Home opener is against No. 16 Oklahoma Saturday

PROVO, Utah — With a 1-1 record, BYU women’s basketball opens its home slate hosting No. 16/17 Oklahoma (2-0) on Saturday, Nov. 19, at 4 p.m. MST. The game will air live on TheW.tv.

BYU Game Notes vs. No. 16 Oklahoma

No. 16 Oklahoma Game Notes vs. BYU

BYU at a glance
Currently, the Cougars have two players scoring in double figures. Both senior guard Makenzi Pulsipher and junior guard Cassie Broadhead are averaging 16.5 points per game. Broadhead is pulling down 2.5 rebounds while Pulsipher grabs 2.0 boards a contest. In the rebound category, senior All-American and the 2016 West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year, Kalani Purcell, and sophomore forward Jasmine Moody are grabbing 8.0 rebounds each. Purcell also tops the lists in assists, dishing out 4.0 a game. Pulsipher is atop the steals category with nine to date.

BYU is scoring 59.5 points per game while shooting 41.4 percent from the field, 29.0 percent from behind the 3-point line and 68.3 percent from the charity stripe.

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/20 C. Broadhead, 16.5 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell/#33 J. Moody, 8.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 4.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #23 M. Pulsipher, 4.5 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20, C. Broadhead, 1.0 bpg

Oklahoma at a glance
No. 16/17 Oklahoma is 2-0 on the year with home wins over Southern Illinois and Little Rock. The Sooners were picked to finish third in the Big 12 Conference race this year. Oklahoma returns four starters and 12 letterwinners. Last season, the Sooners compiled a 22-11 record and went 7-6 in road games.

Three players are scoring in double digits for Oklahoma. Vionise Pierre-Louis is averaging 16.0 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds per game. Gioya Carter follows with 11.0 points while Peyton Little contributes 10.5 points per contest. Gabbi Ortiz has the most assists with five while T’ona Edwards leads the way in steals with three. The Sooners are averaging 74.0 points a contest while shooting 42.7 percent from the field, 17.2 percent from behind the arc and 84.1 percent from the free throw line.

• Head coach: Sherrie Coale (Okla. Christian, 1987), 21st season
• Team’s leading scorer: #00 V. Pierre-Louis, 16.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #00 V. Pierre-Louis, 9.0 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #21 G. Ortiz, 2.5 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #02 T. Edwards, 1.5 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #32 N. Mulkey, 2.0 bpg

The Series
Oklahoma leads the series 4-1. The two teams played last year in Norman where the Sooners recorded the 73-47 victory on Nov. 19. The last time Oklahoma played in Provo was on Dec. 30, 1989. In that contest, BYU defeated OU, 108-77.

What’s up next
The Cougar women will spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Albuquerque, New Mexico, playing in the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament. BYU plays St. Joseph’s on Friday, Nov. 25, at 4:30 p.m. MST. Then on Saturday, Nov. 26, the Cougars will play either Tulsa or host UNM.