SPOKANE, Wash.—In its final game of the regular season, the BYU women’s basketball team fell hard to conference regular season champion Gonzaga, 77-60, Saturday afternoon in Bulldog territory.

BYU (24-6, 12-4) ends the season No. 2 in West Coast Conference standings with Gonzaga taking the regular season title with a 25-4 overall record and 14-2 conference record.

"I thought we played 20 good minutes in the game," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "Their inside presence really hurt us. I thought Haley Steed had probably one of her best games of the year. Hopefully we'll get a shot at them again in the tournament."

Senior Haley Steed led the Cougars with 17 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals. True freshman Lexi Eaton had 13 points and four assists, while senior Kristen Riley had 11 points and nine rebounds, leading BYU on the boards.

BYU shot 36 percent from the field and 45 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Gonzaga’s Katelan Redmon led the game with 28 points, helping the Bulldogs to shooting 49.2 percent from the floor.

BYU took control to start with a 6-0 run. Steed’s three defensive rebounds in the first two minutes prevented Gonzaga from snagging second-chance points. Gonzaga’s own 9-0 run put the Bulldogs in the lead 13-8 after a 3-pointer by Taelor Karr.

Seven turnovers plagued the Cougars early in the half, but Steed kept her team in the game with a trey. Stephanie Vermunt tied it at 13-13 on her layup, but BYU stumbled and allowed a 7-0 Bulldog run.

Steed became No. 4 in BYU history for career 3-pointers with 6:09 on the clock, draining a beyond-the-arc bucket. True freshman Xojian Harry’s trey put the Cougars back within three points, setting up Riley to tie the game 22-22 on the team’s third-straight 3-pointer.

Gonzaga skipped ahead as the clock wound down, but a Vermunt 3-pointer and last-second jumper kept the score at a close 29-27 going into halftime. The sophomore forward led the team with seven points at the half in 10 minutes of play.

Senior Dani Peterson pushed the score within one with the help of Lexi Eaton before the Bulldogs took off on a 16-0 run for their largest lead of the game, 48-31. Steed tried to stop Gonzaga’s momentum with a 3-pointer, but Bulldog Karr responded with her own basket from 3-point land.

Eaton cut the deficit to 12 before Steed fired off her fifth 3-pointer of the game with just over 10 minutes left. Eaton continued her successful streak with a layup and her own 3-pointer to bring BYU within seven at 56-49.

Eaton’s renewed energy wasn’t enough to spark a comeback, ending the rematch in a 77-60 Gonzaga victory.

With their second-place finish, the Cougars pick up the No. 2 seed for the West Coast Conference Championships, giving BYU a bye into the semifinals. BYU will play Saturday in the second semifinal of the day at approximately 2:30 p.m. PST at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Postgame Notes
Player
Haley Steed made two 3-pointer in the first half of the game, putting her in fourth place all-time in 3-pointers made in a game. She had a team-high 17 points to lead the BYU effort, marking her 12^th double-figure game in points of the year and the 40^th of her career.

Kristen Riley had three blocks in the game, putting her in fifth place all-time with a total of 81. She tallied 11 points, marking her 13th double-digit outing in conference play, the 17^th this season and the 44th overall.

Lexi Eaton was the third Cougar player to score in double digits with 13 for her 11th double-figure game in points in WCC action and the 19th overall.

Team
With the loss to Gonzaga, BYU finishes in second place with a 12-4 record in the West Coast Conference regular season race in its first year in the conference. The Cougars will be the No. 2 seed in next week's Championships and get a bye into the semifinals of the WCC Championships and will play Saturday.

In second place in the latest WCC standings, BYU women’s basketball (23-5, 11-3) competes in the last two regular season WCC games.
On Thurs. Feb. 23 the Cougars host Santa Clara (11-16, 4-10) in a 7 p.m. tip off.
The team then travels to Spokane on Sat. Feb. 25 for a showdown with Gonzaga (24-4, 13-2). That game tips off at 2 p.m., PT.
Thursday night’s game airs live worldwide on BYUtv.
Saturday afternoon’s game airs live on BYU Radio.

GAME PROMOTION - SANTA CLARA: Senior Day Celebration.

2011-12 Team Summary
- Shooting from field: (.439, 737-1679)
- Shooting from three-point line: (.341, 186-546)
- Shooting from free-throw line: (.730, 344-471)
- Average points per game: 71.6
- Average rebounds per game: 40.6
- Average assists per game: 19.0
- Average steals per game: 9.5
- Average blocks per game: 6.0
- Average turnovers per game: 15.8

2011-12 Player Summary
-Leading scorer: Senior Kristen Riley - averages 11.6 points
-Leading rebounder: Riley - averages 7.8 boards per game
-Assist & Steals leader: Senior co-captain Haley Steed - 196 and 60 respectively.
-Top blocker: Jennifer Hamson - 71 total
-Best field goal percentage: Jennifer Hamson - (.571, 88-154)
-Best free throw percentage: Kim Parker - (.845, 49-58)
-Best 3-pt field goal percentage: Stephanie Vermunt - (.470, 39-83)

Record Breaking Players
- Haley Steed has recorded 518 assists as of 02/20/12, which places her in second place all-time. She needs 95 to tie for first place with Valerie Cravens who dished out a career-record 613.
- Steed has 208 steals to date for eighth place all-time and needs 21 to tie for seventh place with Karina Zapata’s career high 229.
- Steed has made 176 3-pointers as of 02/20/12 putting her in fifth place overall. She needs four to tie for fourth place with Behka Stafford’s career best 180.
- Kristen Riley has 76 blocks as of 02/20/12 and needs three to tie for fifth place all-time with Cathy Nixon’s 79.
- Riley has grabbed 693 rebounds as of 02/20/12, putting her in seventh place overall. She needs 22 to tie for sixth place with Danielle Cheesman who ended her career with a total of 715 rebounds.
- Riley has a total of 992 points scored as of 02/20/12, and needs eight to become BYU's 22nd player to reach 1,000 points in her career.
- Riley has played in a total of 124 games as of 2/20/12, which puts her in a three-way tie for fifth place all-time with Cougar standouts Mallary Carling (Gillespie), Jeanette Weston and Jackie McBride (Bean).
- As of 02/20/12, 6-7 sophomore center Jennifer Hamson has tallied 116 blocks and needs nine to tie for fourth place all-time with the 125 recorded by Jill Adams.

THURSDAY WCC OPPONENT
SANTA CLARA
Santa Clara enters this week’s WCC race in fifth place with a (11-16, 4-10) record. The Broncos have three players that are putting up double figures in points. Senior guard Alyssa Shoji tops the list with 15.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. She’s followed by Meagan Fulps, a 5-7 junior guard, who contributes 10.7 points and 3.7 boards in games. Rounding out double digits in scoring is 6-2 junior forward Lindsay Leo with her 10.4 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per contest. Santa Clara is averaging 66.0 points while shooting 41 percent from the field, 70 percent at the free throw line and 36 percent from three-point range. Shoji has the most assists with 80 while Ricki Radanovich gets the most steals with 33 to date. Head coach Jennifer Mountain is in her fourth season at the helm of the women’s basketball program for the Broncos.

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

Last Meeting
In the first game between BYU and Santa Clara on Jan. 28, the Cougars were able to secure a 10-point 74-64 road victory over the Broncos with five players scoring in double figures, the first of the season. Kristen Riley led the way 17 points followed by Jennifer Hamson with 16, 11 points came from Dani Peterson while Kim Parker and Lexi Eaton scoring 10 points each. Riley also grabbed 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year. BYU found itself down by three, 36-39 for just the second time in league play in a first half that saw 16 lead changes. In the second half a layup by Dani Peterson tied the game at 44 before Santa Clara went on a 6-0 run to take a 50-44 lead with 12:33 left in the game. A bucket by Hamson tied up the score again at 50-50 but back-to-back field goals from the Broncos gave them a 58-53 lead with seven minutes remaining. A tough Cougar defense held Santa Clara scoreless for nearly four minutes before Hamson’s made free throws gave BYU a 59-58 advantage. A 3-pointer by Haley Steed with 1:22 left extended the Cougars lead to 68-63 as they held on for the 10-point win from the free throw line. The win gave coach Jeff Judkins his 20th win of the year marking his sixth season with 20 or more wins.

SATURDAY WCC OPPONENT
No. 21GONZAGA
The Gonzaga Bulldogs enter this week’s WCC action ranked No. 21 in the polls with a 24-4, 13-2 record and are in first place in the league’s standings. The Bulldogs have three players scoring in double figures with 6-3 senior forward Kayla Standish leading the way averaging 15.2 points and grabbing a team high 7.9 rebounds per game. Katelan Redmon, a 6-1 senior guard/forward combo is next contributing 13.1 points and 5.8 boards a contest. Rounding out the double digit scoring is sophomore guard Haiden Palmer who tallies 12.0 points and grabs 4.7 rebounds per game. Taelor Karr, a 5-8 junior guard has the most assists on the team with 123 while Palmer gets the most steals with 62 to date. Gonzaga averages 75.6 points and shoots 44 percent from the field, 32 percent from behind the arc and 72 percent at the free throw line. Head coach Kelly Graves is in his 12th year with the Bulldogs.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: 4-3
BYU Record in Provo: 2-1
BYU Record in Spokane: 2-2
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: n/a
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 1-2
BYU Record in Overtime Games: n/a

Last Meeting
BYU and Gonzaga played in Provo on Feb. 9, where both teams struggled from the field in the first half as BYU shot just 28.6 percent and Gonzaga shot 15.2 percent. The Cougars were able to outscore the Bulldogs 10-6 allowing them to take a four-point 24-20 lead heading into the break.
In the second half both teams exchanged baskets but with 13:27 remaining BYU took over as a Stephanie Vermunt 3-pointer sparked a 20-0, highlighted by a Kim Parker three-point play as well as five points and a block from sophomore center Jennifer Hamson. The Cougars took a 26-point lead off another three-point play, this time by Lexi Eaton. BYU shot 65.2 percent from the field in the second half and finished outrebounding Gonzaga 44 to 37. Prior to the victory over the Bulldogs, the Cougars had not beaten a ranked team since Nov. 13, 2006 when they defeated No. 4 Stanford, 55-52 on the Cardinal’s home court.

Travel Plans to Spokane
Team Flight: Delta #4646 departs from Salt Lake City on Fri., Feb. 24 at 3:14 p.m., arriving in Spokane at 3:51 p.m.
Team Flight: Delta #4442 departs from Spokane on Sun., Feb. 26 at 10:15 a.m., arriving in Salt Lake City at 12:53 p.m.
Team Hotel: The Davenport Hotel, 10 South Post Street, 509-455-8888, 509-624-4455, fax.

What’s Next
After the game at Gonzaga, the Cougars will prepare to compete in their first ever WCC championship in Las Vegas from Feb. 29 to Mar. 5. The winner of the championships receives an automatic berth into the 2012 NCAA Championships. The tournament games will be played at the New Orleans Arena.