Cougars Return Home for Matchup with Pepperdine

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball returns to the Marriott Center to host Pepperdine on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 5 p.m. MST. The contest will be streamed live on the BYUtv App.

The Cougars (9-3, 5-2), fresh off a narrow 63-56 loss at No. 19 Gonzaga Tuesday night, remain in second place in the WCC standings behind only the Zags. The Waves (3-10, 0-9) are coming off back-to-back home losses to Santa Clara over the weekend and currently sit in 10th place in the WCC standings.

BYU vs. Pepperdine Game Notes

ABOUT BYU (9-3, 5-2)

• Despite falling just short to No. 19 Gonzaga in the final minutes Tuesday night, the Cougars remain in second place in the WCC standings, four games back from the Zags and a half-game ahead of Santa Clara and Portland
• Lauren Gustin, who pulled down a game-best 10 boards versus Gonzaga, ranks 2nd in the nation in rebounds (13.2 rpg) and defensive rebounds per game (9.9)
• Shaylee Gonzales is the WCC’s leading scorer (19.8 ppg) and the 32nd highest scorer in the nation
• Along with Gonzales, Paisley Johnson Harding (12.0 ppg) and Gustin (11.5 ppg) are also averaging double figures in scoring. Coming off the bench, Tegan Graham is scoring 8.3 points per game
• Sara Hamson is averaging 2.5 blocks per contest, good for second in the WCC and 22nd in the nation
• As a team, BYU leads the WCC in field-goal percentage defense (.357) and 3-pointers per game (7.7). The Cougars rank second in the conference in scoring offense (70.7 ppg) and field-goal percentage (.460)

ABOUT PEPPERDINE (3-10, 0-9)

• After winning their first three games of the season, the Waves have lost 10 straight and currently sit in 10th place in the WCC standings
• Junior guard Malia Bambrick (11.8 ppg) and senior forward Monique Andriuolo (10.2 ppg) lead the team in scoring
• Andriuolo is averaging a team-best 8.1 rebounds per game and 0.7 blocks per contest
• Freshman forwar Kendyl Carson is the Waves’ assist leader (1.8 apg) while junior guard Cheyenne Givens is averaging a team-best 1.8 steals per game
• As a team, Pepperdine is scoring 57.8 points per game and shooting 38.4% from the floor on the season. The Waves rank fifth in the WCC in scoring defense, giving up 63.5 points per contest, and second in offensive rebounds per game (13.0)
• Pepperdine finished sixth in the WCC regular season standings last season and advanced to the semifinals of the WCC Tournament before falling to San Diego. The Waves were picked to finish 7th in the 2020-21 Preseason WCC Poll

SERIES HISTORY

• The Cougars are 22-3 all-time against Pepperdine, dating back to the 1979-80 season
• BYU has never lost to the Waves in the Marriott Center (10-0)
• Last season, the Cougars swept the regular season series but lost 62-51 to Pepperdine in the quarterfinals of the WCC Tournament

UP NEXT

BYU remains at home to host Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv.