougar defense stiffened and Maeda made four free throws in the final minute to hold off San Francisco for the win.

BYU got a 68-63 victory in San Francisco on Jan. 29 in the second meeting. Bailey recorded another double-double from 19 points and 11 boards, while playing all 40 minutes. The Cougars took a 31-27 lead at halftime. Eaton scored seven points in a row, 50-34 with under 11 minutes left in the game. With 6:25 in the game, the Cougars’ lead was 57-42. BYU was held scoreless for three minutes, allowing USF to close the gap. A Dons 3-pointer shrunk the Cougars lead to 59-54 with one minute left. San Francisco went on a 9-0 run and held BYU scoreless for three minutes. Despite the Dons getting within one, 64-63, the Cougars hit key free throws down the stretch to close out the game and hold on to the victory.

Up Next
A win over San Francisco would give BYU its second WCC Championship title in four years and an automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA tournament.