PROVO, Utah— The BYU women’s basketball team used a dominating effort to beat the Portland Pilots 76-55 at the Marriott Center on Saturday.

“I’m really proud of these guys,” Coach Judkins said. “We have a long ways to go, but we’re getting better in some areas and we’ll keep working.”

Jennifer Hamson led the way for the Cougars (18-3, 7-1) with her second double-double of the season, with 14 points and 10 boards while adding four blocks in only 19 minutes of work. Hamson’s 14 points were also a season high.

“Jen, what do you say. She played one of her best games for us,” Judkins said. “In the zone she was very effective in sealing and getting the ball.”

Freshman Lexi Eaton and sophomore Kim Parker added 16 and 13 points, respectively. Senior Haley Steed continued to distribute the ball well, dishing out 10 assists, her second consecutive game with double-digit assists.

After a slow start to the game, Judkins went to Hamson to spark some life into his team. She controlled the paint, grabbing several rebounds and putting in shot after shot. At one point, Hamson scored 10 consecutive points for BYU.

With Hamson’s spark the Cougars pulled out in front, but the Pilots battled right back. After Portland cut the lead to six, the Cougars went on a 3-point shooting spree. Eaton made back-to-back threes and Parker hit another, giving BYU an early 15-point lead.

The highlight of the half, however, was guard Stephanie Rovetti who brought the crowd to its feet as she cut through several defenders, hung in the air and got a runner to drop with three minutes left in the half.

The second half was much the same as the Cougars dominated the Pilots in every aspect of the game. BYU got a huge lift from its bench, which outscored Portland 34-14 for the game.

The women’s basketball team will play its next three games on the road, starting at Seattle University Wednesday at 7 p.m. PST.

Postgame Notes
Team
BYU led Portland in points in the paint with 32-18 and points off turnovers with 13-4. BYU forced 18 turnovers and only collected 10.

The Cougar bench made 34 points and held the Pilot bench to only 14 points.

The largest lead of the game came with 7:23 left in the second half, when BYU led by 25 points.

The Cougars had 24 assists to Portland’s 10.

BYU now leads the series with Portland 10-4.

BYU is a perfect 16-0 when leading at the half. The Cougars are also 14-2 when making more than five 3-pointers and 13-1 when outrebounding opponents. BYU had nine 3-point baskets and had 42 rebounds to the Pilots’ 37.

The Cougars are 8-1 when playing at the Marriott Center.

The Cougars recorded a season-high 12 steals against Portland.

This is BYU’s second straight sweep in conference play. BYU swept the series with Loyola Marymount and Portland.

Players
Jennifer Hamson scored 10 straight points for the Cougars during the first half, totaling a season-high 14 points on the game. The game against Portland was her sixth time scoring in double figures this season and 16th in her career. Hamson also had 10 rebounds for her third career double-double and second of the season.

Lexi Eaton scored 16 points, tying her career high, for her seventh-straight double-figure outing in conference play and 15th this season. Eaton also had five assists, a career high, three rebounds and two steals.

Kim Parker recorded her 13th double-figure outing of the season and 18th of her career with 13 points against Portland, including three 3-pointers.

Haley Steed had 10 assists with six rebounds and three points.

Team Hosts Portland Saturday Afternoon
With a six-game win streak and in first place in the latest WCC standings, the Cougar women’s basketball team (17-3, 6-1) returns home for its next league contest.
BYU hosts Portland (8-13, 1-6) on Sat., Jan. 21 in a 2 p.m. tip off from the Marriott Center. The game will air live worldwide on BYUtv. 

PORTLAND GAME PROMOTION
It's Kids Dayon Saturday. All children 12 years old and under get in free. Fun kids activities prior to the game include face painting, photo booth, balloon animals.

2011-12 Stats Summary
- Shooting from field: (.451, 537-1190)
- Shooting from three-point line: (.357, 135-378)
- Shooting from free-throw line: (.728, 246-338)
- Average points per game: 72.8
- Average rebounds per game: 40.2
- Average assists per game: 19.2
- Average steals per game: 10.1
- Average blocks per game: 6.0
- Average turnovers per game: 16.5

About BYU
-The Cougars leading scorer is senior forward Kristen Riley who averages 10.9 points per game.
-Riley is also at the top of the leaderboard in rebounds averaging 6.9 per game.
-Haley Steed leads the way in assists and steals with 137 and 47 respectively.
-Jennifer Hamson tops the list in blocks with 44.
-Dani Peterson has the team’s best field goal percentage (.598, 61-102).
-True freshman Lexi Eaton has the team’s best free throw percentage (.837, 36-43).
-Stephanie Vermunt is the squad’s best scorer from behind the arc, shooting (.563, 27-48).

Winningest Coach in BYU History
- BYU head coach Jeff Judkins became the all-time winningest coach in BYU women’s basketball history, picking up his 220th career win when the Cougars defeated Pepperdine, 80-56 Thurs. Jan. 12, 2012. Judkins passed former BYU coach Courtney Leishman (1977-89) for the record and is now 220-111 (.665) in his 11th season as head coach of the Cougars. Leishman finished at BYU with a 219-124 (.638) record.

Record Breaking Players
- Haley Steed has recorded 459 assists as of 01/20/12, which ties for fifth place with Karina Zapata’s 459. She needs nine to reach fourth place all-time with former teammate Mindy Bonham’s 468.
- Steed has a total of 194 steals to date and needs 35 to tie for seventh place with Karina Zapata’s career high 229.
- Steed has made 162 3-pointers as of 01/20/12 putting her in sixth place overall. She needs nine to tie for fifth place with Thais Kidd's career best 171.
- Kristen Riley has 74 blocks as of 01/20/12 and needs five to tie for fifth place all-time with Cathy Nixon’s 79.
- Riley has grabbed 613 rebounds as of 1/20/12, which puts her in 10th place all-time. She needs to snatch six more to tie for ninth place with former teammate Coriann Fraughton's 619.
- As of 01/20/12, 6-7 sophomore center Jennifer Hamson has tallied 89 blocks and needs 36 to tie for fourth place all-time with Jill the 125 recorded by Jill Adams.

Cougs Receiving Votes
For the second time this season, the Cougar women’s basketball team (17-3, 6-1) is receiving votes (1) in the Associated Poll for the week beginning Jan. 16, 2012.

When the BYU women’s basketball had an overall record of 11-2, the team received (2) votes in the Associated Press Poll during the week of 12/26/11. They also received one vote in the same week’s USA Today ESPN Coaches Poll.

Win Streak
BYU is currently on a six-game win streak, winning the last five league games. Earlier this season the Cougars won 10 games in a row, which was the longest current winning streak in the West Coast Conference before losing its debut game competing in the WCC, a 48-54 decision at Saint Mary’s.

SATURDAY WCC OPPONENT
PORTLAND
The University of Portland has compiled a 8-13, 1-6 record to date. The Pilots have two players scoring in double figures with 18.8 points from Natalie Day and 10.8 points from ReZina TecleMariam. Day tops the list in the rebound category grabbing 7.8 boards per game. TechleMariam has the most assists on the team with 92 while teammate Alexis Byrd leads the way in steals with 46. Portland shoots 39 percent from the field and is scoring 63.7 points per game. Head coach Jim Sollars has been at the helm of the women’s basketball program for the past 25 years. On the Pilots coaching staff is former BYU standout Jazmine Foreman who graduated in August 2011.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: BYU leads the series 9-4
BYU Record in Provo: 3-2
BYU Record in Portland: 5-2
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 1-0
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 5-0
BYU Record in Overtime Games: n/a

Last Meeting
In the first meeting between these two new league foes, the Cougars picked up their first ever WCC victory with a 79-53 win over the Pilots in Portland on 1/2/12. Kristen Riley led BYU with 19 points and nine rebounds while Haley Steed added five assists and three steals in the contest. True freshman Lexi Eaton, after blocking Portland’s first shot attempt, scored the first points of the night for the Cougars with a 3-pointer. Although the Cougars had a considerable lead, Portland inched its way back into the game, pulling within one, 27-26 at half time.

The second half began with another Eaton 3-pointer, who finished the game with 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and two blocks. BYU extended its lead by 10, 38-28 in the early minutes of the second half finishing the game with a 26-point margin. The Cougars shot 40 percent from the field and from behind the arc while shooting 82 percent from the charity stripe. They outrebounded Portland 45 to 36. The Pilots shot 31 percent from the field, 30 percent from the 3-point line and 67 percent from the free throw line. Portland’s Natalie Day led the team with 16 points and seven rebounds.

What’s Next
Next week, BYU steps out of WCC action traveling to the state of Washington to battle Seattle University on Wed., Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. PT. The Cougars return to league play at Santa Clara on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. PT.