BROOKINGS, South Dakota – Despite a 25-point effort from Morgan Bailey, BYU women’s basketball could not keep pace with South Dakota State and dropped the opener on the road, 75-65.

"We got them at our place last year, and they got us here at their place," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. " It was good to see Morgan have a good game for us tonight. I thought that we did some good things today and we struggled in other areas. Our team will learn from this and hopefully we can move forward in the right direction."

SDSU (1-0) extended its 22-game home winning streak by forcing 19 turnovers and outrebounding BYU (0-1) by a 38-29 advantage.

Bailey led all scorers with 25 points on 10 of 20 shooting, and also contributed eight rebounds and four assists in the losing effort. Morrison was the only other Cougar scoring in double figures with 11 points on 4 of 8 shooting including 3 of 4 beyond the arc.

BYU held a small lead for most of the first half as Bailey scored eight points early. SDSU took over in the last four minutes of the half going on a 14-0 run building a nine-point lead. A short jumper by Bailey followed by a couple free throws from Cassie Broadhead and Ashley Garfield brought the Cougars to within five at the half, 31-26. Garfield pulled down six boards in the first half and finished with eight, tying for team bests in that category.

The Jackrabbits caused nine BYU turnovers and held the Cougars to only nine made first half field goals on 35 percent shooting.

The second half began as the first half ended with another big SDSU run and BYU never recovered. The Jackrabbits went on a 20-6 run and built a 19-point lead. The Cougars kept pounding the bail inside to Bailey with success, but couldn’t get enough stops on the defensive end.

BYU finished shooting 42 percent from the field for the game, 33 percent from the 3-point line, and made 70 percent from the charity stripe.

BYU returns to Provo for its home opener next Wednesday, Nov. 19, against Cal State Northridge. The game will begin at 11:00 a.m. MST in the Marriott Center and will be broadcast live on BYUtv and BYU – Sirius XM 143. Last season the Cougars defeated the Matadors 82-66 in Northidge, California.

Postgame Notes

Team

BYU dished out seven assists in the first 20 minutes of action and ended the game with 14, one more than South Dakota State.

In their first road game of the year, the Cougars shot 42 percent from the field, 33 percent from behind the arc and 70 percent from the free throw line.

Player

Morgan Bailey led all scorers with 12 at the break and finished with a career-high 25. It’s her first double digit outing in scoring this year and the 31^st of her career. She also dished out a team-high four assists and tied for team bests in rebounds with eight.

Makenzi Morrison finished the game with 11 points, nine from 3-point range making it the first double figure outing in scoring of her career.

Ashley Garfield pulled down six boards in the first half and finished with eight, tying for team bests in that category. 

PROVO, Utah — After going 1-1 in two exhibition games, BYU women’s basketball opens up the 2014-15 campaign on the road. The Cougars (0-0) travel to Brookings, South Dakota, to take on South Dakota State (0-0) on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. MST.

Live audio, stats and video streaming is available on the women's basketball schedule page.

About BYU
BYU returns nine letterwinners including three starters from last year’s squad that recorded the most wins in program history (28), played in the championship game of the West Coast Conference and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen losing to eventual champion UConn. The team finished the year ranked No. 18 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Poll, the second highest ever end of the year ranking. In this year’s preseason poll, the Cougars are receiving votes (16).

The three returning starters are  6-foot-2 senior forward Morgan Bailey, the team’s rebounding leader (7.0) and second leading scorer (10.7). Junior Lexi Eaton, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged 16.8 points a game and had the team’s best free throw percentage .834 (171-205) last year. The third starter back is junior guard Kylie Maeda. She dished out 112 assists and had 27 steals while shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range a year ago.

Key returning letterwinners include senior guards Ashley Garfield (4.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg), and Xojian Harry (3.0 ppg, 1.4 rpg). Both played in all games last year. Sophomores Makenzi Morrison (2.7 ppg, 0.6 rpg), Kristine Fuller (0.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg) and Micaelee Orton (0.7 ppg, 0.8 rpg) bring a full year of playing experience behind them.

Two redshirt freshmen Cassie Broadhead, a 5-foot-9 guard and Savannah Irwin, a 6-foot-5 center will also provide solid minutes for the Cougars off the bench. Two true freshmen Amanda Wayment and Alohi Robins-Hardy will be vying for playing time on the court this year.

Last season, the Cougar team finished the season shooting 44 percent from the field, 73 percent at the free throw line and 36 percent from behind the arc.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 14th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton,  16.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 M. Bailey, 7.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #15 K. Maeda, 3.2 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #21 L. Eaton, .89 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #41 M. Bailey & #3 A. Garfield, .43 bpg

About South Dakota State
In their two exhibition games, South Dakota State went 2-0 defeating Northern State 80-64 and South Dakota Mines 77-40.

The Jackrabbits compiled a 26-10 record, finishing first in the Summit League with a 13-1 mark and were undefeated at home. They advanced to the WNIT semifinals last year, losing 63-66 at UTEP.

South Dakota State returns nine letterwinners including three starters. Megan Waytashek was the team’s leading scorer last season contributing 11.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Maria Clarin averaged 8.9 points and pulled down 6.7 boards per contest. Gabby Boever is the third starter back for the Jackrabbits. She scored 6.4 points and 3.1 rebounds a contest.

The team ended the 2013-14 campaign shooting 40 percent from the field, 75 percent from the free throw line and 33 percent from 3-point range.

• Head coach: Aaron Johnson (Gustavus Adolphus, ‘96) 14th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #24 M. Waytashek, 11.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #40 M. Clarin, 6.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #4 G. Boever, 2.6 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #4 G. Boever, 2.4 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #40 M. Clarin, .80 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 1-0.

Last Meeting
These two teams met in Provo last season in the Cougars home opener on Nov. 8, 2013. Kim Beeston led the BYU effort with a career-high six 3-pointers. Beeston and Lexi Eaton finished the game with 18 points apiece followed by 13 points each from Jennifer Hamson and Morgan Bailey. The Cougars were up by 16 points at the break.  Megan Waytashek led the Jackrabbits with 12 points. Rachel Walters came off the bench contributing nine points, two rebounds and one assist. Gabby Boever tallied four points and team bests in assists with three and in steals with four. The Cougars outrebounded South Dakota State 46 to 39 and 12 to six in steals.

Up Next
Following the road contest at South Dakota State, BYU returns to the Marriott Center for two games. The Cougars open up the home slate hosting Cal State Northridge (CSUN) on Wed. Nov 19 and Nevada on Sat. Nov. 22.  

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