PROVO, Utah – A strong showing from the BYU women’s basketball team allowed the Cougars a 64-50 victory over San Diego Saturday afternoon in the Marriott Center.

“This was a real struggle for a lot of reasons," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "San Diego is a very good team and they are a very good defensive team. I think they have one of the best players in the league in (Dominique) Conners because she is a great scorer and defender. I knew it would be a real slugfest tonight. After not playing well the other night we didn’t have a lot of confidence shooting the ball but we really willed our way to the win. ”

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While tied with San Diego (19-7, 10-4) for second place in the conference before, the Cougars (23-5, 11-3) now gain full ownership over the second place spot.

Haley Steed and Jennifer Hamson tallied 14 points apiece while Hamson also achieved seven rebounds. Steed also recorded five assists which put her at a career total of 518, surpassing Kathy Denton who held the record at 514.

Other top performers included Kristen Riley, who accomplished her third-straight double-double, totaling 12 points and 13 rebounds. True freshman Lexi Eaton contributed 11 points to the game as well.

A few quick layups from San Diego put the Cougars at a disadvantage to start off the game. Momentum changed when Stephanie Vermunt put down a 3-pointer that put the Cougars within two points of San Diego at 10-8.

Another 3 by Steed gave the Cougars their first lead over San Diego at 13-12. San Diego put up a lay in, but Steed answered with another trey, pushing the score to 16-14.

A layup from Riley and a 3-pointer from Steed advanced the Cougars to 21-17 over the Toreros.

San Diego crept back with a few successful field goals, but the Cougars continued to drain 3s as Riley sank one from behind the arch with just over two minutes left in the first half.

At 26-24, San Diego got off the last shot with just three seconds on the clock. The teams went into the locker tied at 26-26.

Steed hit double figures before halftime with 11 points while Riley contributed seven points and six rebounds.

The Toreros knocked down a couple of jumpers to take back the lead at the start of the second half, but the Cougars were quick to keep up with the help of a 3-pointer from Vermunt that tied the score at 32-32.

San Diego gained momentum after a deep 3 that put the Toreros up 39-34. With BYU in the bonus, Hamson made an easy three-point play after draining a free throw. Coming back down the court, Hamson was fouled underneath the basket and added another point to put the Cougars at 41-38 behind San Diego.

Strong BYU defense resulted in two unanswered layups from Eaton which allowed the Cougars to take back the lead at 42-41. Another three-point play by Hamson proved successful and the Cougars improved to 45-44.

BYU then went on an incredible 27-3 run over San Diego, with the last 19 points completely uncontested. The run left the score at 64-44. It was fast breaks and a 3-pointer from Steed as well as field goals from Riley, Hamson, Eaton and Kim Parker that helped to build momentum that secured the win for the Cougars.

“Our practice last night was really good," Judkins said. "It was aggressive and focused. That’s when you know you have a good team. We have leaders out there that got the team together. Your true character shows sometimes when you get knocked to the ground, and I thought our team really showed their character with a great practice and a good game.”

With the Cougars leading by 20 with 1:25 left in the second half, San Diego put down a shot from behind the arch. While they were also able to gain a few more points at the line, it wasn’t nearly enough to come back and BYU came away with the win over the Toreros at 64-50.

The Cougars will play their final home game as they take on Santa Clara Thursday in the Marriott Center at 7 p.m. MST. That night the team will honor its three seniors.

Team Notes
BYU held San Diego scoreless for more than four minutes in the first half. During the second half, BYU held the Toreros scoreless for more than seven minutes.

Saturday’s game was BYU’s fifth home game with more than 1,100 fans in attendance with 1,129.

BYU’s 21-2 run took back the lead for the Cougars and pushed them ahead 64-44.

This was the sixth time this season BYU has had four players in double figures.

BYU made 22 points in the paint to San Diego’s 12, 11 points off turnovers to San Diego’s five and 16 second chance points to San Diego’s six.

The Cougar bench outscored San Diego’s 21-11.

BYU’s largest lead of the game came with 1:25 left to play, when the Cougars led by 20.

With the BYU victory, they take sole possesion of second place in the WCC standings and San Diego moves into third place.

Player Notes
Haley Steed passed Kathy Denton to become second all-time in career assists with her assist at 15:27. Steed now has 518 career assists after collecting five against San Diego. Steed had four 3-pointers, shooting 4-for-8 from beyond the arc. She also had three rebounds and three steals. Haley led the game with 14 points, tying with Jennifer Hamson.

Kristen Riley recorded her third-straight double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. It was her ninth season double-double, sixth in conference play and 13th of her career.

Hamson led all scorers with 14 points for her 10th double-figure outing of the season. She also had three blocks and seven rebounds and was 6-for-8 from the charity stripe.

True freshman Lexi Eaton put up 11 points and two rebounds.

After a decisive win over Gonzaga last week, the No. 23 Cougar women’s basketball team (22-4, 10-2) looks to keep its perfect home league record with two more WCC games this week. No. 23 BYU hosts San Francisco (4-22, 2-11) Thurs., Feb. 16 in a 7 p.m. tip off. On Sat. Feb. 18, San Diego (18-6, 9-3) makes an appearance in the Marriott Center in a 1 p.m. tip off.
Both games air live worldwide on BYUtv and are simulcast on BYU Radio.

GAME PROMOTIONS
San Francisco- Orem City Days. The Cougarettes will perform at halftime.
San Diego- Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. Everyone wearing pink gets in for $1. Dance Day Celebration with performances from local studios. At halftime it’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”

2011-12 Team Summary
- Shooting from field: (.448, 692-1545)
- Shooting from three-point line: (.351, 177-504)
- Shooting from free-throw line: (.727, 315-433)
- Average points per game: 72.2
- Average rebounds per game: 40.0
- Average assists per game: 19.3
- Average steals per game: 9.8
- Average blocks per game: 6.0
- Average turnovers per game: 16.1

2011-12 Player Summary
-Leading scorer: Senior Kristen Riley - averages 11.4 points
-Leading rebounder: Riley - averages 7.5 boards per game
-Assist & Steals leader: Senior co-captain Haley Steed - 185 and 55 respectively.
-Top blocker: Jennifer Hamson - 66 total
-Best field goal percentage: Jennifer Hamson - (.583, 81-139)
-Best free throw percentage: Kim Parker - (.836, 46-55)
-Best 3-pt field goal percentage: Stephanie Vermunt - (.507, 37-73)

Record Breaking Players
- Haley Steed has recorded 507 assists as of 02/13/12, which places her in third place all-time. She needs seven to tie for second place with Kathy Denton who dished out a career-record 514.
- Steed has 203 steals to date and needs 26 to tie for seventh place with Karina Zapata’s career high 229.
- Steed has made 170 3-pointers as of 02/13/12 putting her in sixth place overall. She needs one to tie for fifth place with Thais Kidd's career best 171.
- Kristen Riley has 75 blocks as of 02/13/12 and needs four to tie for fifth place all-time with Cathy Nixon’s 79.
- Riley has grabbed 669 rebounds as of 02/13/12, putting her in eighth place overall. She needs four to tie for seventh with her sister Lauren Varley (Riley) who ended her career with a total of 673 rebounds.
- Riley has a total of 964 points scored as of 02/13/12, and needs 36 to become BYU's 22nd player to reach 1,000 points in her career.
- Riley has played in a total of 122 games as of 2/13/12, which ranks her tied for 10th place all-time with current assistant coach Melinda Bendall formerly Johnsen. One more game would put her in a three-way tie for eighth place all-time with former teammate Coriann Fraughton, and Danielle Cheesman.
- As of 02/13/12, 6-7 sophomore center Jennifer Hamson has tallied 111 blocks and needs 14 to tie for fourth place all-time with the 125 recorded by Jill Adams.

Cougs Break Into Top 25
On Feb. 13, the Cougar team returned to the AP Top 25 at No. 23 after its 70-40 upset victory over Gonzaga on 2/9/12.
Entering the week of Feb. 6, BYU fell out of the top-25 AP Poll after the loss at Pepperdine on 2/2/12. However, they did receive (28) votes.
The week of Jan. 23 and with an 18-3, 7-1 mark the team broke into the AP Poll with a No. 23 ranking. They received votes (1) the week of 1/16/12 as well as the week of 12/26/11 when the Cougars were 11-2. 

The week of 12/26/11 they also received one vote in the USA Today ESPN Coaches Poll. On Jan. 24 they got (5) votes in the USA Today ESPN Coaches Poll. In the poll for the week of Jan. 31 the team got (8) votes. In the poll released on Feb. 7 they got (4) votes and on Feb. 14 they had (18) votes.

Last Time in the Polls
The last time that BYU was ranked in the polls was during the 2006-07 season.
On Monday, Nov. 13, 2006, the Cougars were ranked No.24
On Friday, Nov. 17, 2006, the Cougars were ranked No. 18
On Wednesday, Nov. 27. 2006, the Cougars were ranked No. 23
On Saturday, Dec. 2, 2006, the Cougars were ranked No. 22

Win Streak
BYU went on a nine-game win streak, before losing on the road at Pepperdine on 2/2/12.  Prior to the loss Thursday night, they had won eight straight 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.
Last season BYU went on a 12-game win streak during the 2011 Mountain West Conference race.
The longest win streak in the program’s history is 15 games played from 12/31/92 to 2/26/93.

THURSDAY WCC OPPONENT
San Francisco
The San Francisco Dons enter the week with a (4-22, 2-11) record and are in eighth place in the latest WCC standings. The team’s two conference wins have been over LMU and Saint Mary’s. For the Dons, 5-8 senior guard Rheina Ale leads the offensive presence averaging 14.2 points per game while grabbing 4.7 rebounds. Ale also has the most assists and steals on the team with 62 and 41 respectively. Whitney Daniels, a 6-2 junior forward, is at the top of the leaderboard in the rebound category grabbing 5.3 boards per contest. San Francisco is shooting 36 percent from the field, 30 percent behind the arc and 68 percent at the foul line while scoring 61.4 points per game. They are scoring 62.4 points per game. Head coach Jennifer Azzi is in her second season at the helm of the women’s basketball program at USF.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: 7-0
BYU Record in Provo: 3-0
BYU Record in San Francisco: 3-0
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 1-0
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 4-0
BYU Record in Overtime Games: n/a

Last Meeting
With a deep jumper from Haley Steed, the Cougars took a 38-32 advantage into the locker room after 20 minutes of action in the first meeting with the Dons in San Francisco on Jan. 7. Steed started the second half with the same intensity as she ended the first, draining a 3-pointer for a 41-32 BYU lead. Kristen Riley increased the lead to 11 on a layup for the Cougars’ first double-digit lead of the game. Another trey by Steed at the 16:11 mark followed by a 3-pointer from true freshman Lexi Eaton and BYU was up with a comfortable 51-38 lead. They would be up 71-46 with 4:30 left in the contest before San Francisco battled back, but the visiting team would hold on for the nine-point, 76-67 win. Riley led the BYU effort with 19 points followed by 13 from Steed and 11 from Eaton. The Cougars outrebounded the Dons 41 to 33. Both teams had a strong inside presence with BYU getting 24 points to USF’s 22 in the paint. The Dons got two more points off of BYU miscues.

SATURDAY WCC OPPONENT
San Diego
The University of San Diego has compiled a (18-6, 9-3) record and will play at LMU on Thursday before making its first ever trip to Provo and the Marriott Center on Saturday afternoon. At the beginning of the week the Toreros were in third place in the WCC standings. San Diego’s leading scorer is senior guard Dominique Conners who averages 16.0 points and grabs 5.3 rebounds. She’s followed by senior forward Morgan Woodrow who contributes 14.0 points and 5.0 boards a game. Rounding out the double digit scoring is sophomore forward Amy Kame who tallies 11.4 points and grabs the second most rebounds with a 5.5 average. Senior guard Izzy Chilcott is tops on the glass grabbing 6.6 boards a contest. To date, Conners has the most assists and steals with 63 and 55 respectively. San Diego averages 67.4 points per game while shooting 42 percent from the field, 32 percent from 3-point range and 71 percent at the free throw line. Head coach Cindy Fisher has been with the women’s basketball program for the past 12 years.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: 2-0
BYU Record in Provo: n/a
BYU Record in San Diego: 1-0
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 1-0
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 2-0
BYU Record in Overtime Games: n/a

Last Meeting
In the first game between BYU and USD on Jan. 14, the Cougars were down by six points in the early minutes of the game, before a 3-pointer from Lexi Eaton sparked a 9-0 BYU run to put some distance between them and the Toreros. With eight minutes left in the half, a Dani Peterson jumper put BYU up by nine before a 6-0 USD run put them back within three, 22-19. A 6-2 Torero run at the end of the half gave BYU a slim 30-29 lead. Eaton drained the first four points for the Cougars in the second half, launching a 12-0 scoring streak that included back-to-back treys from Kristen Riley and Kim Parker for a 42-31 lead. In the closing minutes of the game, an Amy Kame’s jumper followed by a jump shot from Felicia Wijenberg cut the lead to three for the closest score since the beginning of the second half. Riley responded with her own jumper to bump the BYU lead back to five as they passed the two-minute mark. The Cougars sealed the road win from the free throw line for the final nine-point, 62-53 victory. Eaton tied her season high with 16 points with Peterson and Parker tallying 10 points each. Peterson shot 70 percent for the game while Parker was 4-for-4 from the free throw line.  San Diego outrebounded BYU 40 to 36.
 

What’s Next
In the last week of WCC action, BYU hosts Santa Clara on Thurs., Feb 23 at 7 p.m., before heading to Spokane for a showdown with Gonzaga on Sat. Feb. 25. in a 2 p.m., start.