WCC race opens on the road for Cougar women

PROVO, Utah— The 2018-19 West Coast Conference race starts on the road for the Cougar women as the team seeks to capture the league title. BYU (8-3) plays at Santa Clara (7-4) on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 2 p.m. PST. The team remains in the Bay Area for a game at San Francisco (4-7) on Monday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m. PST.  A live video stream will be available on TheW.tv. for both games.

BYU at Santa Clara Game Notes

ABOUT BYU

• The Cougars have recorded wins over UC Riverside, Eastern Washington, Utah State, TCU, California Baptist, Utah Valley, Colorado State and Northern Colorado.
• After playing in 11 games, BYU is putting up 66.5 points per game while shooting 40.5 percent from the field, 30.3 percent from the 3-point line and 70.4 percent when shooting from the free throw line. The team grabs 40.6 rebounds and has pulled down more boards in six contests to date.
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales, who has scored in double digits in all games, leads in scoring with a 17.2 average. Sophomore Paisley Johnson follows with 12.6 points a contest. Junior Brenna Chase rounds out the double-figure scoring with 12.3 points a game. She also leads the way in assists (4.2) and steals (2.6).  Junior Shalae Salmon tops the leaderboard in rebounding with a 6.1 average.
• Sophomore center Sara Hamson leads in blocks with 1.8 per contest.
• At least two players have scored in double-digit points in nine of the 11 games played.
• BYU was picked to finish third in the WCC preseason poll while junior Brenna Chase and sophomore Sara Hamson were named to the WCC preseason team.
• During last year’s WCC race, the Cougars swept the series vs. Santa Clara.

ABOUT SANTA CLARA

• Santa Clara enters WCC play with a 7-4 record, picking up wins over Sonoma State, Nevada, San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton Missouri State San Jose State and Grand Canyon.
• SCU returns seven letterwinners including three starters from last year's team that compiled a 9-21, 5-13 record, finishing tied for eighth place in the WCC race.
• Leading the way in scoring for the Broncos is junior guard Tia Hay who is averaging 13.8 points a game. She’s followed by sophomore forward Ashlyn Herlihy who contributes 10.4 points a contest. Junior Lauren Yearwood tops the leaderboard in rebounds and blocks for Santa Clara with a 7.1 and 3.0 average, respectively.
• The Broncos are scoring 60.0 points and pull down 35.5 boards per game. The team shoots 39.7 percent from the field, 26.5 percent from behind the arc and 66.9 percent from the free-throw line.
• Santa Clara was selected to finish sixth in the 2018-19 WCC Preseason Poll.

ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO

• Heading into WCC play, the San Francisco Dons are 4-7 on the year. USF hosts San Diego on Dec. 29 prior to the game with BYU.
• In their nonconference schedule, USF beat San Jose State, Cal Poly, Sacramento State and North Dakota State.
• The Dons return five letterwinners and two starters from a squad that compiled a 16-15, 10-8 record last season. USF finished in fifth place in last year’s WCC race.
• San Francisco is averaging 72.5 points and pulls down 35.2 rebounds per game.
• During last year’s race, the Dons and Cougars won on their home courts. 
• BYU leads the series 17-5 and has a 6-3 mark when playing in San Francisco.

UP NEXT FOR BYU

After the two road WCC games, the Cougars return home for more league play. BYU hosts Pepperdine on Jan. 3 and LMU on Jan. 5. Both games will be carried live on BYUtv.