BYU women open up WCC play at Santa Clara

PROVO, Utah -- BYU women’s basketball finished its nonconference portion of the 2016-17 schedule with a 6-5 record after playing just three home games and competing against five Power 5 teams.

BYU at Santa Clara Game Notes

BYU AT A GLANCE
Heading into the 2017 West Coast Conference race, the Cougars are led by junior guard Cassie Broadhead with her team-best 16.5 points per game. Senior guard Makenzi Pulsipher follows with 12.5 points. Senior forward Kalani Purcell is next, recording 11.7 points and a team-best 8.9 rebounds per contest.

As a team, BYU is scoring 64.0 points per game while shooting 40.4 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from behind the 3-point line and 67.5 percent from the charity stripe. The Cougars pull down 36.0 rebounds a game.

In this year’s West Coast Conference 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: #20 C. Broadhead 16.5 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 8.9 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 4.3 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #20 M. Pulsipher 2.3 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20 C. Broadhead, 1.2 bpg

SANTA CLARA AT A GLANCE
Santa Clara has compiled a 5-6, 0-0 record on the year as the WCC race begins. The Broncos are 2-1 at home.

SCU has four players putting up double figures in scoring with 12.5 points from Morgan McGwire. She’s followed by 12.0 points from Emily Wolph. Teammates Marie Bertholdt and Lori Parkinson round out the scoring for the Broncos with 11.4 and 10.7 points, respectively. Parkinson pulls down a team-best 7.9 boards a game.

Santa Clara is scoring 65.0 points a contest while shooting 40.4 percent from the field and 72.0 percent from the charity stripe.

• Head coach: Bill Carr (USF, ‘87), First season
• Team’s leading scorer: #32 M. McGwire, 12.5 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #20 L. Parkinson, 7.9 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #25 E. Wolph, 4.5 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #20 L. Parkinson, 1.5 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #32 M. McGwire, 1.4 bpg

THE SERIES
BYU leads the series 13-1. Last year during the WCC race, the Cougars swept the series. The two met a third time in the semifinals of the WCC Championships in Las Vegas. In that matchup, BYU recorded an 87-67 victory to advance to the WCC championship game.

LMU AT A GLANCE
LMU enters WCC play with a 5-6 record and are 3-2 on the season when playing on the road. The Lions are at Saint Mary’s on Thursday night before making the trip to Provo to play the Cougar women on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions return nine letterwinners and three starters from last year’s team that compiled an 11-20, 6-1 record and finished tied for seventh place in the WCC race.

Four players are putting up double digit points for LMU, led by 15.8 points from Jackie Johnson and with 10.8 rebounds, records a double-double for the Lions. Cheyanne Wallace follows with 14.4 points while Leslie Lopez-Wood chips in 11.9 points a contest. Brittney Reed rounds out the scoring threat for LMU with 10.0 points a game.

The Lions are scoring 65.0 points per game while shooting 39.8 percent from the field, 32.0 percent from 3-point range and 63.3 percent from the free-throw line. LMU grabs 38.4 rebounds a game.

• Head coach: Charity Elliott (Southwest Missouri State, ‘92), Fifth season
• Team’s leading scorer: #43 J. Johnson, 15.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #43 J. Johnson, 10.8 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #11 A. Velasco, 6.0 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #43 J. Johnson, 2.2 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #43 J. Johnson, 2.5 bpg

THE SERIES
BYU leads the all-time series against LMU 12-1. In Provo, the Lions have a 0-5 mark. Head coach Jeff Judkins is 9-1 vs. LMU.

COMING UP
After hosting LMU on New Year’s Eve, the Cougars play one more game at the Marriott Center. Saint Mary’s plays in Provo on Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. That game will be televised on BYUtv.