Regular-season finale brings San Diego to Marriott Center Saturday

PROVO, Utah—Riding a seven-game winning streak and coming off a road sweep over Pepperdine and LMU, BYU women’s basketball (23-5, 13-4) finishes West Coast Conference regular season play at home, Saturday.

The league finale brings San Diego to the Marriott Center in a 1 p.m. tip. The game will be televised live on BYUtv. BYU’s two seniors, Kim Beeston and Jennifer Hamson, will be recognized at the game.

About BYU
In second place in the league standings, the Cougars are led by senior center Jennifer Hamson who tops the list in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. She’s averaging 18.4 points, 11.5 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game. Hamson leads the nation in blocked shots, ranks 11th in double-doubles, 13th in rebounds per game and 19th in field goal percentage.

Three other Cougars are recording double figures in points, with Lexi Eaton chipping in 16.9 followed by 11.6 points from Kim Beeston. Junior forward Morgan Bailey rounds out the scoring output, contributing 10.3 points. She is second in rebounds, pulling down 7.1 per contest.

BYU is averaging 72.6 points per game, while holding opponents to 64.3 points. The Cougars, who rank sixth in the country in blocked shots per game, have recorded more blocks than opponents in 24 games and have dished out more assists in 22 of the 28 games played to date. The team has also recorded more rebounds than opponents in 21 contests.

About San Diego
San Diego enters the last week of WCC play with a 22-6, 11-6 record, in fourth place in the league standings. It is currently on a three-game win streak.

The Toreros have a very balanced team with four players scoring in double figures. Amy Kame tops the leaderboard with 16.8 points per game followed by 12.7 points from Malina Hood and 10.5 from Felicia Wijenberg. Katelyn McDaniel rounds out the double-digit scoring contributing 10.3 points while leading in rebounds pulling down 8.1 per contest.

San Diego is averaging 70.4 points per game and is pulling down 42.8 rebounds per game.

Series History
BYU leads the overall series 6-1. When playing in Provo, the Toreros are 0-2.

Last Meeting
The Cougars fell to 14-4, 4-3 after a 60-45 loss at San Diego on Jan.18, the first time the two teams played.

Both teams struggled offensively in the first half with the Toreros going just 1 of 15 from the field in the first eight minutes of play. In that same span of time, BYU turned the ball over seven times.

The Cougars led 28-26 at halftime before San Diego sparked a comeback, including an 18-2 run, in the final 20 minutes.

Jennifer Hamson tied a previous career-high 17 rebounds to go along with five blocks, but ended the game with just three points. Lexi Eaton scored a game-best 16 points for the Cougars, while Kim Beeston chipped in a double-digit outing of her own with 12.

Up Next
Following the home game vs. San Diego, the BYU women’s basketball team gets set to compete in the 2014 WCC women’s basketball championships in Las Vegas. The league tournament begins on March 6 and concludes Mar. 11. The winner of the tournament advances to the NCAA championships representing the WCC.