MALIBU, Calif. – BYU women’s basketball team suffered its second conference loss of the season on Saturday, falling 79-65 to Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse. The No. 25 Cougars are now 17-5 overall and 9-2 in West Coast Conference play, while the Waves improved to 13-8 and 7-4.

BYU at Pepperdine Final Box Score

“We didn’t play well today,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said.  “We didn’t show up like we needed to and we didn’t get a big effort from anyone. We have to get better."

Shalae Salmon led the team with 13 points while also tallying six rebounds and two assists. Paisley Johnson added 11 points, going a perfect 6 for 6 at the charity line, while Babalu Ugwu contributed 10 points and three rebounds.

Coming off their first conference loss of the season, the No. 25 Cougars came out strong to start the game against Pepperdine, going on an eight-point run to quickly take an 8-2 advantage. The Waves, however, were able to close the gap to tie the game at 12-all. Pepperdine went on to take a one-point lead before the Cougars maintained a small lead to end the quarter, 19-18.

Pepperdine again took a one-point lead to start the second quarter, draining two free throws. Two free throws from Ugwu and a layup from Salmon put the Cougars back in the lead 23-20. With just over three minutes to go in the second quarter, Pepperdine started to take control of the game going on an 11-2 run to earn a 32-27 advantage. Pepperdine closed out the second quarter taking a double-digit lead, putting up a seven-point run to make the score 39-29 going into half time.

The Waves continued to score through the third quarter, keeping their margin near double digits. Free throws from Ugwu and a layup from Jasmine Moody chipped away at Pepperdine’s lead at the beginning of the quarter.  A 3-pointer from Chase brought the score within seven at 48-41. But, the quarter ended with the Waves up 12 points at 56-44.

BYU continued to see the gap widen in the fourth quarter, scoring eight of its 21 points off free throws. Pepperdine dominated throughout the quarter taking a 19- point lead and came out on top 79-65.  

After completing three road games, the Cougars now return to Provo to take on Saint Mary’s at the Marriott Center on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. MST in the annual Kid's Day game on Feb. 7. The game will be carried live on BYUtv and online at byutv.org.

Postgame Notes: BYU at Pepperdine (Sat., Feb. 2, 2019)
Team
With the 79-65 loss at Pepperdine, the BYU women’s basketball is now 17-5, 9-2 on the year.

For the 10th time on the season, the Cougars had three players that finished with double-figure points in a game. Shalae Salmon (13), Paisley Johnson (11), Babalu Ugwu (10).

The Cougars finished the game with 39 rebounds, 13 assists, six steals and four blocks.

Player
Shalae Salmon tallied eight points in the first half along with two rebounds. For the game, she picked up her fourth game with double-digit points with a team-best 13. She grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists.

Paisley Johnson picked up her ninth straight and 19th overall game with double-figure points with 11. She was perfect at the free throw line making all six attempted baskets and dished out two assists.

Babalu had six points in the first 20 minutes of the game. She finished with 10 points for her second double-digit outing of the season.  She shot 100 percent from the charity stripe, making all four baskets, grabbed three rebounds and got two steals.

Shaylee Gonzales led the team in the rebounds and assists categories with seven and three, respectively. She finished the game with six points.

PROVO, Utah— No. 25 BYU women's basketball travels to Los Angeles to takes on LMU Thursday, Jan. 31, at 5 p.m. PST.

On Saturday, the Cougars head to Malibu for a 2 p.m., PST game vs. Pepperdine. Fans can watch a live video stream of both league games on TheW.tv. Live stats will be available at: https://byucougars.com/schedule/w-basketball/.

BYU at LMU Game Notes

No. 25 BYU women’s basketball improved its record to 17-3, 9-0 on the year with a 65-56 road win at San Diego, Saturday.  In this week’s West Coast Conference standings, the Cougars are in first place with a perfect 9-0 record.

ABOUT BYU

• For the first time since the 2011-12 season, the team made the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 25, Monday.
• BYU’s current 11-game win streak ties for third best in school history. The team’s longest win streak occurred during the 2015-16 season when it won 16 straight games.
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales, who has scored in double-digits in all games, leads in scoring and assists with 17.3 and 4.3 averages, respectively. Sophomore Paisley Johnson contributes 14.1 points while teammate junior Brenna Chase puts up 12.4 points a contest. Chase leads in steals with a 2.7 average. 
• Senior forward Jasmine Moody tops the leaderboard in rebounding, averaging 6.0 boards a game. She picked up her first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the road win at San Diego, Saturday. In that same game, sophomore center Sara Hamson recorded a game-high seven blocks for a season-best in that category. She leads the team in blocks with a 2.1 average. Hamson is third on the team in rebounding pulling down 5.3 boards a game.
• In the WCC, the Cougars rank second in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, blocked shots and assist/turnover ratio; third in assists, turnover margin, defensive rebounds, and 3-point field goals made; fourth in 3-point field goal percentage and steals. 
• In the first meeting with LMU, the Cougars picked up a 55-44 victory in Provo on Jan. 5. BYU has a 16-2 all-time lead in the series with the Lions. In Los Angeles, BYU is 5-2.

ABOUT LMU

• LMU has compiled an 11-10, 4-5 record.  Heading into this week’s WCC action, the Lions are in sixth place in the league standings.
• In league play, LMU has picked up wins over Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Pacific.
• The Lions are averaging 54.4 points and 41.3 rebounds a contest. The team shoots 38.3 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from 3-point range and 60.5 percent from the charity stripe.
• Three players are contributing double-digit points for LMU, led by Chelsey Gipson’s 16.2 points. Teammate Gabby Green follows with 14.0 points a contest. Jasmine Jones rounds out the scoring output for the Lions with 10.9 points a game. Bree Alford leads the way in rebounding with a 9.8 average.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE

• Pepperdine is 11-8, 5-4 on the season and is in fifth place in the latest WCC standings. They battle San Diego in Malibu on Thursday before hosting the Cougars on Saturday afternoon.
• In league play, the Waves have recorded wins over Portland, San Diego, Santa Clara, San Francisco and LMU.
• Saturday’s meeting with the Waves will be the second for the two league foes. BYU hosted Pepperdine on Jan. 3 when the Cougars recorded an 83-58 win.
• In the series with the Waves, BYU has an 18-2 lead. In Malibu, the Cougars are 6-2 all-time.
• Senior guard Yasmine Robinson-Bacote leads the way for Pepperdine in scoring and rebounding averaging 19.8 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. Junior guard Barbara Sitanggan is the second player on the squad to tally double-digit points with 10.5 points a game. She also leads the way in the assist category dishing out 4.6 assists a contest.

UP NEXT
After the two road games in California, BYU women’s basketball returns to the Marriott Center to host two conference foes. The Cougars play Saint Mary’s on Thursday, Feb. 7 in the annual Kid’s Game, tipping off at 11 a.m. MDT. On Saturday, Feb. 9, Pacific comes to Provo for a matchup with the Cougars at 2 p.m. MDT. Both games are slated to air live on BYUtv and online at byutv.org.