OGDEN, Utah—Ending a tough three-game road schedule, the BYU women’s basketball team took down Weber State 84-67 Saturday night on the Wildcats’ home court.

“We had a really great defensive effort in the first half,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “When they cut into our lead, we still executed and got what we needed. Our bigs were very active inside and did a nice job for us.”

Freshman Lexi Eaton and sophomore Kim Parker led the Cougars with 12 points apiece and Dani Peterson had 11. Haley Steed led the defense with nine defensive rebounds and 10 total. Steed also had five assists. Dual-sport athlete Jennifer Hamson had nine points and seven rebounds following a successful volleyball victory Saturday afternoon, where she totaled 16 kills.

The Cougars shot 48.3 percent and had 16 assists, but got into foul trouble during the game with 17 fouls. They held the Wildcats to 36.8 percent shooting and forced 14 Weber State turnovers.

Two free throws and a quick layup pushed the Cougars to a 4-2 lead to launch the game. After more than two minutes without a basket, Eaton’s fast break layup kicked off a 9-2 scoring streak to push BYU’s lead to 17-8. With 10:15 left in the first half, Alexis Kaufusi took it to the hoop with the help of Stephanie Rovetti to more than double the Wildcats’ score at 21-10. The basket was part of an 8-0 Cougar run.

Eaton and Stephanie Vermunt each scored eight points in the first half, helping BYU to a 48-28 lead going into halftime.

BYU stumbled coming out of the locker room, allowing Weber State two 6-2 runs to begin the second half. The Wildcats cut the lead to 52-40. Missed shots plagued the Cougars, allowing the Wildcats to continue chipping away at the BYU lead.

A Parker jump shot started a 10-2 to bring the Cougars back to life, giving them a 12-point lead. BYU fired off 12 points, eight of which came from free throws, to end the game 84-67.

BYU celebrates the Thanksgiving holiday hosting Wisconsin Wednesday at 5 p.m. and Eastern Washington Saturday at 2 p.m. Saturday is Family Day at the Marriott Center, when admission is $10 per family.

Postgame Notes

Team

For the third time on the season, the Cougars outrebounded their opponents in the Weber State game. BYU grabbed 43 to the Wildcats 36.

In the game at Weber State, BYU dished out 16 assists to the Wildcats 10, marking the third time this year that the Cougars have tallied more assists then their opponents.

Three Cougars finished with double figures in points marking the third time on the year that three players have finished with double digits. Eaton and Kim Parker had 12 points each while Dani Peterson tallied 11 points for season highs.

In the contest at Weber State, the Cougars shot (.483, 28-58) which is the team’s best field goal percentage to date.

Player

For the second straight time true freshman Lexi Eaton was perfect from the free throw line. Against Weber State she went 4-4.

Senior co-captain Haley Steed (Hall) led the way in the rebound category grabbing a team and game high 10 boards. Steed also had dished out the most assists in the game with five.

Sophomore center Jennifer Hamson recorded three blocks for season highs in that category. The blocks were also team and game highs.

Playing its third road game of the week, BYU (1-2) women’s basketball takes a short trip to Ogden to battle instate rival Weber State (0-2) on Saturday, Nov. 19. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.

The Cougars split the first two games of the week beating Tulsa 64-61, before losing 46-59 at Kansas State.

2011-12 Stats Summary
-- Shooting from field: (.362, 59-163)
-- Shooting from three-point line: (.340, 18-53)
-- Shooting from free-throw line: (.674, 29-43)
-- Average points per game: 55.0
-- Average rebounds per game: 39.0
-- Average assists per game: 14.7
-- Average steals per game: 7.7
-- Average blocks per game: 3.7
-- Average turnovers per game: 20.7

About BYU 

--The Cougars leading scorer and rebounder is senior guard Haley Hall Steed who averages 16.3 points per game while grabbing 7.7 boards.
--Second on the team in the rebounding category is senior center Kristen Riley who averages 6.3 rebounds per game. She's followed by senior forward Dani Peterson, who records 5.0 boards a contest.
--Steed leads the way in assists and steals with 13 and seven respectively.
--Riley has the most blocks on the team with four.
--Redshirt freshman Stephanie Rovetti and true freshman Lexi Eaton are tied for the team’s best free throw percentage (.800, 8-10) each.

SATURDAY’S OPPONENT

WEBER STATE

Weber State has played two games so far this year compiling a 0-2 record with road losses at Boise State and at Utah State. Saturday’s matchup with BYU will be their home opener. They return seven letterwinners including three starters. The Wildcats are led in scoring and rebounding by Mikell Woodfield, a 6-2 forward who averages 11.5 points and grabs 6.0 boards per contest. Two others are putting up double figures with senior guard Caela Mohre contributing 10.5 points and 3.0 boards with teammate Megan Patterson tallying 10.0 points and 2.5 boards per game. Mohre tops the list in assists with a total of nine to date. She and Patterson are tied in steals with six each. Head coach Bethann Ord is in her first season with Weber State.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: BYU leads 38-9
BYU Record in Provo: 19-1
BYU Record in Ogden: 14-7
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 5-1
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 8-1
BYU Record in Overtime Games: 0-1

Last Meeting
The two teams played each other in Provo on Dec. 11, 2010 with the Cougars picking up the 70-54 win. Senior forward Coriann Fraughton led the way in that contest scoring 18 of her 20 points in the first half. Junior forward Kristen Riley also put up double figures in the game with 14. Alexis Kaufusi came off the bench to contribute eight points and six rebounds. The Cougars shot 42 percent from the field, made four three pointers and shot 91 percent from the charity stripe.

What’s Next
BYU’s women’s basketball team returns to the comfort of the Marriott Center hosting Wisconsin on Wednesday, Nov. 23 at 5 p.m., and Eastern Washington on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 2 p.m. Both games are slated to air live worldwide on BYUtv.