PROVO, Utah -- Kim Parker Beeston hit two big 3-pointers to spark a 15-2 run to open the second half to help BYU women’s basketball pull away from Pepperdine and win 68-42 Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center. The Cougars outscored the Waves 38-22 in the second half to improve to 12-4 overall and 3-0 in West Coast Conference play. Pepperdine falls to 4-10 overall and 1-2 in the WCC.

“It was a nice win,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “We didn’t play some of our best basketball, but we also had moments where I thought we played pretty well. I thought we did a lot better job defensively in the second half, especially defending the ball screens. I’m happy, we can play better, but I think we played well enough today to win. Good balanced scoring is nice to see as well.”

Beeston led four Cougars in double figures with 15 points. Haley Steed had 12 points while going 2-3 from behind the arc with nine assists, Jennifer Hamson had 10 points and nine rebounds and Ashley Garfield had 10 points and six rebounds.

Pepperdine was led by Kelsey Patrick who scored 11 points and pulled down four rebounds.

Keilani Unga and Hamson scored two baskets each to help the BYU jump out to a quick 8-3 lead within the first four minutes of the game. Just before the 15-minute mark, Beeston stole the wing pass and took it down for a layup to spark up the crowd.

As the half progressed, the Cougars began to assert themselves inside. Steed found Morgan Bailey down low for a layup and on the Waves’ next possession, Hamson blocked her second shot of the game. With Pepperdine focused on the middle, Steed hit a three just before the shot clock expired to give the Cougars a 15-6 lead.

With just under 10 minutes left, Steed found Stephanie Vermunt Seaborn open for a trey to push the lead to 21-10. After a jumper by Hamson and one from Steed, Beeston hit two free throws to extend the lead to 27-16 in favor of the Cougars.

Over the final six minutes of the half, both teams buckled down on defense and went cold on offense. The Waves hit two jumpers and Steed hit a 3-pointer for the Cougars to put BYU up 30-20 at halftime.

The Cougars opened the second half on fire, hitting three shots from downtown. Two by Beeston and one by Xojian Harry sandwiched a layup by Hamson to open up the largest lead of the game for BYU at 42-26.

Garfield scored the next five points for the Cougars to go on a personal 5-2 run. Garfield drove hard to the basket to create her scoring chances. She hit a layup and was fouled on the other two chances and made three out of the four free throws.

Two jumpers by Steed and a 3-pointer and a layup by Beeston helped push the Cougar lead to over 20 points late in the half. BYU used its length and speed to force eight turnovers and out-rebound the Waves 21-15 to maintain their lead for the remainder of the half.

BYU will return to WCC action Thursday against Gonzaga at 6 p.m. PST at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane. The game will be streamed live on BYU Radio.

Posgame Notes
Team

BYU went 6-0 in the first three and a half minutes of the first half. The Cougars led the rest of the game.

With 17:15 left in the game, Kim Parker Beeston launched a 15-0 Cougar run with back-to-back 3-pointers.

Saturday’s game was BYU’s third game with four Cougars in double figures.

The Cougars outrebounded the Waves 44-32 and led in assists 20-8. BYU also had eight blocks, while Pepperdine didn’t have any.

BYU is 11-3 when leading at the half and 9-2 when outrebounding its opponent.

The Cougars shot 47 percent from the field, holding the Waves to only 25 percent shooting.

Saturday’s victory was BYU’s ninth straight win. The Cougars remain undefeated at home.

Player

Haley Steed, No. 1 in the nation for assists per game, scored 12 points and dished out nine assists. It was Steed’s fifth double-figure outing of the season.

Kim Parker Beeston recorded 15 points for her 11th double-figure outing of the season and sixth straight. She had three 3-pointers.

Ashley Garfield had her third double-figure game of the season with 10 points Saturday afternoon. She also had six rebounds.

Jennifer Hamson hit double figures on a layup with one second left on the clock. She totaled 10 and led the Cougars with nine rebounds and five blocks.

BYU women’s basketball (10-4, 1-0) begins the second week of West Coast Conference action with two games, one on the road and one at home.

On Thursday, the team is at San Diego (9-5, 1-1) in an 8 p.m., MST tip off. BYU returns home to host Pepperdine (3-9, 0-1) Saturday at 2 p.m. The Cougars were selected to finish first in conference play as voted by the league’s coaches. Last year BYU finished second with a 12-4 record, winning its first WCC championship and representing the league as the automatic qualifier in the NCAA tournament.

BYU Capsule
BYU has outrebounded its opponents in nine of the games played, including the last seven. In all but two contests (at Boston College and at Washington State) the Cougars dished out more assists than their opponents. BYU has enjoyed a halftime lead in all but two games to date (vs. Seattle and at Washington State). On the season, the BYU bench has outscored the opponent’s bench 279-186. When comparing points in the paint, the Cougars have scored 392 points to 330 from opponents. In the team’s first league win over San Francisco, five players scored in double figures, a first on the year. In 2011-12 there were two games where five players put up double digits in scoring.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78), enters his 12th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #5 Jennifer Hamson, 13.5 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #5 Hamson, 8.8 rpg
• Team’s assist leader: #33 Haley Steed, 7.6 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #33 Steed, 2.1 spg

GAME PROMOTIONS for Saturday game vs. Pepperdine
Ward Night - bring your entire ward for $15. Go to the Marriott Center ticket office and ask for the number of tickets you will need to cover your ward.

BYU’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
#33 Haley Steed – (5-4 guard, GS.) 8.6 ppg; 4.3 rpg; 7.6 apg
#4 Kim Parker Beeston – (5-11 guard, Jr.) 10.3 ppg; 3.8 rpg; 2.4 apg
#11 Xojian Harry – (5-10 guard, So.) 4.4 ppg; 1.5 rpg; 0.6 apg
#45 Keilani Unga – (6-2 forward, Sr.) 5.9 ppg; 4.1 rpg; 1.1 apg
#5 Jennifer Hamson – (6-7 center, Jr.) 13.5 ppg; 8.8 rpg; 0.7 apg

San Diego Capsule
After one week of league action, the University of San Diego has compiled a 1-1 mark in WCC play and is 9-5 overall. Both league contests were on the road, losing to Gonzaga 77-57 and then beating the Pilots in Portland 69-63. The game vs. the Cougars is San Diego’s first conference game at home, where they are 6-2 on the year. The Toreros return nine letterwinners and two starters from last year’s team that finished with a 26-9, 12-4 record (tied for second with BYU in WCC action) and went to the Final Four of the WNIT.

• Head coach: Cindy Fisher is in her 7th year at San Diego
• Team’s leading scorer: #10 Amy Kame, 16.6 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #21 Klara Wischer, 7.9 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #10 Kame, 3.9 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #10 Kame, 2.9 spg

Series History
BYU leads the series 4-0

Last Meeting
BYU and San Diego met three times during last year’s WCC schedule. The Cougars won all three meetings, picking up a 62-53 victory in San Diego on Jan. 14 and a 64-40 win in Provo on Feb. 18. In their third matchup, the teams played at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas in one of two semifinal games during the Zappos 2012 WCC Championships. BYU won that contest 64-46, advancing to the championship game. 

Pepperdine Capsule
Entering the second week of league play, Pepperdine has a 3-9, 0-1 record. The Waves host San Francisco before making the trip to Provo for Saturday afternoon’s game. Last season, Pepperdine compiled a 14-15, 8-8 mark and a fifth place finish in the WCC. The Waves return one starter and eight letterwinners.

• Head coach: Julie Rousseau is in her ninth year at San Diego
• Team’s leading scorer: #22 Shay Cooney-Williams, 10.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #1 Robie Mayberry, 5.4 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #22 Cooney-Williams, 3.3 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #11 Ea Shoushtari, 2.3 spg

Series History
BYU leads the series 3-2

Last Meeting
During last year’s WCC schedule, the Cougars and Waves split the series with each team winning on it’s own court. The first meeting was on Jan. 12 in Provo where BYU picked up the 80-56 victory. In Malibu,  Calif., the game went in favor of the Waves as they beat BYU 61-49 on Feb. 2.

Up Next
Next week, the Cougar women have one road game. On Thursday, Jan. 17 the team will be in Spokane, Wash.,  to battle Gonzaga in a 6 p.m. PST tip.

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