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PROVO — Cassie Broadhead knows the tradition of point guards who have played for BYU women’s basketball coach Jeff Judkins.
She’s seen two of them up close in her four years at BYU in Haley Steed and Kylie Maeda, who graduated last year after averaging 5.9 points and 4.0 assists per game for a Cougar team that won its first-ever West Coast Conference regular-season title.
And now Broadhead is excited to add her name to the list.
“I’m so excited for this team,” the 5-foot-9 junior said. “We’re so balanced, and we have so many different threats. Any night can be anyone’s night, and that’s what makes us so hard to guard. We’re very unselfish; we’ll make the extra pass, and we’re going to run. I think it will be up-tempo, and a lot of fun to play.”
BYU opens the 2016-17 season at home Wednesday against Division II Westminster in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. MT. The Cougars’ non-conference slate includes stops at Utah Valley, Georgia, New Mexico, Utah and Utah State, with home dates against Oklahoma and Washington, among others.
It’s all designed to prepare a potentially talented team to defend its regular season conference title. Last year’s squad lost two key contributors in WCC all-time leading scorer Lexi Rydalch and Maeda, but Judkins is confident the Cougars added enough depth and scoring to compensate.
“This team has a lot of depth, and we have a lot of kids who hopefully through the many years of learning are able to make the most of their opportunity,” Judkins said. “When you lose Kylie and Lexi, two players who were great players here, somebody has got to step it up. It’s not one person; it’s all of them.”
Broadhead played point guard at Scotia Glenville High School in New York. But she was recruited as a two-guard, and boasts most of her experience on the wing in Judkins’ system.
“It hasn’t been too much of a transition because of the way I play,” said Broadhead, who averaged 3.9 points and 1.6 assists as a shooting guard and backup to Maeda a year ago. “I like to make plays and get people open. But I can score if I need to.
“I really like my role, and I’m really excited about it. I have great wings and bigs to feed it to.”
Behind Broadhead, the Cougars also added freshman point guard Brenna Chase. The 5-foot-9 native of Thornton, Colorado scored more than 1,000 points in high school and has experience with the U-17 junior national team.
If things get dicey at that position, senior shooting guard Makenzi Pulsipher can slide over to the point — a position she played at Alta.
“They are different than Kylie,” Pulsipher said of the two main point guards. “Kylie was great at what she did, and Brenna and Cassie have completely different styles. Brenna is a great 3-point shooter; she can spot up and shoot really well.”
Judkins even joked about New Zealand native Kalani Purcell playing a point forward role as the team’s lead returning setup player with 4.7 assists per game a year ago.
“You’re going to see her play a lot more three than last year,” Judkins said of Purcell, a former junior college All-American. “We’re going to have some size with her at the three, and two six-footers at the four and five. She’s so good with the ball that it doesn’t really affect her game.”
2016-17 BYU women’s basketball roster
| Name | Pos | Year | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cassie Broadhead* | PG | Jr. | Glenville, NY |
| Makenzi Pulsipher* | SG | Sr. | Draper, UT |
| Kristine Nielson* | G/F | Sr. | Crystal Beach, Fla. |
| Kalani Purcell* | F | Sr. | Hamilton, N. Zealand |
| Jasmine Moody* | F | So. | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Amanda Wayment | F | So. | Ogden, UT |
| Micaelee Orton | F | Jr. | Kearns, UT |
| Brooke Clawson | F | Jr. | Dallas, Texas |
| MaCayla Hanks | C | Fr. | Millville, UT |
| Brenna Chase | G | Fr. | Thornton, Colo. |
| Jessica Chatman | F | Fr. | Ridgefield, Wash. |
| Shalae Salmon | F | Fr. | Porirua, N. Zealand |
| Liz Eaton | G | Fr. | Mapleton, UT |
| Ashton Williams | G | So. | Springfield, Ill./Air Force |
| Haley Rydalch | C | So. | St. George, UT/Purdue |
| Khaedin Taito | G | So. | Hastings, N. Zealand/USC |
In addition to returning post players Kristine Nielson, Amanda Wayment, Micaelee Orton and Jasmine Moody, the Cougars also add 6-0 forward Jessica Chatman, 6-1 forward Brooke Clawson, 6-3 Purdue transfer Haley Rydalch, and 6-3 freshman Shalae Salmon from New Zealand.
“We’re a lot bigger than last year, and everyone has stepped up a lot,” Purcell said of the posts. “It’s nice when we practice; the chemistry is already there.”
Pulsipher could float between both guard positions, but the senior who averaged 12.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 2015-16 will be counted on mostly for leadership.
“I feel like our team has changed a lot each year,” said Pulsipher, the team’s shortest player at 5-foot-8. “You lose great players, but then you have to rebuild. I think we’ve rebuilt each year into something new and different. This year, we have a young team … but a good group of girls who are new to the team and offer a lot.”
