BYU basketball: Well-traveled Cougars next take on Cal in WNIT

And they just keep playing.

Of course, the BYU women's basketball team is currently playing at an NBA travel pace, but they're plugging away and winning nonetheless and now find themselves in the quarterfinals of the Women's National Invitation Tournament.

The Cougars go ito Berkeley, Calif., to take on the California Bears tonight at 6 p.m. at Haas Pavilion for a chance at the WNIT's final four.

"We're playing good basketball right now. The travel is killing us. This is an NBA schedule. We've had three road games in one week," said BYU coach Jeff Judkins, who jokes that now his team has a greater appreciation of what he went through when playing in the NBA before charter flights came around.

These two teams are similar in many ways, with the Cougars holding a 6-1 record against common opponents while the Bears are 6-2 against that same group. Both teams had to travel to get to Berkeley after playing on Thursday night, as well. The Cougars flew in on a flight that left Denver at 4:15 p.m., after a two-hour bus ride from Laramie, Wyo., to get to the airport.

But Judkins, though lamenting the long travel and the lack of preparation time, is ecstatic about his team's play and what they're accomplishing in the postseason.

"This has been good for us, and we're getting better. The last two games we've played well and with a lot of confidence," he noted, saying the Bears will provide a good test for his team.

BYU comes into the game with a 23-9 record, 10-6 on the road, and will face a California team that is now 21-13, 11-6 at home.

The Bears are extremely young, with seven freshmen, including two of their three leading scorers and their top rebounder. But they have some nice balance and leadership from their four seniors, including redshirt senior guard Alexis Gray-Lawson, who leads the team in scoring at 17.7 points per game.

The Cougars have only one senior, but they are largely comprised of juniors and count their balanced attack as their biggest asset. Another huge asset is their passing game, as they dished out 511 assists this season. The Bears have only 385 assists, in comparison.

The Bears average slightly more than 65 points per game, while the Cougars average slightly under 65 points per game, and the Cougars are giving up fewer points to their opponents at about 57 points per game, compared to the 61 points per game the Bears give up.

"California beat Utah (in the second round of the WNIT). They are athletic and have good guards. They're very young and just keep getting better. They're quick on the ball and will be a good test, similar to Arizona State," said Judkins.

His team is coming off a raucous game at Laramie, where they beat the Cowgirls 67-63 and disappointed the Wyoming crowd of more than 7,000.

Judkins was happy with the play of his entire team, including the bench players that he used extensively to keep everybody fresh, and he was particularly happy with the play of Coriann Wood, who scored 18 points.

e-mail: jolsen@desnews.com