Women’s hoops opens season hosting UVU

PROVO, Utah— The 2015-16 basketball season gets underway this week and the Cougar women are eager to take the court. BYU opens the year hosting in-state rival Utah Valley, Friday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m. The game between the Cougars and Wolverines airs live on BYUtv and will be simulcast on the internet on BYU Radio and on Sirius XM 143.

ABOUT BYU
Three returning starters and nine letterwinners anchor this year’s team that has high hopes of continuing the tradition of having winning seasons, clinching conference championships and advancing in the NCAA tournament. BYU is coming off a year that saw the team pick up its sixth straight 20-plus win season with a 23-10 record and the ninth under head coach Jeff Judkins. The Cougars also clinched the 2015 West Coast Conference championship and competed in the first round of the NCAA postseason tournament.

Senior All-American Lexi Eaton Rydalch is back for her final year in a BYU uniform as the team’s leading scorer (20.5) and leading rebounder (6.5). Point guard Kylie Maeda also returns as the second senior on the squad. Maeda is the team’s assist leader (4.2) while also contributing 6.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.  Junior Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher is the third returning starter on the 2015-16 squad. Pulsipher has the team’s best 3-point field goal percentage, shooting .411 and adds 9.6 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.

The experienced play from five bench players will be vital to the team’s lofty goals for the season.  Juniors Kristine Fuller Nielson and Micaelee Orton have the most experience, being on teams that played in back-to-back NCAA tournaments and won a conference championship title. Sophomores Cassie Broadhead and Alohi Robins-Hardy averaged over eight minutes of playing time last season. Amanda Wayment, the third sophomore, played in 10 games averaging three minutes of playing time.  Brooke Romney also returns for her second season with the Cougar program. She played on the 2012-13 team and then left on an LDS mission.

Six newcomers will don the blue and white this season including JC transfer Kalani Purcell, from Hamilton, New Zealand. In her two years at Hutchinson Community College (Kansas), she averaged a double-double with 18.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game and guided the team to a 72-2 record including back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA national championship game. She also brings a lot of international playing experience having been a member of the New Zealand National Team in 2013 and 2015.

Freshmen Shelbee Molen, Jasmine Moody, MaCayla Hanks and Eternity Galeai begin their college careers this season. Haley Bodnar, another freshmen, will sit out this season per NCAA rules since transferring from Purdue. These players come from very successful high school programs, are athletic, have a good understanding of the game of basketball and will be ready to contribute.

The Cougars finished the 2014-15 season shooting 43 percent from the field, 35 percent from behind the arc and 72 percent at the free throw line. They were averaging 68.1 points per game.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 15th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 L. Eaton Rydalch, 20.5 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #21 L. Eaton Rydalch, 6.1 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #03 K. Maeda, 4.2 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Morrison Pulsipher, 1.2 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #21, L. Eaton Rydalch, .33 bpg

ABOUT UTAH VALLEY
Utah Valley University returns nine letterwinners including all five starters from last season’s team that went 11-19 on the year and finished in sixth place in the Western Athletic Conference.

UVU was picked to finish in sixth place in this year’s WAC race. Junior Rhaiah Spooner-Knight was selected to the All-WAC first team.

The Wolverine played an exhibition game last week where they fell 67-53 to Colorado State University-Pueblo.

At the end of last season, UVU was shooting 42 percent from the field, 34 percent from the 3-point line and 68 percent from the charity stripe. The team was averaging 61.7 points per game.

• Head coach: Cathy Nixon (BYU, ‘89) 21st season
• Team’s leading scorer: #21 R. Spooner-Knight, 13.4 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #13 K. Norris, 7.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #03 M. Seals, 2,7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #03 M.Seals, 1.2 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #40 S. Loggins, 1.2 bpg

Series History
BYU leads the series 5-0.

Last Time: The two in-state foes played during the 2010-11 campaign. In that contest played on Dec. 9, the Cougars recorded the 74-47 victory in Orem.

What’s Next
After the home game with UVU, the Cougar team takes its first road trip of the year. BYU is at No. 18 Oklahoma on Thurs., Nov. 19 and at former Mountain West Conference foe Colorado State, Sat., Nov. 21. Both games can be heard live on BYU Radio and on Sirius XM 143.