Season opens at Utah Valley for BYU women’s hoops

PROVO, Utah— After two home wins in exhibition play, BYU women’s basketball is set to begin the 2016-17 season. The Cougars (0-0) play at in-state rival Utah Valley (0-0), Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on BYU Radio on Sirius XM 143. An audio stream is  also available at: byuradio.org/listen.

BYU Notes for game #1 at UVU

BYU at a Glance
BYU is coming off  its 10th-plus win season with a 26-7 record and a West Coast Conference regular season crown under head coach Jeff Judkins. The Cougars also enjoyed a perfect 12-0 mark at home and a program-best 12th NCAA postseason appearance.  BYU also recorded a 16-game win streak, the longest to date in program history.

The Cougars return nine letterwinners including three starters. In addition to the returning players, Cougar fans will also see five new faces on the Marriott Center floor.

All-American and 2016 WCC Newcomer of the Year, senior Kalani Purcell, anchors the three returning starters for BYU with a double-double 12.0 points and 12.6 rebounds and also led the team in assists with a 4.7 average. She ended her junior year ranked second in the nation in defensive rebounds per game, fourth in rebounds and fifth in rebounds per game. She also ranked 13th nationally in double doubles. Senior Makenzi Pulsipher, an All-WCC Second Team honoree who started all games in 2016, was the team’s second leading scorer with 12.7 points and 2.4 rebounds, had the most steals on the team with 70 and was the team’s best free thrower shooting .795 from the line. Sophomore Jasmine Moody is the third returning starter for the Cougars. She averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

At the end of last season, BYU shot 42.7 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from behind the arc and 70.3 percent from the free throw line, while averaging 69.7 points and pulling down 37.5 rebounds per game.

In this year’s WCC preseason poll chosen by the coaches, BYU, the defending regular season conference champion, was selected to finish second in the league race behind Gonzaga. Purcell and Pulsipher were named to the Preseason All-Conference team.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78) 16th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #23 M. Pulsipher, 12.7 ppg*
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 12.6 rpg*
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 4.7 apg*
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Pulsipher,  2.1 spg*
• Team’s blocks leader: #32, K. Purcell, .76 bpg*

* Indicates player stats are from end of last season

UVU at a Glance
Utah Valley University is coming off a 16-15, 8-6 season and returns six letterwinners including two starters. The Wolverines were picked to finish fifth in the Western Athletic Conference preseason poll selected by the media. Junior Maria Seals was named to the WAC Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference First Team. UVU played one exhibition game, defeating Southern Virginia University, 109-38 last Saturday in Orem.

Last year, UVU advanced to the semifinals of the WAC championships. It finished the season shooting 42.9 from the field, 32.2 from 3-point range and 72.9 percent from the free throw line, while scoring 65.9 points and 36.5 rebounds per game.

• Head coach: Cathy Nixon (BYU, ‘89) 22nd season
• Team’s leading scorer: #03 M. Seals, 11.4 ppg*
• Team’s leading rebounder: #12 R. MaWinney, 5.8 rpg*
• Team’s assists leader: #03 M. Seals, 2.8 apg*
• Team’s steals leader: #03 M. Seals, 1.3 spg*
• Team’s blocks leader: #03 M. Seals, .42 bpg*

* Indicates player stats are from end of last season

The Series
The Cougars lead the overall series 6-0 and are 2-0 when playing in Orem. The last time that BYU played at the UCCU Center was on Dec. 9, 2010, where it recorded a 74-47 win. Last year the two in-state foes battled in Provo with the Cougars picking up a 78-62 home victory.

What’s Next for BYU
The Cougar team continues play on the road, heading to Athens, Georgia to battle the Georgia Bulldogs on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016 at 7 p.m. ET.