Cougars fall to Gonzaga in first WCC game

SPOKANE, Washington – BYU women’s basketball dropped its first game in the West Coast Conference 62-78 to Gonzaga in Spokane.

"I thought Gonzaga played its best game of the year against us today," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We did a good job cutting the lead and getting it within five a couple of times, but we just couldn't come up with the baskets. Defensively we did a better job in the second half and we saw a lot of good things from several of our players. Alohi did a great job for us today, she gave us some good minutes and it's good to have her full-time now."

Lexi Eaton and Morgan Bailey led the Cougars with 13 points apiece. Ashley Garfield and Xojian Harry led the rebounding effort with seven each.

Gonzaga (8-4, 1-0 WCC) started off the game with a quick bucket, but BYU (8-4, 0-1 WCC) answered back with a bucket from Makenzi Morrison at the shot clock buzzer. Eaton scored five points in the first five minutes, including a put-back layup to put BYU within one, 9-10 with 16:15 remaining in the half.

A three from Georgia Stirton pushed Gonzaga’s lead to 18-13. Alohi Robins-Hardy came off the bench and drilled a 3-pointer to get within two points, but Emma Stach hit a trey of her own from the corner to make the Bulldogs’ lead 29-21 with 7:55 remaining.

The Cougars got themselves back in the game after a 9-2 run capped off by Cassie Broadhead’s scramble for the ball to earn the layup and to make the score 30-35, but a bucket by Greinecher stopped the run and put The Bulldogs’ lead back to seven with four minutes left.

BYU tried to hold Gonzaga to a single-digit lead before the half after Eaton made a jump shot with 38 seconds left, but Stirton made a layup to take the 45-34 lead going into halftime. Gonzaga made 12 of 13 free throws while BYU only shot two of four.

Bailey led the Cougars early in the second half with the first three field goals. A pair of made free throws from Morrison made it 42-48 with 16:50 remaining. Gonzaga answered back with a 10-0 run to push the lead back to double-digits, 58-42 with 14:15 left.

Gonzaga never looked back, continuing to hold a double-digit lead despite Bailey’s buckets in the paint. Her layup with 10:42 remaining cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 10, 63-53. With 3:40 left, Garfield made a bucket to make it 58-74, but the Cougars were not able to score again until Kristine Fuller made a jumper with 50 seconds left. Robins-Hardy made two free throws to make the final score 62-78.

The Cougars continue their road trip on Monday, Dec. 29, where they will take on Portland at 7 p.m. PST. The game will be broadcast live on TheW.tv and live stats will be available on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.

Postgame Notes

Team

At the break, BYU had16 rebounds to Gonzaga’s 14. The Cougars finished the game with 36 rebounds, making it the sixth time this year that they have grabbed more boards than their opponents. Gonzaga ended the game with 35.

The Cougars dished out eight assists in the first half and ended the game with 13.  The Bulldogs had 16 assists for the game, making it the first time this year that an opponent has recorded more assists than BYU.

In the points in the paint category, both teams finished with 28 points apiece.

The BYU bench outscored the Gonzaga bench 19 to 14, while the Bulldogs got more second chance opportunities, 23 to 17.

Player

Lexi Eaton
Scored in double figures for the 10th time this season with 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out one assist.

Morgan Bailey
Picked up 11th game with double digits in points and the fourth straight with 13. She also grabbed five rebounds, had two assists and one steal.

Xojian Harry
Recorded career bests in rebounds with seven tying for team highs in the category. She also put up eight points.

Ashley Garfield
Scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds tying for team bests. The points were one shy of her season best 10 points.

Kylie Maeda
Dished out a team-best four assists.

Alohi Robins-Hardy
Picked up season highs in points with five and in rebounds with three, while playing 15 minutes, the most on the year.