PROVO, Utah - Junior Kim Parker Beeston scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help the BYU women's basketball team defeat the Loyola Marymount Lions 72-53 at the Marriott Center on Thursday night.

"I thought we played a good game tonight," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought our bench the first half really helped us get going. I thought Ashley Garfield and Morgan Bailey came in and gave us a good lift. It’s nice having depth. It’s nice having people that will be ready to go."

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All of Beeston's 15 points came from behind the arc as she hit 5-of-7 3-pointers and four of her nine rebounds came off the offensive glass. She also recorded three assists.

Junior Jennifer Hamson and sophomore Morgan Bailey each tallied 10 points and five rebounds and  senior Haley Steed dished out  a season-high 13 assists and added eight points to aid in the Cougar victory.

BYU (13-5, 4-1) hit exactly half of its field goals while holding Loyola Marymount (8-12, 2-5)  to just 32.8 percent shooting on the night. 

The Cougars' first bucket came from a Steed trey with just over three minutes into the game.

About six minutes into the half, Bailey received the ball down low then passed out of the block to an open Stephanie Vermunt Seaborn in the corner for a 3-pointer to cut the lead to three, 11-8. The Lions couldn't convert on their next possession and Steed pushed the ball up the court to give Ashley Garfield a fast-break layup with 13:35 left in the half.

Immediately following the layup, the Cougars went into a full-court press resulting in an offensive foul on the Lions. BYU got its first lead of the game from the turnover as Garfield converted a layup right under the rim to put BYU up 12-11.

With 8:48 left in the half, Steed drained a shot from beyond the arc, which would be the start of a 15-4 BYU run. Beeston then stole the ball on defense which led to a field goal from Hamson. The 6-foot-7 center blocked the next Lion shot attempt and got the ball in the low post on the other side of the court for another score to increase the lead 26-21 with about eight minutes remaining.

Hamson, Bailey and Garfield layups and consecutive Beeston 3-pointers also fueled the run to give BYU a 34-23 lead.

Both teams traded baskets the last five minutes and BYU maintained a double-digit lead at the half, 46-34, partially due to the Cougars' 22-8 advantage in the paint. 

Loyola Marymount scored four second-half points before Unga grabbed an offensive rebound and found the bottom of the net with 17:49 left in the game. Steed assisted on two more buckets as the offense began clicking and BYU scored seven points in less than two minutes to increase its lead, 53-38.

That offensive burst started a 14-4 run and the Cougars found themselves with a 20-point lead 60-40 with 10:30 left.

Over the next six minutes, BYU hit four free throws and Harry hit two shots to add to the point differential, 68-46.

BYU held its lead through the remainder of the game and held Loyola Marymount to 27.6 percent shooting in the second half.

The Cougars will play on the road against San Francisco Saturday at 2 p.m. PST.

Postgame notes

Team

Haley Steed’s 3-pointer with 9:05 left in the first half put the Cougars ahead 22-21, taking the lead for good.

BYU’s 8-0 run to end the first half cemented the Cougar lead, giving them a 46-34 advantage.

BYU hit 52.8 percent from the field in the first half and 57.1 percent from beyond the arc. The Cougars shot 50 percent overall and 43.5 percent from 3-point land for the game.

The Cougars began the second half with a 12-0 run to go ahead 58-38.

BYU won on the boards 46-28 and outscored in the paint 38-18. The BYU bench also outscored the LMU bench 29-18.

Player

Kim Parker Beeston recorded 15 points on five 3-pointers, tying her career high for 3-pointers in a game. She also had a career-high nine rebounds to lead the Cougars in both points and boards.

Haley Steed led the team with 13 assists, a season high, and also had eight points.

Jennifer Hamson scored in double figures with 10 points. She also had five rebounds.

Morgan Bailey recorded 10 points and had five rebounds.

With a 12-5 overall record, including a 3-1 mark in WCC play, the Cougar women’s basketball team continues league action with a Thursday game at home and a road game on Saturday.

BYU, who is in third place in this week’s conference standings, hosts LMU Thursday at 7 p.m., MST. The game can be seen live on BYUtv. They are at San Francisco on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m., PST. Fans can follow the action vs. the Dons live on BYU Radio.

LMU GAME PROMOTIONS (Student Night) All students (high school and college) get in FREE with student ID

• FREE pizza after the game
• 2nd Annual Postgame Dance on the Marriott Center court with the team, after the game. Must have college ID
• Unlimited Powerade

BYU Capsule
BYU looks to stay undefeated at home where it is 8-0 to date. The team has outrebounded its opponents in 11 of the games played. In all but three contests (at Gonzaga, at Boston College and at Washington State) the Cougars dished out more assists than their opponents. BYU has enjoyed a halftime lead in all but three games to date (at Gonzaga, vs. Seattle and at Washington State). The BYU bench has outscored the opponent’s bench 351-218. When comparing points in the paint, the Cougars have scored 456 points to 384 from opponents.

In the team’s league victory over Pepperdine, four players scored in double figures marking the third time that BYU has had four players scoring in double digits this season.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78), enters his 12th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #5 Jennifer Hamson, 11.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #5 Hamson, 8.0 rpg
• Team’s assist leader: #33 Haley Steed, 7.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #33 Steed, 1.9 spg

BYU’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
#33 Haley Steed– (5-4 guard, GS.) 9.1 ppg; 3.9 rpg; 7.7 apg
#4 Kim Parker Beeston– (5-11 guard, Jr.) 10.1 ppg; 3.6 rpg; 2.1 apg
#11 Xojian Harry– (5-10 guard, So.) 4.1 ppg; 1.5 rpg; 0.6 apg
#45 Keilani Unga– (6-2 forward, Sr.) 5.8 ppg; 4.1 rpg; 0.9 apg
#5 Jennifer Hamson– (6-7 center, Jr.) 11.8 ppg; 8.0 rpg; 0.4 apg

LMU Capsule
In fifth place in the latest WCC standings with a 2-4 mark, LMU opens the week on the road at BYU. The Lions have picked up league victories over Pepperdine and San Francisco and have an 8-11 overall record. LMU returns 10 letterwinners including three starters. When playing on the road, the Lions are 0-2 to date.

• Head coach: Charity Elliott is in her first season at LMU
• Team’s leading scorer: #3 Alex Cowling, 15.9 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #3 Cowling, 7.6 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #4 Hazel Ramirez, 5.4 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #4 Ramirez, 2.3 spg

Series History
BYU leads the series 4-0

Last Meeting
In last season’s WCC race, the Cougars swept the series with the Lions getting the 80-47 win in Provo on Jan. 5. Senior forward Kristen Riley led the Cougars with 16 points and three rebounds and was aided by Haley Steed, who added eight points and eight assists. Lexi Eaton added 14 points, 12 in the second half. At halftime BYU took a 48-22 lead into the locker room. The team shot 52 percent from the field and 83 percent from the free throw line while going 9-of-19 from behind the arc. 

In the second matchup played in Los Angeles on Jan. 19, BYU defeated LMU 72-48 led by Riley’s season-high 22 points. She recorded a double-double with a game-best 10 boards. Eaton contributed 16 points and three rebounds. Steed had five points and a game-best nine assists. The Cougars finished the game outrebounding the Lions 38-28 while shooting 51 percent from the field and 73 percent from the charity stripe.

San Francisco Capsule
San Francisco enters this week of WCC action in last place with a 1-5 mark. USF is 8-11 on the year. Saturday’s home game vs. BYU is the team’s lone game of the week where they are 6-3.  The Dons beat Portland in Los Angeles for their first victory in league play on Jan. 12.

• Head coach: Jennifer Azzi is in her second year with USF
• Team’s leading scorer: #45 Mel Khlok, 15.6 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #25 Alicia Scafidi, 7.3 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #45 Khlok, 3.3 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #45 Khlok, 2.3 spg

Series History
BYU leads the series 8-1

Last Meeting
The Cougars and Dons already met once this season with BYU picking up the 80-58 win on Jan. 5 in Provo.  The Cougars took the first 10 points of the game, keeping San Francisco scoreless until the 15:28 mark. Going into halftime, BYU kept the Dons scoreless from beyond the arc, holding them to 25 percent shooting from the field while enjoying a 12-point, 34-22 advantage, at the break. The Cougars went on a 12-2 run at the beginning of the second half to lead 50-25 and would have their largest lead, up by 31, 76-45 with just over four minutes remaining in the contest. Morgan Bailey and Ashley Garfield picked up double-doubles in the game. Bailey finished with 14 points and a career-high 13 rebounds while Garfield picked up a career-high 14 points to go along with 10 rebounds. In last year’s WCC race, each team won on the road.

Up Next
Next week BYU continues league play with a home game vs. Saint Mary’s on Thursday, Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. MST. The team then travels to northern California to take on Santa Clara on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. PST.