BYU women's basketball: Invited to WNIT, will host first-round game

PROVO — After their loss in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament, the BYU women's basketball team had no delusions that they would be included in the NCAA tournament list of 64 despite their 20-9 record and a second-place finish in the MWC.

They did figure that a trip to the WNIT would be in their postseason plans, however, and they were correct. Just after 9 p.m. Monday night, the Cougars learned they were not only part of the 64-team WNIT postseason field, they learned they'd be hosting a first-round matchup against the Pepperdine Waves (20-11) on Thusday.

A time has yet to be announced.

Both teams are coming off huge losses in their conference tournaments to the eventual champions, and both will be hungry to prove themselves in the WNIT.

"We're excited to go to the postseason because we haven't been there for a couple of years. It's a shock (to host a game) because we don't get the opportunity to do that very often," said BYU coach Jeff Judkins.

He noted again how well his team plays at home with a 10-2 record in the Marriott Center and expressed hope that his team could come away with a win in the first round and possibly host a few more games along the way.

"I was surprised to see how many good teams are in the WNIT. Pepperdine is a very good team, and we match up well with them," he said.

The Cougars and Waves have played two common opponents in San Diego State and Utah State. The Waves defeated the Aztecs in San Diego on Dec. 8, 62-61, in overtime to give SDSU one of only two losses on its home court. BYU defeated the Aztecs in Provo by 10 but lost by two in San Diego and had the huge 30-point loss in the MWC tournament.

The Waves took care of Utah State 67-46 on Dec. 4, and the Cougars beat the Aggies 61-48 two weeks later.

The Waves are an up-tempo team that relies on 6-foot-3 senior post player Miranda Ayim to do much of their scoring. She averages 14.8 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 6.6 per game. Sophomore guard Jazmine Jackson averages 11.7 points per game, and sophomore guard Lauren Bell adds 9.2 points per game for the Waves.

The Cougars do have an advantage in the assist department, sporting 479 assists this season, as opposed to the Waves' 362 assists.

BYU will count on Mindy Bonham, who leads the team with 11.3 points per game, Coriann Wood, who comes off the bench with 10.2 points per game, and Jazmine Foreman, who scores 9.6 points per game. Kristen Riley leads the Cougars in rebounding with 5.7 rebounds per game.

"I saw them play SDSU earlier in the year, and they are quick and athletic at all positions," said Judkins, who added that though the team isn't as big as San Diego State's team, they love to press and play an up-tempo game.

WNIT first round

Pepperdine at BYU

Thursday, time TBA

Provo

e-mail: jolsen@desnews.com