PULLMAN, Wash. – In a battle of two Cougar women’s basketball teams, it was the Washington State Cougars picking up a 67-52 win over the BYU Cougar women, Saturday.

Lexi Eaton led the visiting Cougar team with 13 points with Morgan Bailey contributing 12 points off the bench.  Ashley Garfield also came off the bench getting eight points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal while teammate Xojian Harry tallied five points and grabbed two boards. Kim Parker Beeston led BYU in the rebound category grabbing eight.

“We didn’t follow our game plan today, our defense was not where it needs to be and we were just out of sync today,” said BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. 

“I thought that Ashley Garfield played her second straight consistent game for us, and that’s a plus for us.”

BYU (3-3)  got off to a quick start leading 12-9 with 11 minutes left and were up 18-16 at the 8:54 mark of the first half.  The visiting Cougars then went on a shooting slump allowing Washington State (2-3) to go on a 10-0 run and a 28-18 lead. A fast break layup by Lexi Eaton cut the lead to 28-20 but another 3-pointer by Washington State gave the home Cougar team a 31-20 advantage.  Eaton would get the next four points for BYU with a layup and two free throws, but headed into the locker room down by 17, 41-24.

Shooting woes continued for BYU in the second half as the team missed several shots from the field and from behind the arc. They were down by as much as 22 points before a 3-pointer by Xojian Harry with 10:55 left in the contest cut the lead to 16, 53-37. BYU continued to chip away at the lead and with 5:35 remaining, Bailey made a layup that got BYU within 13, 58-45. The team battled the rest of the contest but eventually lost its third game of the season by 15, 67-52.

For the game, the visiting Cougars got a strong showing from their bench as they scored 31 points compared with 24 for Washington State. BYU tallied more points in the paint 30 to 26 and shot 85 percent from the free throw line. They finished the game shooting 27 percent from the field and 13 percent from 3-point range, making three of 23 from behind the arc.

Up next for the Cougars is a game in Utah at EnergySolutions Arena. BYU will play Creighton Wed. Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. That game can be seen live world wide on BYUtv.

Postgame Notes
Team
BYU got 30 points in the paint while Washington State tallied 26.
BYU’s bench outscored Washington State’s 31 to 24.
The BYU Cougars shot .846 from the free throw line while the Washington State Cougars shot .636 from the charity stripe.

Players
Haley Steed led the team in assists with seven.
Lexi Eaton recorded her sixth straight double figure game in points with 13.
Morgan Bailey scored 12 points in the game marking the third game where she’s put up double digits in points.

With a 3-2 mark, BYU women’s basketball gets set to play its fifth straight road game this Saturday, Nov. 24. The Cougars travel to Pullman, Washington to take on the Cougars from Washington State (1-3)  at 3 p.m. PST.

BYU Capsule
BYU recorded its third win of the year and second road victory defeating Pac-12 foe Arizona 62-48 in Tucson on Tuesday.

Against the Wildcats and for the fourth time on the year, three players scored in double figures led by Jennifer Hamson’s double double 23 points and 14 rebounds. Lexi Eaton chipped in 14 while Kim Parker Beeston contributed 12 points to the winning effort. Hamson’s points and rebounds were career highs and marked her fourth overall double double. She also had five blocks in her first start with the team.

The Cougars took a 28-21 lead at half time and had a 15-point advantage with 15:52 left in the contest. Arizona cut the lead to 10 with 2:38 remaining but BYU came back with an impressive run to take a 60-48 edge with 1:22 left to play.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins, enters his 12th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #5 Jennifer Hamson, 23.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #5 Jennifer Hamson, 14.0 rpg
• Team’s assist leader: #33 Haley Steed, 7.2 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #33 Steed, 2.4 spg

BYU’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
#33 Haley Steed – (5-4 guard, GS6.0 ppg; 2.4 rpg; 7.2 apg
#4 Kim Parker Beeston – (5-11 guard, JR) 12.2 ppg; 4.0 rpg; 2.4 apg
#21 Lexi Eaton – (5-10 guard, SO) 18.2 ppg; 3.8 rpg; 1.4 apg
#41 Morgan Bailey – (6-2 forward, SO) 8.2 ppg; 5.8 rpg; 0.80 apg
#45 Keilani Unga – (6-2 forward, SR) 7.2 ppg; 4.6 rpg; 1.0 apg

Washington State Capsule
The Cougars from Washington State have compiled a 1-3 record to date and are 1-1 at home. They have three players putting up double figures in points. Washington State returns nine letterwinners and three starters from last year’s team that compiled a 13-20, 5-13 record, finishing 11th in the Pac-12.

• Head coach: June  Daughterty is in her fifth year with the Cougars
• Team’s leading scorer: #3 Lia Galdeira , 17.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #3 Galdeira, 6.5 rpg
• Team’s assist leader: #5 Tia Presley, 3.5 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #3 Galdeira, 5.0 spg

Series History
BYU leads the series 4-3
When playing in Pullman BYU has a 1-2 mark

Last Meeting
These two teams played last during the 2001-02 season on Nov. 24 in Provo with the homestanding team recording the 94-67 victory.
In the home opener for the BYU Cougars, junior All-American Erin Thorn scored 21 points with freshman Danielle Cheesman tallied 15 points off the bench. Senior guard Stacy Jensen scored eight points and dished out eight assists.
The BYU Cougars shot 56 percent from the field and 68 percent from behind the arc.

Both of these Cougar teams met in Pullman during the 2000-01 campaign with the visiting Cougars getting the 90-58 win on Nov. 30.

Up Next
BYU returns to Utah and rounds out the month of November in a game in Salt Lake City at EnergySolutions Arena. The Cougars take on Creighton Wed., Nov. 30 at 3 p.m. The game will air live worldwide on BYUtv.