BYU defeats Santa Clara 72-66 in double overtime

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PROVO, Utah – After dropping a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, BYU defeated Santa Clara 72-66 in double overtime on Thursday night at the Marriott Center in the Cougars’ fourth consecutive win.

"First of all, I’ve been in this business a long time and I can’t be more proud of my team," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I'm proud of what they did tonight and how they won that game. If you would have seen the score, you would have thought there was no way we could do it. I’m just happy with these guys—they deserved to win this game."

Cassie Broadhead led BYU’s offense with 28 points while Makenzi Pulsipher added 15 points. Kalani Purcell was just one assist shy of a triple double with 10 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists.

BYU (13-7, 7-2 WCC) built a 14-point lead with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter before Santa Clara (9-11, 4-5 WCC) went on a 16-2 run to tie the score 57-57 and send the game into overtime.

Down by four, Kristine Nielson hit a three with 12 seconds to go. Santa Clara converted two free throws, but a pass from Purcell to Broadhead for a 3-pointer at the buzzer sent the game into double overtime, 65-65.

Broadhead and Amanda Wayment combined for a quick four-point lead before another Broadhead shot extended the Cougars’ advantage 71-65. BYU held Santa Clara to just one point before the Cougars won the game 72-66 in double overtime.

Broadhead hit a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Cougars a 5-1 lead to start the game. The Broncos battled back to tie the game at seven apiece. After neither team scored for over three minutes, Broadhead converted another three, but the Cougars couldn’t hold on to the momentum on just 18.8 percent shooting from the field in the first quarter.

BYU found themselves trailing by four at the beginning of the second quarter but fought back for a 22-21 lead on a Purcell layup with 5:42 to go. Both teams struggled to make shots, but a Wayment layup sparked a 7-0 run to finish the quarter with a 31-24 lead.

The Cougars carried offensive energy from the locker room as Broadhead converted a 3-point play for BYU’s first double-digit lead of the game with 6:57 to go. She then capped off the Cougars’ 10-0 run with a 3-pointer for a 41-26 advantage, the largest of the game.

BYU allowed just six Santa Clara points in the third quarter as the Broncos prevented BYU from scoring for over five minutes. Pulsipher ended the drought on a shot from the top of the arc for a 43-30 lead to finish the period.

Santa Clara cut the deficit to nine but the Cougars quickly extended the lead back to 13 on a Pulsipher 3-pointer with 8:15 to go in the fourth quarter. Purcell earned her 12th double-double of the season, pushing BYU ahead 55-41 on a layup. The Cougars led by as many as 14 before Santa Clara sparked a comeback to send the game into overtime.

BYU hits the road to California to play Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. PST. The game will be streamed on TheW.tv and carried live on BYU Radio – Sirius XM 143. Links to live stats can be found on the BYU women’s schedule page.

Postgame Notes

Team

In its first overtime game of the season, BYU women’s basketball defeated Santa Clara 72-66.

With the win, BYU is now 6-1 during the month of January and 3-3 when playing on Thursday.

For the sixth time in the 2016-17 season, three Cougars scored in double figures—Broadhead (28), Pulsipher (15) and Purcell (10).

The Cougars converted seven 3-point field goals against the Broncos. BYU is 12-4 when the team makes more than five treys in a single game.

BYU dished out 21 assists to Santa Clara’s 14, and the Cougars scored 32 points in the paint, while the Broncos tallied 22.

Player

Cassie Broadhead scored 10 points in the first half, putting her in double figures for the 19th time this year. The senior finished the contest with a game-high 28. Broadhead hit a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into double overtime. She also had seven assists and five rebounds.

Senior guard Makenzi Pulsipher ended the game with 15 points. With her 15 points, Pulsipher has now recorded double digits in 14 games this season, with six coming in conference play. Pulsipher also tallied five rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Kalani Purcell totaled eight points, seven rebounds and three assists going into halftime. She finished with 10 points and 17 rebounds for the double-double. Purcell’s double-double makes for her 12th of the season. She now has three 15+ rebounding games this year. The New Zealand native neared a triple-double, recording nine assists in the contest. She also had three steals and two blocks.