MORAGA, Calif. – Despite a career night from Lexi Eaton, BYU women’s basketball fell 75-70 to Saint Mary’s on the road Thursday at the McKeon Pavilion.

“This was a good team effort tonight,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “The game came right down to the end and we had a chance to stop them and give us a chance to win. I thought we got beat mentally a few times. Lexi (Eaton) had a great game for us. She let the game come to her and she made some big baskets when we needed them.”

Eaton led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, including 8 for 8 shooting from the charity stripe. Jennifer Hamson contributed a double-double of 17 points and a team-high 10 boards. Kim Beeston was the third Cougar to score in double figures, getting 10 which included going 3 for 9 from beyond the arc.  

BYU (16-5, 6-4) ended the game shooting 46 percent from the field compared to just 40 percent for Saint Mary’s (17-4, 7-3). The Gaels hit four more 3-pointers than the Cougars, but BYU outblocked Saint Mary’s 7-0.

Hamson contributed four points as the Cougars climbed to an early 9-3 lead, which forced Saint Mary’s to use its first timeout.

The Gaels battled back with five different players hitting 3-pointers to propel Saint Mary’s to a 17-15 advantage.

A quick bucket by Morgan Bailey cut the Gael lead to three at 26-23, following a 7-0 run by Saint Mary’s.

Another pair of Gael 3-pointers extended their advantage to double digits at 36-26, forcing Judkins to call his first timeout of the half.

Battling back with time expiring, an Eaton jumper cut Saint Mary’s halftime lead to just six at 36-30.

The second half started with both teams trading buckets. The Gaels extended their lead back to double digits with 10:55 left in the game at 51-41.

Saint Mary’s maintained its lead throughout the better part of the second half helped in part due to Hamson taking a seat after her fourth foul.

The Cougars cut the Gael’s lead to just three points at 62-59 after a Bailey layup. That was followed with four-straight points from Eaton, which gave her a new career high with 28.

Beeston made two quick 3-pointers in the last 40 seconds of the game, but it proved to be too little as Saint Mary’s came away with the victory, 75-70.

BYU stays on the road this Saturday as they take on Pacific at 2 p.m. PST. The Tigers upset the Cougars 75-62 in the first matchup of the season in Provo. The game will be broadcast on TheW.tv as well as heard on BYU Radio. Links to live stats can be found on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.

Postgame Notes

Team

With the seven blocked shots against Saint Mary’s, the Cougars picked up their 17th game recording more blocks than their opponents.

BYU finished with 12 assists compared with 13 for the Gaels making just the sixth time this year that an opponent has dished out more assists than the Cougars.

In the game, the Cougars picked up 12 second-chance points to six for the Gaels, but Saint Mary’s scored 30 points in the paint compared with 26 for BYU.

Player

Lexi Eaton led all scorers with a career-high 28 points for her 15th game putting up double digits in points. In the game she was perfect from the free throw line, going 8 for 8, and finished tied for a team-best three assists while pulling down four rebounds.

For the 13th time on the year and the sixth in WCC play Jennifer Hamson recorded a double-double from 17 points and 10 rebounds. She tallied a game-high four blocks with the 10 rebounds being the most on the team.

Kim Beeston picked up her 15th game in double digit scoring with 10 points, nine of which were from 3-point range. She also dished out two assists.

With the three assists in the game, Kylie Maeda tied for team highs in that category.

PROVO, Utah—After recording back-to-back league victories at home, BYU women’s basketball (16-4, 6-3) begins the second half of West Coast Conference action with four straight road games.

The team’s road swing starts with a Thursday night matchup at Saint Mary’s (16-4, 6-3) in Moraga, Calif. Both teams are tied for third place entering this week’s action. Tipoff between the Cougars and Gaels is set for 6 p.m. PST and the game will be streamed live on TheW.tv.

On BYU
Senior center Jennifer Hamson is one of three Cougar players who are putting up double digits in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game. She has scored in double figures in all but four games. Sophomore guard Lexi Eaton is averaging 15.4 points per game with teammate Kim Beeston rounding out the double-digit output, contributing 11.8 points per contest.

As a team, BYU is averaging 70.3 points per game and is holding opponents to 64.2 points. The Cougars have recorded more blocks than opponents in 17 games and have dished out more assists in 16 of the 20 games played to date. They have also recorded more rebounds in 15 contests.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) enters his 13th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #5 Hamson, 16.9 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #5 Hamson, 10.5 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #4 Beeston, 3.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #4 Beeston, 1.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #5 Hamson, 4.0 bpg

On Saint Mary’s
Saint Mary’s is coming off a disappointing 80-91 loss at Pacific with a 16-4 record and 6-3 in WCC action. The league mark puts the Gaels in a two-way tie with BYU for third place entering this week’s action.

The Gaels have four players scoring in double digits led by 22.7 points from Jackie Nared. She’s followed by Danielle Mauldin who puts in 17.9 points. Lauren Nicholson is next contributing 13.1 points with teammate Kate Gaze rounding out the double figure scoring with 12.6 points.

Saint Mary’s currently has a 10-0 record at home. They are averaging 80.0 points per game and pulling down 42.8 rebounds per contest.

• Head coach: Paul Thomas (Wayne State, 1986) 8th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #3 Jackie Nared, 22.7 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #54 Danielle Mauldin, 13.8 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #10 Kate Gaze, 5.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #54 D. Mauldin, 2.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #54 D. Mauldin, 1.3 bpg

Series History
The series is tied at 3-3. When playing in Moraga, BYU is 0-2.

Last Meeting
In the first meeting between these two league foes on Jan. 4 in Provo, Lexi Eaton pushed BYU to a 69-67-overtime victory. She ended the game with 19 points, including the game-winning layup, and 10 rebounds to pick up her first career double-double. Jennifer Hamson also finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards while Kylie Maeda scored a career-high 14 points, going a perfect 4 for 4 from 3-point land.

The Cougars held the Gaels to just 26 percent shooting on the night while they shot 48 percent. There were a total of 11 ties and 10 lead changes during the game. It was BYU’s third game to go into overtime this season.

What’s Next
After the game at Saint Mary’s the Cougar team travels to Stockton to battle first-year member Pacific on Sat., Feb. 1 in a 2 p.m. PST tip off. Fans can follow the action live on BYU Radio.