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PROVO — Morgan Bailey finished the first half of BYU’s game against Pacific with 21 points, taking passes into the post and using her trademark jump-hook to dangerous effect against the Tigers.
The hot shooting spread to the rest of her teammates in the second half.
Lexi Eaton scored a career-high 32 points, and Bailey tied a career-best with 31 points as the BYU women’s basketball team handed Pacific its first loss in West Coast Conference play with a dominating 89-72 victory at the Marriott Center.
“Offense and shooting is contagious,” BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. “Those are things that happen with confidence.”
Eaton also had a career-high eight assists, and Bailey posted a double-double with 11 rebounds.
Makenzi Morrison supplied seven points and a career-best six assists, and Kylie Maeda added six points and a career-high nine assists as the Cougars (14-4, 6-1 WCC) dished out 31 helpers on the evening.
“When Bailey and I are attacking, it sets the tone,” Eaton said. “Our goal was to get into good spots on the floor and dictating how we run our offense.”
Bailey and Eaton combined for 38 points in the first half to lead the Cougars to a 45-34 lead at the break. BYU shot 59 percent from the field in the opening half, including 64 percent in the game’s first 12 minutes.
But the second half was even more offensive. The Cougars opened up after halftime on a 15-2 run, going up 60-37 on Eaton’s jumper with 15:08 remaining.
About the only thing that seemed in doubt was whether either scorer would set a new career mark. When Bailey and Eaton scored on back-to-back shots from the field with 10:34 left, the dynamic duo exited the contest as the reserves saw extended playing time against the Tigers (13-4, 5-1 WCC).
Bailey gave the Cougars a game-high 74-47 lead on her final shot, and BYU coasted the rest of the way on an evening when it shot 41 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range.
“That was the best I’ve seen them shoot the ball and not force it,” Judkins said of Bailey and Eaton. “They let it come to them tonight. It’s the best 1-2 punch in our league, and maybe one of the best in BYU history.”
The Cougars fed off each other as Maeda, Morrison and Xojian Harry hits key 3-pointers during a dominating second half.
“I think that’s what makes us so good: we have threats inside and threats outside,” Bailey said.
Bailey scored the first six points of the game, all from close to the basket, and Maeda’s jumper with 17:02 left in the first half gave BYU an 8-2 advantage. Eaton then found her shot, singlehandedly outscoring the Tigers 8-2 over a minute stretch that included two 3-pointers to put BYU up 18-9 with 14:34 to go before halftime.
“This was one of our best games of the year,” Judkins said. “I think Morgan showed she was the best player in the league.
“Pacific is a very, very good team and very hard to guard. We haven’t seen that much this year.”
Pacific finished the game on a 13-4 run, including seven quick points by guard Desire Finnie.
GeAnna Luaulu-Summers led the Tigers with 18 points, all on 3-pointers, and Najah Queenland had 13 points for Pacific. Unique Coleman added 11 points and four rebounds for Pacific, which was outrebounded 42-28.
