Jan. 8, 2015 Final Stats
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LOS ANGELES - A big first-half lead would not hold in the Lions' West Coast Conference home opener Thursday versus BYU as the Cougars escaped Gersten Pavilion with a 71-63 final over LMU.
LMU (2-13, 0-4 WCC) led by as many as 14 points in the opening frame, but after holding BYU (12-4, 4-1 WCC) to a season-low 23 first-half points, BYU found its way late.
Makenzie Cast led LMU with 16 points, her third double-digit output in the past four games. The freshman hit 6-of-11 from the field, including four threes as she finished one point shy of her career high. Sophie Taylor added 13 points and Emily Ben-Jumbo had 11. Taylor Anderson finished with six points, seven rebounds and six assists.
BYU got a game-high 22 points from Morgan Bailey and 20 points from Lexi Eaton. Makenzi Morrison added 11 points and Bailey added a game-high 16 boards.
The Lions held BYU to just eight points through the first 11 minutes of play, forcing seven turnovers and a 3-for-17 performance from the field. LMU, meanwhile, got off to one of its hottest starts, hitting 10-of-16 to open up a 22-8 advantage.
A Ben-Jumbo layup with 8:36 on the clock made it 24-10, but the Lions would go scoreless for four minutes and manage just four points the remainder of the half as the Cougars closed in. With LMU leading 28-17 at 3:12, BYU would score the final six points of the half for a 28-23 spread at the break.
BYU would take its first lead of the night, 33-32, on an Eaton layup with 17:38 to go. Anderson put the lead briefly back in the Lions' hands, but BYU would respond with a 9-0 run to open up a 42-34 advantage.
A pair of Cast threes gave the lead back to LMU once more, 51-50, with 10:41 to play, but BYU was not finished, responding with a Baily layup and three straight three-pointers for a 61-51 advantage. LMU would pull to within three, 65-62, with just under a minute on the clock, but would get no closer.
LMU shot 48 percent from the field on the night (26-of-54), their best shooting performance of the season. After a slow start, BYU finished 26-for-59 (44 percent). Turnovers plagued both teams as they combined for 39. But the Cougars held a 27-15 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Lions conclude West Coast Conference play Saturday afternoon, hosting San Diego at 2 p.m.
