BYU Women's/Mens Basketball

Last night, there was a double header of the Women's and Men's basketball teams. It started off with the BYU Women playing against San Francisco at home. Through out most of the game San Francisco had control over BYU. They couldn't find a way to stop Taylor Proctor. Proctor led her team in scoring with 27 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 4 steals. They did a great job in creating turnovers for the Cougars. 

 The Cougars struggled in getting their shots to go down in the first half. At the three point line (in which usually they are pretty good at) they only hit 4 shots out of 19. The most frustrating part was the turnovers. The team all around had 17. However, they were much better in the second half, especially in the 4th quarter. Just like how the Dons were good in creating turnovers on BYU, the Cougars also did a good job with creating turnovers on San Francisco. Both teams had 39 turnovers. So it was pretty sloppy on both sides, but BYU made the plays down the stretch to upset the Dons.

The star for the Cougars was Lexi Rydalch. She didn't have the best shooting night but she made plays for the Cougars, including the game winner. She had 27 points, 6 rebounds, 2, assists, and 2 steals. Kalani Purcell also contributed, including having another double double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Mackenzie Pulsipher was key in knocking down crucial free throws for her team. She had 13 points, with 10 of them coming from the free throw line. Kylie Maeda, stepped up big time defensively in the first half, by allowing three consecutive turnovers on the Dons.

In the second half, the Dons still led the Cougars, with their largest lead being at fourteen with about seven minutes to play.  Then it was all BYU from there. Their defense stepped up big time. With key free throws that stopped the clock along with two 3 pointers by Lexi Rydalch (with one of them being the game winner) the Cougars were able to come back and knock off a San Francisco team who had the momentum all game long up until the 4th quarter. 

Now the Ladies improve to 21-4 overall and 31-1 in the WCC. With this win, the Cougars might have a chance to crack the top 25. Now they are a couple of games of head of San Diego sitting at 1st place. They play again at home on Saturday to Santa Clara.

The final game of the doubleheader was the men's team taking on San Francisco on the road. BYU came into this game wanting to get a big win on the road. They previously had a disappointing home loss to Pacific on Saturday. They were undefeated at home up until that loss on Saturday.

No one expected the outcome that happened on Thursday night.  Nick Emery shot lights out from the three point line. He tied Chase Fischer's record of 10 3 pointers made in a single game. (Fischer shot 10 3 pointers last season). Emery said after the game that his assistant coach told him he would have a big game. And he sure did. 

The game started with a 5-2 lead in favor to the Dons. But then it was all BYU from there. They never trailed for the rest of the game. In addition with Nick Emery having a great night, his teammates also played very well and helped out.

All five starters scored in double digits, including Jordan Chatman off the bench. Emery had 37 points, (which broke the record by Danny Ainge for most points scored as a freshmen, Kyle Davis had 12 points, Chase Fischer had 22 points, Corbin Kafusi had 10 points, and Kyle Collinsworth had 17 points. 

This game was definitely the boost they needed after a heartbreaking loss to Pacific at home. To play like they did on the road is hard to do. The player that gave them the most trouble on the Don's side was Devin Watson. He had 29 points for San Francisco, dished out 7 assists, and was one of the most consistent shooters of the night. He also had help from Tim Derkson and Ronnie Boyce III, who both respectively had 25 and 15 points a piece. One of the things that slowed down the Cougars the most was the turnovers that San Francisco created. They stole the ball 9 times from BYU whereas BYU only stole 1 time against them.

BYU now improves to 18-8 overall, with their conference record being at 9-4. They play on the road against Santa Clara on Saturday.

Overall, it was a great night for BYU Sports