Cougars top Aggies 84-74

PROVO, Utah – Seniors Jennifer Hamson and Kim Beeston scored a combined 46 points to lead BYU women’s basketball to an 84-74 victory against Utah State Saturday afternoon.

“I thought we handled (our) zone (defense) very well,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “I thought we made some good adjustments at the second half with it. We haven’t played it a lot so we made some mistakes we shouldn’t have, but for the most part I thought we did a good job.”

BYU (10-1) held the Aggies (6-4) to 38 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent from the 3-point line.

Hamson led the team once again with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 17 free-throw attempts. Beeston followed with 22 points, shooting 5 of 9 from the 3-point line.

The Aggies started the game strong, pressuring the Cougars defensively with two defenders on the ball and matching the Cougars baskets.

Hamson scored 11 points under the basket in the first half, while Beeston drained three 3-pointers in the first ten minutes of the game. She totaled 15 points at the half.

With 1:30 left in the first half the Aggies finally managed to tie the game at 37-37. Beeston made it to the line twice, and Stephanie Rovetti once to help the Cougars regain the lead. In the final seconds of the first half, Makenzi Morrison hit her second 3-pointer of the game to leave the score 46-41 at the half.

The Aggies worked to earn their points back at the start of the second half, tying the game at 47-47. The Cougars then went on a 10-1 run in attempt to pull away. Lexi Eaton and Beeston each hit a three and Ashley Garfield played aggressively to make it to the line and keep the ball in BYU hands. Garfield earned a career-high seven assists with a season-high 15 rebounds.

The Cougars took their largest lead of the game, 65-56 after yet another three by Beeston with 10:44 left in the first half.

Franny Vaaulu and Elise Nelson of Utah State fouled out with under 10 minutes to go. The Aggie offense worked hard to break the Cougars defense and closed the gap to 68-65 with five minutes to go.

An intentional foul from Utah State’s Makenlee Williams put Eaton on the line for two extra points. Kylie Maeda nailed the coffin in the final minute with a hard drive down the lane for a jumper and two points at the line to end the game 84-74.

BYU vs. Utah State Postgame Notes Dec. 21, 2013

Player Notes

Jennifer Hamson scored seven of BYU's first nine points and reached double digits with 1:45 left in the first half. She finished with a double-double recording 12 rebounds, two blocks and an assist to go with her team-high 24 points.

Kim Beeston was 3 of 5 on 3-pointers for an 18-11 lead midway through the first half. Beeston reached double digits with 2:30 left in the first half. She finished with a season-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.This was her second game this season scoring 20+ points.

Ashley Garfield set a career high in assists and a season high for rebounds. She finished with 15 rebounds, nine points, seven assists and a steal.

Makenzi Morrison hit three 3-pointers in the first half for all her scoring. The nine points and three 3-pointers are season highs for the freshman.

Team Notes

Five-0 and 6-0 runs kept the Cougars up seven in the first half at 18-11 and 21-14. Utah State made four straight buckets late in the half, but BYU made 7 of their last 8 to go in with a five-point lead.

A 10-1 run from 16:53 until 14:05 in the second half put BYU up 57-48 thanks to a Lexi Eaton 3-pointer, two free throws from Garfield, a Beeston 3-pointer and a Hamson layup.

BYU shot 47 percent from the field and from behind the arc. The Cougars held Utah State to 38 percent from the field and 29 percent from behind the arc.

The Cougars fell one assist short of their season-high 23 assists against Washington State. The 22 assists came from seven different players. Kylie Maeda, Beeston, Stephanie Rovetti and Garfield each had three or more.