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LAS VEGAS — There were plenty of moments when the BYU women's basketball team could’ve folded, particularly in the final three weeks of the season.
Finishing the year with one win in their final five games of the regular season, the Cougars entered the West Coast Conference tournament as the fifth seed, needing to make an unlikely run through the top seed and the conference’s most dangerous teams to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the second-consecutive year.
Mission accomplished.
Lexi Eaton notched a team-high 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists to lift the Cougars past San Francisco, 76-65 to the WCC tournament title, becoming the lowest-seed to accomplish such a feat in league history.
“It’s pretty awesome, just to be able to overcome,” said Eaton, who was named the tournament Most Valuable Player. “I think we showed that numbers don’t really mean a lot for us. It doesn’t matter our seed, it just matters how you come in and play at the end of the year.”
For BYU coach Jeff Judkins, the process started a day after BYU’s 73-66 loss to Gonzaga to wrap up WCC play. The Cougars (22-9, 12-6 WCC) had just one win in the previous five tries, losing on the road at Saint Mary’s, Pacific and San Diego while only garnering a 65-63 last-second home win over Portland to keep the losing streak from ballooning to five-straight.
But when the postseason kicked off, so did BYU’s experience, which included last season’s remarkable run to the Sweet 16. Gone was BYU star athlete Jennifer Hamson, leaving a void to fill for leading scorer Eaton and top rebounder Morgan Bailey, the WCC Player of the Year in 2014-15.
“Who would’ve thought that our team, with the weeks that we had before, would be here?” said Bailey, who had 20 points and eight rebounds in the title game. “But I have a lot of belief in these girls; they have a lot of heart. It’s amazing to be able to go to the NCAA tournament again, and we’re ready to make some noise again.”
A loss in last year’s WCC final prompted improvement from Eaton, and the junior from Mapleton used the season to get better, 20.7 points on 43.8 percent shooting during the regular season, including a career-high 37 against Pacific just over a month ago.
After struggling to 2-of-18 shooting in last year’s championship game against Gonzaga, Eaton went to work, filling out an entire page of notes on what she did wrong — and chipping away at the list to make herself one of the top scorers in the conference.
“It’s just a matter of being in the right state of mind,” Eaton said. “With more experience, you learn how to play well in championship games and I like to be that kind of player in those games.”
In the final, Eaton and Bailey both went to work. But in the latest run, BYU guard Makenzi Morrison also emerged as a dominant outside shooting threat.
The sophomore from Draper finished with 19 points and three assists, going 5-of-8 from 3-point range, to help finish off the Dons (18-12, 8-10 WCC). Morrison scored the first points of the game for BYU, an equalizing 3-pointer just 1:10 into the game, and the Cougars never relinquished their lead.
WCC Women's Basketball All-Tournament Team
| Player | Position | School |
| Lexi Eaton (MVP) | G | BYU |
| Makenzi Morrison | G | BYU |
| Taj Winston | G | San Francisco |
| Morgan Bailey | F/C | BYU |
| Sunny Greinacher | F | Gonzaga |
Earlier in the season, Judkins grabbed Morrison after the young shooter missed a shot during a 20-point blowout win. He yelled at her not to miss those shots, because “you’re going to get in there when it matters, and you’ve got to be focused.”
On Tuesday afternoon, in the third game of a tournament in which she averaged 13.3 points, Morrison was focused.
“I just focused in and got ready to hit the shots, anticipating their plays,” she said. “Early in the season, I had some adjustments to make, and I felt prepared for what they were going to do.
“I knew I had to be ready.”
BYU used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to build up a 39-27 lead at halftime, and held off the Dons every time they would attempt a second-half run. Zhane Dikes’ jumper about eight minutes into the first half pulled USF within nine at 51-40, but the Cougars answered with a 3-pointer from Xojian Harry to bring the lead back to double digits.
“When this team lets it come to them, and they read the defense, they are a very good team offensively,” said Judkins, whose team employed a rare zone defense against the Dons. “We have an inside presence, we have people who can get to the basket, and we have outside shooting.”
Harry finished with six points and seven rebounds, and point guard Kylie Maeda supplied eight points and five assists for BYU.
After the break, the Cougars’ defense took over. BYU forced a run of five turnovers in 4 minutes, 7 seconds to surge to a 66-48 lead on Bailey’s long jumper with seven minutes remaining, and Maeda’s floater in the lane gave BYU a 70-55 lead with 2:26 left in the game.
The Dons ended the game making only one of seven shots, and BYU sank 6-of-8 from the free-throw line to finish off the win and its second-straight trip to the NCAA tournament.
BYU opened the game continuing its hot shooting streak from Monday’s upset of top-seeded Gonzaga. The Cougars knocked down five of their first six shots, and hit 6-of-8 from the field when Eaton drove in for a layup with 13:25 on the clock to put BYU up 17-10.
Dikes led a mini-run by USF, pulling within a point at 18-17 on a fadeaway jumper with 11:13 left until halftime that capped an 8-0 run. But the Dons would score only three points in the next 8 minutes, including a 6-minute scoreless drought mercifully ended by Taylor Proctor’s jumper with 3:54 left.
By then, the Cougars had jumped out to a 35-20 lead, including a 16-0 run that featured a pair of threes each by Eaton and point guard Kylie Maeda.
“I’m really proud of my team,” Judkins said. “This was a long four weeks, and to be able to top it off like we did this week shows a lot of character with my team, my coaches and how they stick together. This team could’ve quit.
“I was really happy for them.”
BYU outscored San Francisco 22-7 over the final 10 minutes of the half, capped by Morrison’s triple that knocked her off her feet just 38 seconds before the break.
The Cougars will learn their region and opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday.
“It’s big time to go to the NCAA tournament,” Eaton said. “That’s what I love the most: playing against the best teams and seeing how we can prove ourselves. … We were battle-tested. A lot of people stepped up big and found their roles on the team through those tough times. You just have to be persistent and come ready to play when it counts.”
Taj Winston led San Francisco with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Proctor and Paige Speitz each added 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Dons.
