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PROVO, Utah - A third quarter cold spell put the LMU women's basketball team in a hole they could not recover from, falling 75-61 to BYU Thursday night at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.

After using a 10-0 run to close out the first half and bring themselves within four of the Cougars (15-4, 7-1 WCC), LMU (7-12, 3-5 WCC) hit just 2-of-12 from the field in the third quarter as BYU pulled away with an 18-7 advantage.

The Lions got going again in the fourth, but the damage was done as the teams traded buckets and BYU maintained its lead.

Deanna Johnson and Cheyenne Wallace led LMU with 15 points apiece while Leslie Lopez-Wood chipped in 10. Sophie Taylor and Bree Alford had 10 boards each.

Lexi Rydalch led all scorers with 28 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Kali Purcell added a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds while Makenzie Pulsipher had 15 points.

It was a back-and-forth first quarter with the teams tied at 13-13 before BYU went on a 7-0 run to lead 20-13 with a minute to play. Taylor snapped a three-minute cold streak with a layup with 12 seconds remaining for a 20-15 deficit at the break.

The Cougars pushed their lead to as many as 14 in the second quarter as an old-fashioned three-point play by Mackenzie Pulsipher made it 33-19 at the 4:09 mark. But with Rydalch and Purcell on the bench, the Lions made a run to close out the half.

Their defense held BYU scoreless for the remainder of the frame as they slowly chipped away. Wallace powered her way to a layup, Johnson knocked down a running jumper and Lopez-Wood hit a jumper in the lane to bring the spread back within single-digits, 33-25, with 1:40 remaining. Wallace would go on to score the final four points of the frame for a 33-29 deficit headed into the locker room.

Turnovers plagued both teams as the Lions finished with 21 while the Cougars coughed it up 18 times. Both teams took advantage combining to score 33 points off giveaways. BYU won the battle on the boards, 51-40, including 22 offensive rebounds that they turned into 14 second-chance points. The Cougars also went 20-for-25 from the charity stripe while the Lions made just 10 trips there, making eight attempts.

LMU's two-game road swing concludes Saturday, Jan. 23 at San Diego. Tip off from the Jenny Craig Pavilion is 2 p.m. and the game will air live on theW.tv.

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