LAS VEGAS — Lexi Eaton Rydalch dreamed of taking the BYU women's basketball program to new levels when she first enrolled five years ago.

The former Springville High standout didn't realize the heights she would reach individually in the process, though.

Rydalch scored a game-high 25 points in an 87-67 win over Santa Clara in Monday's semifinals of the West Coast Conference Tournament at Orleans Arena.

The fifth-year senior now has 2,490 career points — the same number as the late, great Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount for the top spot in WCC men's and women's basketball history.

"It's kind of mind-blowing. He's such a legend, and it's such an honor to even be in the same category as him," Rydalch said. "I wouldn't be able to do it without my coaches and my team, and kudos to them, too."

BYU all-time leading men's basketball scorer Tyler Haws finished his career with 2,720 points, but only 2,323 of those points were scored after the Cougars' moved to the WCC in 2011.

Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher added 17 points and three assists and Kalani Purcell pulled down 17 rebounds to go along with eight points for BYU, which advanced to its fourth WCC Tournament final in the last five seasons. The Cougars will face San Francisco in the tourney title game Tuesday at 2 p.m. MT on ESPNU in a replay of the 2015 tournament final.

BYU (23-8) shot over the famed Santa Clara (26-5) zone defense, finishing at 51.1 percent from the field that included 3-pointers on four of the Cougars' first five field goals. BYU dished out 17 assists on 24 field goals, led by Kylie Maeda's five helpers. The senior from Honolulu assisted on three of the Cougars' first five baskets, and she also finished with 16 points and two steals.

"We had to break it down as a team," said Rydalch, who had four assists. "We really made adjustments where we were flashing all over the place and trying to mix it up a bit. We were working on that in practice, and those passes were there."

Rydalch led BYU with 12 points and five rebounds in the first half, but former Cyprus High standout Lori Parkinson led the Broncos with 12 points and four rebounds before the break.

The Southern Utah University transfer finished the game with a team-high 24 points, seven rebounds and three steals, and Marie Bertholdt added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Broncos.

"This conference is so tough," said Santa Clara coach JR Payne. "It feels like every team has beaten every team in the season. But I think Saint Mary's, San Francisco and BYU are playing the best down the stretch. All three teams are playing so well."

Santa Clara tied the game at 18-18 on Savanna Hanson's 3-pointer just under 90 seconds into the second quarter, but BYU used a 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter, including four straight from Maeda on a drive and at the free-throw line, to take the 32-27 edge into halftime.

Santa Clara pulled within a possession at 32-30 in the first 30 seconds of the second half, but the Cougars responded with four of Micaelee Orton's seven points to negate the start.

"They came out and jumped on us quick," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "But I looked to my girls, and I knew that they were alright. They believed in themselves and that they could come back. They did a great job on that."

Santa Clara pulled within four at 51-47 on Gallaway's drive to the rim with 48 seconds remaining in the third period. But Cassie Broadhead pulled in one of her game-high three steals on the next possession to keep BYU ahead 53-47 going into the final period with back-to-back trips to the foul line.

WCC Tournament Blog

Rydalch, BYU women return to title game for 4th time in 5 years

KSL.com's Sean Walker will provide live coverage of the West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas all weekend. Follow along, and check back regularly for the latest updates.

"Cassie came in and played pretty good," Judkins said of Broadhead, who also finished with 11 points, three assists and two rebounds. "She's a little bit bigger and stronger, so she made those passes. She really looked sharp."

Pulsipher capped a 13-1 run midway through the fourth quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers to give BYU a 71-53 lead, and the Cougars pulled away with 4:28 left in the game.

Bertholdt picked up her fifth foul on an over-the-back call against Broadhead, and the sophomore gave BYU an 84-63 lead from the line with 56 seconds left.

"I think it came from our momentum in the third quarter," Rydalch said. "We talked in the timeouts that the biggest thing was toughness, both mentally and physically. At the start of the third quarter, we had a chance to fold or be tough and respond. I think we responded well."

Related topics