Feb. 6, 2015 BUY TICKETS | Complete 2014-15 Schedule | Inside LMU Women's Basketball | LMU on Facebook |
PROVO, Utah - LMU women's basketball concludes a brief two-game West Coast Conference road swing Saturday at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, facing off against BYU. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. Mountain, 1 p.m. Pacific.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
LMU at BYU - Saturday, Feb. 7 @ 2:00 pm (MT) - Marriott Center
Live Stats | Watch on the theW.tv | Listen on LMULions.com
2014-15 Media Almanac | Game Notes
ABOUT THE BYU COUGARS (17-4, 8-3 WCC)
Winners of four straight, BYU enters Saturday's game in second place in the WCC standings at 10-2, 18-5 overall. On Thursday, Lexi Eaton poured in a career-high 37 points to go along with 14 rebounds as the Cougars beat Pepperdine, 77-58. Eaton leads the WCC at 20.6 ppg. BYU also gets 18.2 ppg and 10.7 rpg from Morgan Bailey. The duo combine for more than half of their team's 68.5 ppg. BYU shoots 43 percent from the field, 36 percent from three and 70 percent from the free-throw line.
SERIES HISTORY
Just 10 all-time meetings have taken place between LMU at BYU. After meeting at neutral sites in 1996 and 1999, the teams would not face off again until becoming WCC rivals in 2011-12. BYU holds a 9-1 advantage in the series, though LMU's one victory came in Gersten Pavilion - a thrilling 68-55 victory on Senior Night in 2013. In the first meeting of the 2014-15 season, the Lions led BYU by as many as 14 points in the first half, but could not sustain in a 71-63 Cougar win in Gersten Pavilion on Jan. 8. 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. 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.
INJURY BUG
One season ending injury can be devastating to a team. In a five-week span, the Lions have suffered two. After losing junior guard Deanna Johnson to a torn ACL on Dec. 20, the Lions lost senior guard/forward Taylor Anderson to similar injury on Jan. 24. Prior to her injury, Johnson had led the Lions in scoring five times, including three 20-point games and was averaging a team-best 13.2 ppg. Anderson, who took over point guard duties after Johnson went down, also took over as the team's leading scorer. She amassed 12 double-digit games, including a career-high 25 on Jan. 10 versus San Diego, before being sidelined in the season's 20th game.
YOUNG GETTING YOUNGER
With the loss of junior Deanna Johnson (game No. 10) and senior Taylor Anderson (game No. 20), the Lions squad, which began the season with just four upperclassmen, is now down to two. Senior Emily Ben-Jumbo and junior Sophie Taylor remain to lead a supporting cast of four sophomores and five active freshman. Impact rookies Makenzie Cast (11.5 ppg in WCC play) and Bree Alford (4.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg in WCC play) have stepped up while Head Coach Charity Elliott has also had to go deep into her bench as of late. Sophomore Shelbi Aimonetti and freshman Chloe Hall, who combined to play 127 total minutes through the season's first 20 games, combined to play 86 total minutes in the Lions last three games. On Jan. 31 against Pacific, the duo each matched their career-highs with six points apiece, while Hall also had a career-high six boards and two blocks.
LIONS LAST LINE
Often displaying a five-man lineup featuring four freshmen and one sophomore against a veteran San Diego squad, the Lions could not slow the Toreros in a 68-49 setback at Jenny Craig Pavilion Thursday. The Lions, who began the season with just four upperclassmen on the roster, have had that number sliced in half as key starters junior Deanna Johnson and senior Taylor Anderson both succumbed to season-ending knee injuries. The young Lions got a career-high 11 points from Olivia Lucero in just her fourth start of the year. Freshman Makenzie Cast added 11 points and sophomore Leslie Lopez-Wood chipped in 10. San Diego had four players in double figures including Malina Hood with 18 and Katelyn McDaniel with 17 points and 11 boards. Sophia Ederaine finished one block shy of a triple-double, collecting 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine blocks. Maya Hood rounded out the USD players in double figures with 10. The Lions opened 1-for-12 from the field, finding themselves in a 19-3 hole just six-and-a-half minutes into the game. Trailing 25-6 with nine minutes to go in the opening frame, LMU would finally begin to find its mark. Leslie Lopez-Wood scored eight straight, including back-to-back threes, quickly making it 27-14. A 6-0 run with buckets by Olivia Lucero, Makenzie Cast and Lopez-Wood cut the spread to 10, 30-20 with 4:44 on the clock. But a Sophie Taylor jumper with 4:08 to play would be LMU's final field goal of the half as San Diego pushed its lead back to 16 at the break, 43-27. After hitting just 6-of-13 (46 percent) from the charity stripe in the first half, LMU continued to get to the line in the second, hitting 12-of-16 (75 percent) in the second frame. The Lions would get no closer than the halftime spread in the second half, making just 5-of-24 field goal attempts.
