No 25 BYU women’s basketball travels to LMU and Pepperdine in WCC play this week

PROVO, Utah— No. 25 BYU women's basketball travels to Los Angeles to takes on LMU Thursday, Jan. 31, at 5 p.m. PST.

On Saturday, the Cougars head to Malibu for a 2 p.m., PST game vs. Pepperdine. Fans can watch a live video stream of both league games on TheW.tv. Live stats will be available at: https://byucougars.com/schedule/w-basketball/.

BYU at LMU Game Notes

No. 25 BYU women’s basketball improved its record to 17-3, 9-0 on the year with a 65-56 road win at San Diego, Saturday.  In this week’s West Coast Conference standings, the Cougars are in first place with a perfect 9-0 record.

ABOUT BYU

• For the first time since the 2011-12 season, the team made the Associated Press Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 25, Monday.
• BYU’s current 11-game win streak ties for third best in school history. The team’s longest win streak occurred during the 2015-16 season when it won 16 straight games.
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales, who has scored in double-digits in all games, leads in scoring and assists with 17.3 and 4.3 averages, respectively. Sophomore Paisley Johnson contributes 14.1 points while teammate junior Brenna Chase puts up 12.4 points a contest. Chase leads in steals with a 2.7 average. 
• Senior forward Jasmine Moody tops the leaderboard in rebounding, averaging 6.0 boards a game. She picked up her first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the road win at San Diego, Saturday. In that same game, sophomore center Sara Hamson recorded a game-high seven blocks for a season-best in that category. She leads the team in blocks with a 2.1 average. Hamson is third on the team in rebounding pulling down 5.3 boards a game.
• In the WCC, the Cougars rank second in scoring defense, scoring margin, field goal percentage defense, blocked shots and assist/turnover ratio; third in assists, turnover margin, defensive rebounds, and 3-point field goals made; fourth in 3-point field goal percentage and steals. 
• In the first meeting with LMU, the Cougars picked up a 55-44 victory in Provo on Jan. 5. BYU has a 16-2 all-time lead in the series with the Lions. In Los Angeles, BYU is 5-2.

ABOUT LMU

• LMU has compiled an 11-10, 4-5 record.  Heading into this week’s WCC action, the Lions are in sixth place in the league standings.
• In league play, LMU has picked up wins over Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Pacific.
• The Lions are averaging 54.4 points and 41.3 rebounds a contest. The team shoots 38.3 percent from the field, 29.2 percent from 3-point range and 60.5 percent from the charity stripe.
• Three players are contributing double-digit points for LMU, led by Chelsey Gipson’s 16.2 points. Teammate Gabby Green follows with 14.0 points a contest. Jasmine Jones rounds out the scoring output for the Lions with 10.9 points a game. Bree Alford leads the way in rebounding with a 9.8 average.

ABOUT PEPPERDINE

• Pepperdine is 11-8, 5-4 on the season and is in fifth place in the latest WCC standings. They battle San Diego in Malibu on Thursday before hosting the Cougars on Saturday afternoon.
• In league play, the Waves have recorded wins over Portland, San Diego, Santa Clara, San Francisco and LMU.
• Saturday’s meeting with the Waves will be the second for the two league foes. BYU hosted Pepperdine on Jan. 3 when the Cougars recorded an 83-58 win.
• In the series with the Waves, BYU has an 18-2 lead. In Malibu, the Cougars are 6-2 all-time.
• Senior guard Yasmine Robinson-Bacote leads the way for Pepperdine in scoring and rebounding averaging 19.8 points and 7.3 rebounds a game. Junior guard Barbara Sitanggan is the second player on the squad to tally double-digit points with 10.5 points a game. She also leads the way in the assist category dishing out 4.6 assists a contest.

UP NEXT
After the two road games in California, BYU women’s basketball returns to the Marriott Center to host two conference foes. The Cougars play Saint Mary’s on Thursday, Feb. 7 in the annual Kid’s Game, tipping off at 11 a.m. MDT. On Saturday, Feb. 9, Pacific comes to Provo for a matchup with the Cougars at 2 p.m. MDT. Both games are slated to air live on BYUtv and online at byutv.org.