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PROVO — On a Saturday afternoon when Lexi Eaton Rydalch moved to No. 3 on the BYU women's basketball all-time scoring list and Kalani Purcell posted a career-high 24 rebounds, the Cougars needed a late 3-pointer from Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher to feel comfortable against Pepperdine.
But the trey came.
Pulsipher's shot from the wing with 49 seconds left — along with 6-of-8 free-throw shooting in the final minute — helped BYU stuff a comeback and hold off the Waves, 69-64 at the Marriott Center.
"That helped. We had a couple of times where we were up, and we had some really good looks," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. "But we missed them. If we had made those, we could've gone up 10 or 12, and we missed them. Then it comes down to a big shot, like Makenzi hitting from the corner on that zone play. That was one of the best plays they executed, and it was a big shot."
Rydalch finished with a game-high 21 points and four assists, and Purcell added 16 points, 24 rebounds and eight assists — 10th double-double since arriving in Provo — to lead the Cougars (16-4, 8-1 WCC).
But it was the way BYU played in the first quarter, as well as in the final three minutes, that they'll remember from the game.
"I think it was how we played early in the game," said Rydalch who had 12 points in the opening period. "When we let teams get comfortable, they start hitting shots … and at the end, they think they can just chuck up shots and make them. And they did. Even if you are playing great defense, it can still go in. It's really all about setting the tone early."
Pepperdine (5-15, 1-8 WCC) didn't make it easy for the Cougars. Allie Green knocked down back-to-back shots, including a 3-pointer with 6:18 left in the game, to pull the Waves within a point, 54-53.
But BYU countered, getting a runner from Pulsipher with 5:26 left and a stick-back basket from Amanda Wayment following Pulsipher's steal less than a minute later.
"We're lucky tonight, and that's all I can say," said Judkins, noting his team forced several second-half attempts. "We did a great job of getting the lead in the first half. For some reason, though, we didn't come out and play the way we needed to defensively and on the offensive end. I thought we were really fortunate to win tonight."
Green finished with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Waves, who got a team-high 16 points apiece from Paige Fecske and Erica Ogwumike. Pepperdine shot 46 percent from the field in making their charge in the third quarter, before BYU stiffened up defensively.
Pepperdine wasn't just coming back, though. The Waves were hitting gnarly shots to do it, including Green's 3-pointer from the wing with seven seconds remaining that took nearly three seconds' worth of a bounce off the rim before dropping through the net.
When shots like that are falling, it's easy to gain the confidence needed for a comeback, Rydalch said.
"It seems like there are days where the rim gets tight, and other days where it seems like an ocean and you can chuck up anything," she added. "When we set a good tone defensively, then it doesn't give those teams hope and the rim doesn't look huge for us on the other end."
Rydalch passed Jackie Beene McBride for third on the Cougars' all-time scoring list, tying the former BYU great with a jumper at the 1:33 mark of the first quarter. The senior from Springville High finished the day with 2,204 points — just 15 points behind West Coast Conference all-time leading scorer Alex Cowling of Loyola-Marymount.
Judkins called Rydalch a special player, one who doesn't need to hunt for points — the coaches' game plan is usually enough to encourage a 20-point night from Rydalch, who averages 23.5 points per game — the seventh most in the nation.
But seeing her name next to players like McBride and former BYU All-American Erin Thorn is special for the Mapleton native.
"There have been a lot of great scorers to have come through, so it's really special," Rydalch said. "But it's mostly great for me because it means I'm doing my job. The team needs me to score, and that means I'm doing a good job at it. That's what I'm most happy about."
Purcell's rebounding was a season-high in her first season at BYU. The New Zealand native averaged 11.7 rebounds per game in two years at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, and posted the school's first-ever triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in November 2014.
"I knew I had more than 10, but that was about it. I just try and get as many as I can," Purcell said with a wry grin. "I think that's probably my biggest strength about my game is my ability to rebound."
The Cougars wrapped up the first half of league play with an 8-1 record, tied with San Diego for the top spot in the WCC. But BYU plays six of its next nine games on the road, starting with next week's road trip to LMU on Thursday and Pepperdine on Saturday.
"These are probably the two most important weeks of our season coming up," Judkins said. "Hopefully we can take care of business."
