TUCSON, Ariz. – Jennifer Hamson shined in her season debut to help lift BYU to a 62-48 win over unbeaten Arizona Tuesday on the road. 

In her first game with the Cougars (3-2) this season, Hamson recorded a double-double with a career-high 23 points while pulling down 14 rebounds. Hamson also totaled five blocks.

“Jennifer Hamson causes so many problems for the other team,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “Not just with scoring but her defensive presence. It’s nice to have her back. She is a great player.”

Lexi Eaton and Kim Parker Beeston joined Hamson in double figures with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Eaton was perfect from the line, knocking in 6 of 6. Beeston added five assists and three steals.

BYU’s bench outscored Arizona (4-1) 13-3. The Cougars rallied for 36 points in the paint to the Wildcats’ 10.

Arizona took an early 9-5 lead, its largest of the half, until a trey by Beeston at 8:10 tied the game 10-10.

Free throws by Eaton sparked a 10-2 run by BYU. Coming off the bench, Ashley Garfield gave the Cougars their first lead, 19-18, on a layup with 4:05 left in the period. Garfield chipped in five of the next seven points.

“Ashley Garfield came in and did a great job,” Judkins said. “She had a couple nice baskets and had plays on defense. She gave us a big spark today.”

Haley Steed found Garfield open down court on a fast break. Garfield converted the basket and went on to finish the three-point play from the line for a 26-19 score with two minutes until the break.

Morgan Bailey knocked in another shot for a nine-point lead, the Cougars’ largest of the half, with 1:10 on the clock. Arizona hit two from the charity stripe to end the first half with BYU ahead 28-21.

Two free throws and a bucket by Hamson kicked off the second half and a 10-2 Cougar run. Eaton extended the BYU lead to double-digits with two shots from the line with 17:11 on the clock.

Hamson continued to be an offensive weapon with two field goals with 15:52 registering on the clock to build on BYU’s lead, 38-23, for a 15-point advantage. An Arizona layup and trey cut the Cougars’ lead back to single digits, 42-33, with 13:14 remaining.

A Hamson layup sparked a 9-2 run that pushed BYU ahead by 17 with five minutes left. Beeston contributed five of the nine points for the Cougars.

Arizona attempted a comeback with back-to-back treys to cut BYU’s lead to 10 with 2:38 to play. Two shots from the line brought the Wildcats within eight.

Hamson haulted the 8-0 Arizona run with a layup for BYU before Eaton hit both free throws to extend its lead to 60-48 with 1:22 to play. Hamson finished the game with a bucket for a 62-48 final.

“We did a great job playing the defensive game plan we set up,” Judkins said. “It was a really good team effort.”

BYU has one more road contest this week. They are at Washington State on Sat. Nov. 24 in a 3 p.m., PT tip off.

Postgame Notes

Team
BYU finished the contest outrebounding Arizona 43 - 35.

The Cougars dished out 14 assists to the Wildcats' nine.

For the fourth time on the season, three Cougar players recorded double figures in points led by Jennifer Hamson’s 23. Lexi Eaton tallied 14 and Kim Parker Beeston had 12.

The win over Arizona improves head coach Judkins’s record against Pac-12 schools to 14-7.

Player
Jennifer Hamson traveled with the team for the first time this season and made her first start at Arizona. In the game, she recorded her first double-double of the year and the fourth of her career with 23 points and 14 rebounds. The points and rebounds were game and career highs. Hamson also recorded season bests in blocks with five. She alone had the same number of blocks as the entire Arizona team.

Kim Beeston’s 12 points marked the fourth game putting up double-digits in points on the season.

For the fifth time on the year, Haley Steed dished out team highs in assists. Against the Wildcats she had seven.

Lexi Eaton was the third BYU player to put up double figures in points, finishing the game with 12. It was Eaton’s fifth straight double-digit outing on the season.

In their first road trip of the year, the Cougar women went 1-2 getting a 58-57 win at Dartmouth before dropping two hard fought close games to Boston College 62-56 and to Harvard 71-65.
The team looks to get back on the winning column with its next road trip. BYU (2-2) travels to Tucson to take on the Arizona Wildcats (4-0) on Tuesday, Nov. 20 in an early 11 a.m. MST tip off.

BYU Capsule
At Harvard, three players scored in double figures led by Kim Beeston’s game-high 19 points followed by 17 from Lexi Eaton and 14 from Keilani Unga. The Cougars finished the game shooting 49 percent from the field and 65 percent from the free throw line. They made 8 of 19 treys.

In three of the four games played to date, BYU had three players score in double   digits. The only game where only two players put up double figures in points was at Boston College

With the win over Weber State, head coach Jeff Judkins improved his record in home openers to 10-2 overall

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins, enters his 12th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 Lexi Eaton, 19.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 Morgan Bailey, 6.3 rpg
• Team’s assist leader: #33 Haley Steed, 7.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #33 Steed, 2.0 spg

BYU’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
#33 Haley Steed – (5-4 guard, GS) 7.50 ppg; 2.3 rpg; 7.0 apg
#4 Kim Parker Beeston – (5-11 guard, JR) 12.3 ppg; 4.5 rpg; 1.8 apg
#21 Lexi Eaton – (5-10 guard, SO) 19.3 ppg; 4.0 rpg; 1.8 apg
#41 Morgan Bailey – (6-2 forward, SO) 8.8 ppg; 6.3 rpg
#45 Keilani Unga – (6-2 forward, SR) 9.0 ppg; 5.0 rpg; 1.0

Arizona Capsule
The University of Arizona has compiled a 4-0 record to date, getting a win at CS Bakersfield, at UNLV 83-82 and a 53-45 victory in its home opener over CS Northridge.

The Wildcats returns five letterwinners and three starters from last year’s team that had a 15-17, 3-15 record, finishing 12th in the Pac-12.

• Head coach: Niya Butts is in her fifth year with the Wildcats
• Team’s leading scorer: #00 Davellyn Whyte, 20.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #13 Cheshi Poston, 7.0 rpg
• Team’s assist leader: #00 Davellyn Whyte 4.8 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #00 Davellyn Whyte, 3.5 spg

Series History
BYU leads the series 6-5
When playing in Tucson the Cougars are 2-3

Last Meeting
These two teams played last season in the Hukilai Invitational on the BYU-Hawaii campus. In that game Kim Parker Beeston recorded a career-high 25 points and dished out six assists. Also in double digits in that game was Haley Steed who contributed 10 points to the win. The Cougars shot 48 percent from the field, 52 percent from three-point range and 73 percent from the free throw line.

For Arizona, Davellyn Whyte led the way with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Erica Barnes tallied 17 points and grabbed eight boards. The Wildcats shot 46 percent from the field, 38 percent from behind the arc and 81 percent from the charity stripe.

Co-Team Captains
Graduate student Haley Steed and senior Keilani Unga have been chosen by their teammates as co-captains for the 2012-13 season. This is Steed’s fifth straight co-captain selection.

Player Injury Report
Sophomore guard Stephanie Rovetti suffered a cartilage injury to her left knee in a team practice. She is out for the season.

What’s Next
Once the Cougars battle Arizona, they will play their second Pac-12 foe in Washington State. BYU will battle the Cougars at Pullman on Sat., Nov. 24 in a 3 p.m., tip off.