PROVO, Utah -- Kim Parker Beeston, Haley Steed and Keilani Unga each scored in double-digits to lead BYU women’s basketball to a win over Saint Mary’s 66-58 on Thursday at the Marriott Center.

“It’s a great win," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We really needed it. It wasn’t a pretty game, but I didn’t think it would be. Saint Mary’s is a very, very good team. They’re very well coached and they’re physical.”

BYU (14-6, 5-2 West Coast Conference) outscored Saint Mary’s (14-6, 6-2 WCC) 17-3 in points off turnovers and forced the Gaels to turn the ball over 15 times.

Video Highlights and Interviews

Beeston and Steed led BYU with 14 points each. Beeston was a perfect 4 of 4 from the free-throw line. Steed hit 4-of-7 3-point shots for the Cougars and finished the night one assist shy of a double-double. Unga also scored in double digits with 13 points and was 5 of 6 from the field. Jennifer Hamson led the team on the boards with eight. Morgan Bailey and Stephanie Vermunt Seaborn also scored nine points apiece. 

“It was nice to see a couple kids step it up tonight," Judkins said. "I thought Keilani had one of her best games. Not just scoring 13 points tonight, but I thought her toughness and what she did on the court helped us.”

Seaborn struck first for the Cougars with a score from the top of the arc to put BYU up 3-0. Beeston followed with a jumper on the next BYU possession and then capitalized on a defensive stop to put in another 3-pointer for the Cougars to put them up 8-3.

Unga hit her first shot at the 15:23 mark to put BYU up 10-3 heading into the first timeout. Out of the timeout, Saint Mary’s took a 10-1 run to grab a two-point lead. Beeston was able to stop the bleeding for BYU with a jumper at the 11:57 mark to tie the game at 13. Saint Mary’s followed with a 4-0 run, but Beeston cut the lead to only one with her second 3-pointer of the night.  

At the 5:46 mark, Saint Mary’s took a seven-point lead over BYU. The Cougars managed to score one point on a free throw, but were still down six points with 2:30 remaining in the half. With two minutes left, Seaborn hit BYU’s first field goal since the 5:28 mark with a 3-pointer from the corner.

On BYU’s next possession, Jennifer Hamson went up strong to the basket and was fouled to complete the three-point play and tie the game at 29 with only a minute and a half remaining. Saint Mary’s responded to the Cougar run, scoring six points to go up 35-29. However, with only seconds remaining Steed knocked down a 3-point jumper to cut Saint Mary’s lead in half and send BYU into the locker room down only 35-32.  

Unga tied the game one minute into the second half with a shot from the left side of the key and Steed sunk consecutive 3-pointers to give BYU its first lead, 41-35, since the 12:22 mark in the first half.

Saint Mary’s scored its first point of the second half with a free throw at the 15:02 mark to seal BYU’s 10-1 run to start the half. With 11:06 left, Bailey hit a layup to push BYU up by seven at 48-41 and then Steed followed with her fourth 3-point field goal to give BYU its biggest lead of the night at nine points.

With 8:54 remaining, Unga laid in an offensive putback to join Steed and Beeston in double-digit scoring with 11 points. BYU held a seven-point lead heading into the timeout at 4:48, but Saint Mary’s cut the lead to only five with 3:46 remaining.  

At the 1:03 mark, Steed was fouled and hit both foul shots to put BYU up 61-54. BYU then forced a Gael turnover to take the ball back with only 55 seconds remaining. In the last minute, Saint Mary’s fouled BYU three times and the Cougars converted on 5-of-6 free throws to take the 66-58 victory.

BYU will play next at Santa Clara on Saturday in the Leavey Event Center at 2 p.m. PST. The game will be broadcast live on BYU Radio/Sirius XM 143.     

Postgame notes

Team

• BYU launched the game with a 10-3 run.
• The Cougars scored a trio of 3-pointers to start the second half and take a 41-35 lead.
• BYU had three players in double figures for the 10th time this season.
• BYU is 10-0 at the Marriott Center this season.
• The Cougars won in the assists battle 19-12 and scored 19 points off the Gaels’ 15 turnovers.

Player

• Kim Parker Beeston reached double figures in points in the first half, draining a trey with 9:05 on the clock. She ended with 14.
• Haley Steed hit double figures with her fourth 3-pointer of the night with 10:04 left to play in the second half. She totaled 14 points and nine assists. Her points put her at No. 18 on BYU’s all-time career points list with 1,128 total.
• Keilani Unga totaled 13 points, her third double-figure outing of the year.
• Jennifer Hamson led the Cougars with eight rebounds. She also had five points, two blocks and two steals, tying her career high.

BYU women’s basketball continues West Coast Conference action this week with two games. The Cougars (13-6, 4-2) host Saint Mary’s (14-5, 6-1) Thursday at 7 p.m. MST, in the Marriott Center where they are undefeated with a 9-0 record. BYU then travels to play at Santa Clara (12-8, 4-3) Saturday at 2 p.m. PST. Thursday’s game can be seen live on BYUtv while the road game at Santa Clara can be heard live on BYU Radio.

GAME PROMOTIONS - Saint Mary's
Kid's Night - Children 12 and under are FREE
Activities include face painting, photo booth and balloon animals

BYU Capsule
The team has outrebounded its opponents in 13 of the games played.  The BYU bench has outscored the opponent’s bench 386-238. When comparing points in the paint, the Cougars have scored 510 points to 418 from opponents.

BYU has enjoyed a halftime lead in all but four games to date (at USF, at Gonzaga, vs. Seattle and at Washington State). In only four contests (at USF, at Gonzaga, at Boston College and at Washington State) the Cougars did not record more assists than their opponents. Balanced scoring has added to the team’s success this year. To date, three players have put up double figures in points in nine games and four players finished with double digit scoring in three games.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ’78), enters his 12th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #5 Jennifer Hamson, 10.9 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #5 Hamson, 7.6 rpg
• Team’s assist leader: #33 Haley Steed, 7.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #33 Steed, 2.1 spg

BYU’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
#33 Haley Steed– (5-4 guard, GS.) 9.6 ppg; 4.2 rpg; 7.7 apg
#4 Kim Parker Beeston– (5-11 guard, Jr.) 10.6 ppg; 3.8 rpg; 2.2 apg
#12 Stephanie Vermunt Seaborn – (6-0 guard/forward, Jr.) 6.3 ppg; 2.4 rpg; 1.1 apg
#45 Keilani Unga– (6-2 forward, Sr.) 5.6 ppg; 4.1 rpg; 0.9 apg
#5 Jennifer Hamson– (6-7 center, Jr.) 10.9 ppg; 7.6 rpg; 0.4 apg

Saint Mary’s Capsule
The Gaels have compiled a 14-5, 6-1 record to date. Saint Mary’s only league loss to date was at home vs. San Diego on Jan. 17. On this year’s team, the Gaels return 10 letterwinners including three starters from last year’s team that went 22-11 and advanced to the second round of the WNIT.

• Head coach: Paul Thomas enters his seventh year with Saint Mary’s
• Team’s leading scorer: #3 Jackie Nared, 18.4 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #54 Danielle Maulding, 11.4 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #24 Morgan Hatten, 3.3 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #54 Maulding, 1.4 spg

Series History
The series is tied 1-1.

Last Meeting
In last year’s WCC competition, these two teams split the series with each winning on its home court. At Saint Mary’s on Dec. 31, the Gaels defeated the Cougars 54-48. Senior Kristen Riley led the way for BYU with game highs in points (17) and rebounds (11) marking her second double-double of the season. Kim Parker Beeston also recorded double digits in scoring with 10 while Haley Steed dished out a team- and game-high five assists. For the game, the Cougars shot 33 percent from the field, 71 percent from the free throw line and went 6 of 21 from 3-point range. Saint Mary’s outrebounded BYU 43-31.

On Feb. 4, when the Gaels made their first ever appearance in the Marriott Center, the Cougar beat Saint Mary’s 83-47 in a game that saw every player on the BYU roster get playing time. Jennifer Hamson came off the bench to lead all scorers with 18 points and in rebounds with nine. Riley finished the game with 15 points and six boards.  Steed dished out a game-best 10 assist. In this contest, the Cougars bettered their field goal percentage, this time shooting 47 percent. In this matchup as in the previous game, the Gaels had more rebounds grabbing 43 to 35.

Santa Clara Capsule
Santa Clara has compiled a 12-8 record going 4-3 in league action. They play at San Diego on Thursday night before hosting the Cougars Saturday afternoon. The Broncos return four starters from last year’s team that compiled a 12-18 record and finished in sixth place in the WCC with a 5-11 mark.

• Head coach: Jennifer Mountain is in her fourth season with Santa Clara
• Team’s leading scorer: #4 Ricki Radanovich, 11.6 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 Lindsay Leo, 7.3 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #12 Nici Gilday, 2.9 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #4 Radanovich, 2.1 spg

Series History
The Cougars lead the series 4-1.

Last Meeting
The Cougars swept the series with the Broncos last season getting a 74-64 win at Santa Clara on Jan. 28, and then picking up an 84-57 victory in Provo on Feb. 23. In the contest at Santa Clara, BYU had five players score in double figures. When the Broncos were in Provo, five Cougars once again finished with double digits in points on the night that the team’s three seniors were recognized.

Up Next
WCC action continues with BYU hosting San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. MST, before taking a road trip to Moraga, Calif., to take on Saint Mary’s on Saturday, Feb. 9.