Defense, 'clutch' Harry help BYU women hold off San Diego 54-50


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PROVO — The shots weren’t falling for the BYU women’s basketball team against San Diego.

Furthermore, the Cougars started the second half flat and saw a 31-20 lead at the break evaporate on Sophia Ederaine’s layup to tie the game at 39-39 with 9:13 remaining.

But when the Cougars needed a clutch play to change the game’s momentum, coach Jeff Judkins knew who to turn to.

Xojian Harry drained BYU’s only 3-pointer of the second half with 3:12 left in the game, finishing with a career-high 15 points, four rebounds and three assists to help the Cougars hold off a stingy Torero squad 54-50 at the Marriott Center on Saturday afternoon.

“Xojian’s been a clutch kid … a good pressure player,” Judkins said. “Tonight, she had some good mismatches with her opponent. I should’ve had her drive a little more, but I’m getting used to her playing the four. Xojian’s starting to figure out the four a little bit better.”

Lexi Eaton led BYU (15-5, 7-2 WCC) with 16 points and six rebounds, including a 6-of-9 effort from the free-throw line that helped the Cougars stay in front down the stretch.

Harry, the 5-11 senior wing making just her fifth start of the season, took a pass from Morgan Bailey moments before for an easy layup, then swished her 3-point attempt from the left wing off a dish from Kylie Maeda to give the Cougars a 46-41 lead it would never relinquish.

“It was huge. It let off a little pressure,” Harry said of the triple. “When we go for a stretch and we aren’t getting any shots that are falling, the basket seems to get tighter and tighter. We just needed someone to take the lid off, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time for those.”

BYU shot just 37 percent from the field, five points below its season average, and only grabbed four offensive rebounds as it struggled with several long post players for San Diego (15-4, 6-3 WCC). But the Cougars found a new intensity in defense, led by sophomore guard Makenzi Morrison, who finished with six points, two steals and a block in 35 minutes of play.

BYU held USD to only two buckets on its final 11 shots of the second half.

“We know that they slow it down with their press,” said Morrison, who held USD standout Malina Hood to 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting. “We knew it was going to be that kind of a game, so as much as we could, we tried to stay with our system and work with what we were useful. That was crucial.”

Bailey added 13 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks in a full 40-minute effort for the Cougars, whose bench played a combined 19 minutes.

Hood and Sophia Ederaine led the Toreros with 14 points apiece, and Ederaine added 13 and a game-high 13 rebounds. USD outrebounded the home team 42-32, including a 15-4 disparity on the offensive glass.

“We really needed to win a game where we came out flat in the second half,” Judkins said. “It’s something we’ll work on. But it’s a good win for us. We’re in good position.”

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Sean Walker

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