BYU vs. Oregon State Box Score

WAILUKU, Hawaii - In BYU's second and final contest of the Maui Wahine Classic, senior Kalani Purcell and junior Cassie Broadhead recorded a career-highs in points as the Cougars fell to Oregon State 65-56 on Saturday at the War Memorial Sports Complex.  

"This was a great win by Oregon State," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. "We had our chances but we didn’t capitalize on them, and we didn’t have a good third quarter. We need to have more support from our players and that didn’t happen in this game."

Purcell finished the game with 21 points, two more than her previous record of 19. She also finished the game with 10 rebounds, claiming a double-double. She also recorded three assists. Broadhead also logged a career-best 20 points, two more than her previous best of 18. She also contributed six rebounds before she fouled out of the contest. Purcell and Broadhead were the only Cougars to score in double figures against the Beavers.

Senior Kristine Nielson ended the game with seven points and senior Makenzi Pulsipher added four points and five rebounds. 

The first period was one of tie games and turnovers for both teams. BYU found the first points of the game with a Pulsipher jumper only eight seconds into the contest, and Oregon State shortly tied the game up. But each team then went scoreless for the next three minutes, turning the ball over on both ends of the court.

Points from Broadhead, Nielson and Purcell kept giving the Cougars brief leads, but the Beavers tied it back up at four, six and seven throughout the first period. Another jumper from Pulsipher was quickly followed by two Beaver 3-pointers as the Cougars trailed for the first time of the game, and the first period ended 13-10.

The Cougars continued to trail much of the second quarter despite points from Purcell, Micaelee Orton, who came off the bench for BYU, and Broadhead. A 6-0 run for the Beavers that began at the 7:23 mark ended just over a minute later, when Purcell hit a jumper at the 6:06 mark.  But missed shots from BYU and points for Oregon State kept coming, and the Beavers found their large lead of the game to be 13, at 33-20 with 1:43 remaining. That score would hold into the halftime locker room.

The Cougars got on the board quick into the third period with five-straight points from Purcell and Broadhead. BYU was able to close the Oregon State edge to only five at the 3:57 mark, forcing the Beavers into a timeout. That score held until Neilson found the bucket for two which was followed by a Brodhead jumper with 14 seconds left, and the Cougars were within one. But a 3-pointer from the Beavers again lengthened their advantage to four with only three seconds left in the period, 41-37.

Both teams failed to score a point in the final period until nearly three mintues in, but it was the Beavers who found the basket first. They hit a 3-pointer that was followed by a BYU jumper by Nielson. A jumper followed by a Purcell trey which brought the contest closer, 46-44. A sudden Beaver 8-2 run had them ahead of the Cougars by ten at the 3:52 mark, 54-44. Oregon State was able to maintain a lead for the remainder of the game, despite the Cougers pulling within five, and BYU fell to the Beavers 65-56.

The Cougars will return back to Provo to take on Weber State at the Marriott Center on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 11:00 a.m. MST. The game will be broadcast on BYUtv and BYU Radio - Sirius XM 143. 

Postgame Notes

Team

At halftime, BYU had grabbed 16 rebounds while Oregon State had pulled down 24. The Cougars finished the game with 34 total rebounds. Oregon State had 45.

BYU had the advantage in steals through the first half with five to Oregon State’s two. The Cougars finished with six steals to Oregon State’s three.

Oregon State dished out five assists in the first half of the game. BYU had just recorded one assist.

For the fourth time this year, two players finished in double digit scoring. Purcell (21), Broadhead (20).

Player

Kalani Purcell led all BYU players through the first 20 minutes of action with six points and three rebounds. She finished the contest with her second double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds. The points were career and game highs while the rebounds tied for game bests. Purcell also dished out a team-best three assists.

Before fouling out of the game, Cassie Broadhead had picked up career highs in points with 20 for her sixth game in double figure scoring. She grabbed six rebounds, had two steals and played all 40 minutes.

After 20 minute of play, Makenzi Pulsipher had scored four points, grabbed three rebounds and had recorded a team-best three steals. For the game, she finished with four points, five rebounds and a game-high four steals.

PROVO, Utah—Fresh off winning the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament, BYU women’s basketball (3-2) is set to compete in another tournament. The Cougars travel to Maui, Hawaii for the Maui Invitational. BYU plays UNLV (5-0) on Friday, Dec. 2,  at 4:30 p.m. HT and No. 15 Oregon State (3-1) on Saturday, Dec. 3,at 6:30 p.m. HT.

BYU vs. UNLV and Ore. St. Notes

BYU AT A GLANCE
BYU’s three starting guards lead the way in scoring. Senior Makenzi Pulsipher tops the list averaging 15.0 points with junior Cassie Broadhead putting up 14.4 points a game. Senior Kristine Nielson, who was named the MVP of the UNM Thanksgiving tournament and this week’sWCC Women’s Basketball Player of the Week, chips in 9.8 points a contest. Senior All-American and the 2016 West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year, Kalani Purcell, grabs a team-best 9.4 rebounds while contributing 9.4 points a game.

As a team, BYU is scoring 64.4 points per game while shooting 42.0 percent from the field, 29.5 percent from behind the 3-point line and 67.3 percent from the charity stripe. The Cougars pull down 37.2 rebounds a game.

In this year’s WCC preseason poll chosen by the coaches, BYU, the defending regular season conference champion, was selected to finish second in the league race behind Gonzaga. Purcell and Pulsipher were named to the Preseason All-Conference team.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78), 16th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #23 M. Pulsipher, 15.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 9.4 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 4.6 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #20 C. Broadhead, 2.2 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20C. Broadhead, 1.8 bpg

UNLV AT A GLANCE
UNLV has compiled a perfect 5-0 record and iscoming off home wins over Tennessee State and Ole Miss. The Rebels return eight letterwinners along with three starters.

Dakota Gonzalez is one of four players putting up double-digit points for UNLV. She leads the way averaging 15.0 points. Paris Strawther follows with 13.6 points and a team-best 8.2 rebounds per contest. Nikki Wheatley and Brooke Kohnson round out the scoring output for the Rebels with 12.4 and 11.6 points per game, respectively. UNLV is averaging75.2 points per game and shoots 42.3 percent from the field and 64.7 percent from the free-throw line.

• Head coach: Kathy Olivier (UNLV, ‘82), Ninth season
• Team’s leading scorer: #12D. Gonzalez, 15.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #03 P. Strawther, 8.2 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #10 N. Wheatley, 4.4 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #10 N. Wheatley, 2.4 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #21 K. Powell, 1.6 bpg

THE SERIES
BYU leads 29-12. Coach Judkins is 19-7 all-time against the Rebels. The two teams played last in Provo in the Smith Fieldhouse on Dec. 4, 2014,where the Cougars recorded a 76-71 win. When the two teams play on a neutral court, the series is tied at 1-1.

OREGON STATE AT A GLANCE
No. 15 Oregon State, the hosts of the tournament, is 3-1 on the year. They return seven letterwinners and two starters from last year’s team that played in the finals of the NCAA tournament.

OSU has three players that are scoring in double figures, led by 14.3 points from Marie Gulich. She’s followed by 12.3 points from Sydney Wiese and 12.0 points from Katie McWilliams. Gulich tops the leaderboard in the rebound category, pulling down 6.3 boards a contest. Oregon Sate is averaging 71.0 points per game while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 66.0 percent from the charity stripe.

• Head coach: Scott Rueck (Oregon State, ‘91), Seventh season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 M. Gulich, 14.3 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #21 M. Gulich, 6.3 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #24 S. Wiese, 5.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: ##24 S. Wiese/#11 G. Hanson, 1.8 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #04 K. Orum, 3.0 bpg

THE SERIES
Oregon State leads 6-4. Coach Judkins is 0-1 against the Beavers. The last time the two teams played was in Laie, Hawaii on Nov. 29, 2014 when Oregon State participated in the Tom Weston Invitational. In that game, BYU picked up the 71-61 win. When playing on a neutral court, BYU is 1-2 against OSU.

WHAT’S NEXT
BYU is back in Utah for the remainder of December. The Cougars host in-state foe Weber State, on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 11 a.m. BYU then heads to Salt Lake City to take on in-state rival Utah on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 5:30 p.m.