MALIBU, Calif. — BYU women’s basketball gave up just two points in the final quarter to secure a 57-43 win over Pepperdine Tuesday night at Firestone Fieldhouse.

“It was a good win,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “Even though we didn’t play to our full potential tonight we sure defended. Sara (Hamson) took the middle away and we did a really good job of fighting through ball screens. I’m happy for the team being able to fight through a game like this.”

BYU at Pepperdine Final Box Score

The Cougars (12-3, 8-2) led by as many as 17 points in the opening period before the Waves (3-13, 0-12) fought back to within four at the end of the third quarter. Fueled by 11 fourth-quarter points from Paisley Johnson Harding, BYU then outscored Pepperdine 12-2 in the final period to seal the win.

Harding led all scorers with 20 points, knocking down 5 of her 10 three-point attempts, to go along with five assists and a season-high five rebounds. Shaylee Gonzales filled the stat sheet with 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block, while Lauren Gustin had a game-high 10 rebounds and eight points.

Hamson tallied nine blocks on the night, tying her career high, while adding five rebounds, a pair of steals and two points.

An Albiero trey from the left wing capped a 7-0 BYU run to start the game. The Cougars continued to dominate early on both sides of the floor, as a pair of 3-pointers by Graham and another from Harding gave BYU a 22-8 advantage at the end of the first quarter. The Cougars held Pacific to just 15.4% shooting from the floor during the first 10 minutes.

The Waves tightened things up in the second quarter, using a 10-2 run to cut BYU’s lead to six, 24-18. The Cougars, however, caught fire from distance to end the half as Harding drained a pair of deep 3-pointers from the right wing and Gonzales added another from the top of the key. Harding then found a cutting Hamson for a lay-in just before the break to give BYU a 35-24 halftime lead.

Layups by Gustin and Gonzales put the Cougars up 14 early in the third but a 14-4 Pepperdine run brought the Waves within four, 45-41, heading into the final period.

Harding continued her hot shooting from deep to start the fourth, knocking down a pair of triples to extend BYU’s advantage to 12, 53-41. A Harding midrange jumper then put the Cougars up 15, 56-41, with 2:44 left. BYU gave up just two points throughout the entire fourth quarter, as a Harding free throw sealed the 57-43 Cougar win.

BYU continues its three-game road trip this week as it takes on Pacific on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. PST. The contest will be streamed live on the WCC Network.

Player Notes

• Harding dropped 20 points on 6 of 14 shooting, tying her season high. She tied her career high with five 3-pointers, going 5 of 10 from deep, and added five assists and a season-high five rebounds
• Gonzales contributed 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in 40 minutes of play
• Hamson tied her career high with nine blocks, six of which came in the second half. This is the fifth time in Hamson’s career that she has recorded nine blocks in a single game
• Gustin had a near-double-double, tallying a game-high 10 rebounds and eight points in 35 minutes of action
• Graham chipped in eight points, all of which came in the first quarter, to go along with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block

Team Notes

• Fueled by Hamson’s nine blocked shots, BYU tallied a season-high 11 blocks on the night
• The two fourth-quarter points allowed by the Cougars is the lowest they have given up in a single quarter this season
• The Waves' 43 total points scored is the lowest by a BYU opponent this season
• BYU shot 32% from the floor while holding Pepperdine to 30%
• The Cougars won the rebound (43-34) and assist (18-6) battles
• Both teams scored 16 points in the paint
• The Cougars forced 14 Waves turnovers, giving up nine of their own, and scored 13 points off takeaways
• BYU led throughout the entire ballgame

MALIBU, Calif. — BYU women’s basketball will tip-off its three-game road trip this week when it plays Pepperdine on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 5 p.m. PST at the Firestone Fieldhouse. The game will be streamed live on the WCC Network.

The two teams were originally scheduled to play in Malibu on Jan. 9, but the matchup was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The Cougars (11-3, 7-2), who have won five of their last six games, hosted the Waves (3-12, 0-11) last Thursday at the Marriott Center and won 75-61.

BYU at Pepperdine Game Notes

ABOUT BYU (11-3, 7-2)

• The Cougars went 2-1 last week, falling to No. 17 Gonzaga on the road before winning home matchups with Pepperdine and LMU
• BYU remains in second place in the WCC standings, three games back from the Zags and a game ahead of third-place San Diego
• Lauren Gustin ranks 2nd in the nation in rebounds (13.2 rpg) and defensive rebounds (9.8) per game. Gustin had a career 27-point, 20-rebound night last Thursday versus the Waves
• Sara Hamson ranks 2nd in the WCC in blocks per game (2.3)
• Shaylee Gonzales is the WCC’s second-leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points per contest. Gonzales ranks 3rd in the conference in steals per game (2.6)
• Along with Gonzales, Gustin (12.3 ppg) and Paisley Johnson Harding (11.9 ppg) are averaging double figures in scoring for BYU. Coming off the bench, Tegan Graham is the Cougars’ fourth-leading scorer (8.5 ppg)
• As a team, BYU leads the WCC in field-goal percentage defense (.356) and defensive rebounds per game (27.5). The Cougars rank 20th in the country in assists per game (17.1)

ABOUT PEPPERDINE (3-12, 0-11)

• After winning their first three games of the season, the Waves have lost 12 straight and currently sit in 10th place in the WCC standings. Pepperdine is coming off a road loss to San Diego on Saturday, 70-45
• Junior guard Malia Bambrick (11.3 ppg) and senior forward Monique Andriuolo (10.0) lead the Waves in scoring
• Andriuolo is pulling down a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game and leads the team in blocks per game (0.7)
• Freshman forward Kendyl Carson is the Waves’ assist leader (1.7 apg) while junior guard Cheyenne Givens is averaging a team-best 1.8 steals per game
• Pepperdine is averaging 57.1 points per contest while giving up 64.7 to its opponents. The Waves rank 5th in the WCC in scoring defense

SERIES HISTORY

• BYU is 22-4 all-time against Pepperdine
• The Cougars are 7-3 versus the Waves when playing in Malibu
• Last Thursday, BYU defeated Pepperdine 75-61 in the Marriott Center

UP NEXT

BYU continues its road trip this week with games on Thursday and Saturday at Pacific and Saint Mary’s, respectively. Thursday’s matchup with Pacific will tip-off at 7 p.m. PST and a live stream will be available on the WCC Network.