Final Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif.-The late comeback was not enough for BYU women’s basketball against Pacific, falling 82-86 on the road Saturday.

“We got in a hole,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “They came out aggressive and we were a little off balanced. I thought we did a better job later in the first half of cutting the lead, giving us a chance to come back and win. We had a lot of opportunities to take the lead, but we could not execute.”

Lexi Eaton led all scorers with 29 points (11 of 13 from the charity stripe). She also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out four assists. Morgan Bailey had 28 points (10 of 18 from the field) and 11 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season. She shot 7 of 10 from the free throw line and also had six assists.

“It’s tough to lose to a team we know can beat,” Bailey said. “We have been in this position a lot this season, and we have to fight to never give up. We have to have better starts and finishes and come ready to play a full game of tough defense.”

Kylie Maeda added 11 points, including making 3 of 3 treys. Makenzi Morrison had 10 points, three rebounds and three assists. As a team, the Cougars shot 48 percent from the field and 53 percent from beyond the arc.

With this loss, BYU (19-7, 11-4 West Coast Conference) drops to a tie in 3rd place in the WCC race with Pacific (18-7, 10-4 WCC) and San Diego.

Both teams were scoreless for the first two minutes of the game until Pacific scored at the 17:52 mark. Bailey answered right back for BYU with a layup on the next possession. The Tigers got hot and went on a 10-2 run until Maeda found Bailey for the bucket to stop the run and make it 6-13 with 14:05 left in the first half.

The Cougars continued to struggle in the first half. They were held scoreless for three minutes, allowing the Tigers to go up 20-8. A big offensive board by Bailey set up Eaton for a 3-pointer with 9:19 remaining to close the gap to 12-20.

A trey from Morrison capped off a quick 5-0 run for BYU when Pacific answered right back with a three of its own to push its lead to 30-21. Jump shots from Eaton, Kristine Fuller and Bailey made up a 6-0 run to get within six points with 3:10 left in the half.

The Cougars made 10 of their last 12 shots of the first half to close in on the Tigers lead. Bailey nailed a 3-pointer with five seconds left to make the score 37-42 going into the half.

The second half started off strong for BYU, making two treys in a row to get within one, 45-46. The Tigers answered back with an 8-0 run, holding the Cougars scoreless for four minutes. With 14:05 left in the game, Morrison ended the 0 for 7 shooting streak with a jump shot, closing back in on Pacific’s 56-47 lead.

Bailey nailed a turnaround hook shot with 11 minutes left to close in on the Tigers’ lead, 57-61. The two teams traded buckets back and forth until Pacific went on a 7-0 run. A 3-pointer from Maeda ended the run to make it 64-72 with 5:59 remaining.

The only points scored for BYU were free throws until Eaton drove to the basket for the layup with 2:48 left to get within four points, 74-78. With 46 seconds remaining, Eaton got the putback off of a miss to make it a two point game, 78-80.  In the end, the Cougars’ comeback fell short against the Tigers, falling 82-86, never leading in this ball game.

BYU has a bye on Thursday before hitting the road to play San Diego on Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. PST. The game will be broadcast live on theW.tv and BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143. Live stats will also be available on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.

Postgame Notes

Team

For the fourth time on the year, four players finished the game scoring in double figures. Lexi Eaton led the way with 29, Morgan Bailey had 28, Kylie Maeda contributed 11 and Makenzi Morrison finished the game with 10.

With the final 82 total game points, the Cougars picked up their sixth game with 80-plus points.

Both teams had equal number of points in the paint with 14 each in the first 20 minutes of action. Pacific would end the game with the advantage with 36 points in the paint compared with 26 for the Cougars.

BYU had the advantage in the rebound category with 18, compared with 15 for the Tigers in the first half. For the game, the Cougars pulled down five more boards than Pacific, 35 to 30 making it the 14th time on the year that BYU has had more rebounds than its opponents.

In points off of turnovers in the first half, Pacific had the edge with 10 points from BYU mistakes. The Cougars had five points from Tigers’ miscues. At the end of the game, Pacific got 16 points from BYU turnovers. The Cougars had just six from Tiger turnovers.

Pacific finished the first half with 10 assists, one more than BYU. For the game, the Cougars recorded two more assists than the Tigers, getting 20 to their 18.

Player

Morgan Bailey

Morgan Bailey led all scorers at the break with 16 points and eight rebounds. She also had three assists, the most on the team in the first half. Bailey finished the game with her 14th double-double of the season, the third straight with 28 points and 11 rebounds. The boards were team bests as were her six assists.

Lexi Eaton

Lexi Eaton was the second Cougar player to record double figures in points in the first 20 minutes of action with 10. Eaton had also pulled down three rebounds. For the game, she tallied a game-high 29 points to go along with nine rebounds. She also dished out four assists and had one block.

Makenzi Morrison

Makenzi Morrison picked up her 12th game and second straight scoring in double digits with 10 points. Morrison also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists.

Kylie Maeda

For the fifth time on the year, Kylie Maeda recorded double digit scoring in points with 11. She also dished out three assists, had one steal and grabbed one rebound. She also played all 40 minutes.

Notes for game #25 @ Saint Mary's

PROVO, Utah—All alone in second place in the West Coast Conference standings and riding a five-game winning streak, BYU women’s basketball (19-5, 11-2) heads to northern California for two important league games this week.

The Cougars are at Saint Mary’s (16-7, 9-3)  on Thursday, Feb. 12 in a 6 p.m., PST tip. On Saturday, Feb. 14, BYU is at Pacific (17-6, 9-3) for a 2 p.m. PST matchup in Stockton.

About BYU
Lexi Eaton, a 5-foot-10 junior guard/forward combo, leads the Cougars in scoring, averaging 20.7 points per game. She ranks third in rebounds, pulling down 6.5 boards a contest. Morgan Bailey, a 6-foot-2 senior forward, is in second place in scoring, tallying 18.3 points while leading the way in rebounding, averaging 10.8 boards per game. Bailey became BYU’s 26th player to eclipse 1,000 points in the USF game. The team’s assist leader is Kylie Maeda, who averages 4.5 assists a game.

BYU is averaging 68.8 points per game, while shooting 43.3 percent from the field, 69.5 percent at the free-throw line and 35.7 percent from 3-point land. In all but three games, (at LMU, vs. USF and at Gonzaga), BYU has dished out more assists than its opponents. In the home game vs. SMC, both teams tied in the assist’s category with 11 each. The Cougars have recorded more rebounds in 13 contests to date, have a 15-1 mark when leading at the break and have scored at least 80 points in five games.

The team has had four players score in double figures in three contests, (most recent at USF) and has had three players finish with double-digit points in seven (most recent vs. USD).

BYU head coach Jeff Judkins recorded his 300th win with the 77-58 home victory over Pepperdine on Feb. 5, 2015.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 14th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton, 20.6 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #41 M. Bailey, 10.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #15 K. Maeda, 4.4 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Morrison, 1.7 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #41, M. Bailey, .52 bpg

About SAINT MARY’S
Saint Mary’s has compiled a 16-7, 9-3 record to date and is tied for fourth place in the league standings entering this week’s WCC action.

Junior guard Lauren Nicholson is the lone player for the Gaels that scores in double digits, averaging 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds a contest. The team’s leading rebounder is senior Carli Rosenthal, who grabs 7.7 boards a game.

SMC is averaging 64.3 points, recording 42.5 rebounds per game, shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 72.3 percent from the free-throw line. From 3-point range, the Gaels are shooting 27.7 percent.

• Head coach: Paul Thomas (Wayne State, 1988) Eighth season
• Team’s leading scorer: #01 L. Nicholson, 16.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #25 C. Rosenthal, 7.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #14 S. Mauldin, 2.6 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #14 S. Mauldin, 1.9 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #14 S. Mauldin, 0.78 bpg

Series History
Saint Mary’s leads the series 5-3. When playing in Moraga, The Cougars have an 0-3 record. Head coach Jeff Judkins is 3-5 against the Gaels.

Last Meeting
The first game between the two league foes was played in Provo on Jan. 17, with the visiting Gaels recording the 61-51 victory over BYU.

Morgan Bailey and Lexi Eaton led the Cougar effort in the game with 17 points each. With a team-best 10 rebounds, Bailey, who played all 40 minutes, recorded her ninth double-double of the year.

BYU shot 28.3 percent from the field, 27.6 from 3-point range and 64.3 percent at the free-throw line. The Cougars had the edge in blocks, four to one and in steals  four to three.

In the game, the visiting Gaels had the advantage in rebounds 52 to 29.  SMC finished the contest shooting 40.0 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line. When shooting from behind the arc, the Gaels shot 66.7 percent.

Lauren Nichols was the lone SMC player to score in double digits with 20. She had a double-double with 11 rebounds.

About PACIFIC
Pacific enters this week’s league action tied for fourth place with Saint Mary’s in the West Coast Conference standings with a 9-3 mark. The Tigers have an overall 17-6 record. When playing at home, Pacific is 4-1 in league games.

In this year’s league race, Pacific was picked to finish fourth in the conference. The Tigers’ Kendall Kenyon was named to the 2014-15 Preseason All-WCC Team.

Two Pacific players are scoring in double figures, led by 6-foot-2 senior forward Kendall Kenyon, who averages 14.0 points and a team-best 11.1 rebounds per game. Junior guard, Hailie Eackles follows with 11.0 points and 2.0 boards a contest. The Tigers are averaging 69.4 points a game and pull down 36.1 rebounds, while shooting 40.0 percent from the field, 33.2 percent from behind the arc and 69.1 percent from the free-throw line.    

• Head coach: Lynne Roberts (Seattle Pacific 1997, 2000) Ninth season
• Team’s leading scorer: #10 K. Kenyon, 14.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #10 K. Kenyon, 11.1 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #11 M. Parrish, 4.1 apg
• Team’s steals leader: # 20 U. Coleman, 2.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #10 K. Kenyon, 1.8 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 8-2. When playing in Stockton, the Cougars  are 3-0.

Last Meeting
In the first meeting with Pacific, the Lions came to the Marriott Center on Jan. 15 with the Cougars picking up the 89-72 victory. The win snapped Pacific’s five-game win streak. Morgan Bailey and Lexi Eaton combined for 63 of the 89 total points with 31 and 32 respectively. Bailey also recorded a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds. Eaton dished out a career- and game-best eight assists. BYU shot 54.7 from the field compared with 41.3 percent for Pacific and they outrebounded the Tigers 42 to 28.

Up Next
The Cougar women will remain on the road for its next league game. BYU will head to San Diego to take on the Toreros on Saturday, Feb. 21.