Saturday road game at Portland for Cougar women

PROVO, Utah—BYU women’s basketball (13-8, 7-3 WCC) is back on the road this week in West Coast Conference action. The Cougar women, who are tied with Saint Mary’s for second place in the latest league standings, are at Gonzaga (17-4, 8-2 WCC) on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m. PST. The game against the Bulldogs can be heard live on BYU Radio and will be streamed live on TheW.tv

BYU at Portland Game Notes

BYU at Gonzaga Game Notes

On Saturday, Feb. 4, BYU continues league play on the road. The team is at Portland to take on the Pilots (4-17, 2-8 WCC) in a 2 p.m. PST., tilt. Fans can follow the action live on BYU Radio and on the Internet at TheW.tv

BYU AT A GLANCE
Three players provide the majority of BYU’s offensive threat, led by 19.1 points from junior guard Cassie Broadhead. She also leads the WCC in scoring. Senior guard Makenzi Pulsipher follows with 13.4 points and 3.7 boards. Senior All-American Kalani Purcell rounds out the scoring output for BYU by averaging a double-double with 12.1 points and a team-and league-high 10.7 boards per game.

Now in the sixth week of league action, the Cougars are scoring 67.2 points per game while shooting 42.5 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from behind the arc and 70.3 percent from the free-throw line. The team also grabs 36.4 rebounds a contest.

In conference only stats, BYU leads in field goal percentage, field goal percentage defense, assists, defensive rebounds, 3-point field goals made and is tied with Gonzaga in steals.

• Head coach: Jeff Judkins (Utah, ‘78), 16th season
• Team’s leading scorer: #20 C. Broadhead, 19.1 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #32 K. Purcell, 10.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #32 K. Purcell, 5.1 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #32 Purcell, 2.2 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #20 C. Broadhead/#32 K. Purcell, .95

GONZAGA AT A GLANCE
Gonzaga is in first place in the latest WCC standings with a 17-4, 8-2 conference record. The team’s two league losses were against Pepperdine and Pacific. The Bulldogs are 10-1 overall at home and 4-1 in league play.

Jill Barta is the lone player for Gonzaga that is putting up double digits in points with a team-best 17.8 ppg and 6.4 rebounds a contest. Kiara Kudron tops the list in the rebounds category with a 7.7 average.

The Bulldogs are shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 75.6 percent from the free-throw line while scoring 72.3 points and pulling down 40.2 boards a game.

• Head coach: Lisa Fortier (Cal-State Monterey Bay, ‘04), Third season
• Team’s leading scorer: #13 J. Barta, 17.8 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #23 K. Kudron, 7.7 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #11 L. Stockton, 4.7 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #31 E. Tinkle, 2.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #13 J. Barta, 1.1 bpg

THE SERIES
Gonzaga leads the series 12-8. When playing in Spokane, BYU has a 2-7 mark. Head coach Jeff Judkins is 6-11 vs. the Bulldogs. The last time that the Cougars won in Spokane was on Dec. 2, 2000, a 74-57 BYU victory.

PORTLAND AT A GLANCE
The Portland Pilots enter this week’s WCC race with a 4-17, 2-8 record. They are at Santa Clara on Thursday night before hosting the Cougar women on Saturday afternoon.

Portland swept the series with Pepperdine for its two league victories.

The Pilots have 10 letterwinners returning, including all five starters. They currently have two players scoring in double figures. Darian Slaga tops the list averaging 11.0 points per game while teammate Kaylie Van Loo contributes 10.1 points a contest. Julie Spencer is the team’s leading rebounder, pulling down 7.4 boards a game.  Portland is averaging 57.5 points, grabs 34.6 rebounds while shooting 35.7 percent from the field, 29.6 percent from 3-point land and 70.0 percent from the charity stripe.

• Head coach: Cheryl Sorenson (Washington, ‘03), Second season
• Team’s leading scorer: #32 D. Slaga, 11.0 ppg
• Team’s leading rebounder: #23 J. Spencer, 7.4 rpg
• Team’s assists leader: #03 K. Van Loo, 5.2 apg
• Team’s steals leader: #03 K. Van Loo, 2.0 spg
• Team’s blocks leader: #23 J. Spencer, .62 bpg

THE SERIES
BYU leads the series 18-4. When playing in Portland, the Cougar women have a 9-2 mark. BYU has not lost at the Chiles Center since 1997, when it fell to the Pilots, 87-63, on November 15. Head coach Jeff Judkins is 14-0 all-time against Portland.

COMING UP
After Saturday’s game at Portland, BYU returns home to host two WCC teams. On Thursday, Feb. 9, the Cougar women host Pepperdine in a 7 p.m. MST tip. Then Saturday, Feb. 11, BYU is at home hosting San Francisco. That game begins at 2 p.m. MST. Both home contests will air live on BYUtv and simulcast on BYU Radio.