#7 BYU vs #10 Missouri

Tourney time

On Monday night the BYU Women’s Basketball Team received an invitatinon to the NCAA Tourmaent as a #7 seed and were slated to play against 10th seeded Missouri in Austin, Texas. This is BYU’s 12th trip to the NCAA Tournament in program history and the eighth under head coach Jeff Judkins. Following a late chartered flight on Wednesday night, BYU hit the gym early Thursday morning for a press conference and an open practice to prepare to take on the Tigers.

During the team photo we asked everybody to give us their best “Juddyface”.

Gametime

1st Quarter

In the first period, the Tigers struck first on a layup by Lindsey Cunningham, but the Cougars retaliated on the next possession to make the score 2-2. Pulsipher tied the game at 6-all at the seven minute mark as she made a 15-foot baseline jumper. On the next BYU possession, Pulsipher helped the Cougars take their first lead of the game, 7-6, as she went 1 of 2 from the free throw line. BYU took the five-point lead, 11-6, midway through the first period as Rydalch scored her second basket of the game. With 1:40 to go in the first period, the Tigers tied the game at 13-fueled by a layup Juanita Robinson hit a 3-point field goal. Purcell put the Cougars back up by two, 17-15, as she took the ball to the hoop and scored. BYU took the 17-15 lead into the second period.

2nd Quarter

Missouri then went on a 6-0 run after the second period media timeout to take the 33-21 lead, forcing a Cougar timeout. Rydalch put a stop to the Tiger run as she converted a 3-point play to cut the lead to nine, 33-24. On the next BYU possession, Rydalch got to the free throw line again, cutting the Tiger advantage to seven, 33-26. Under a minute to go, Pulsipher hit a crucial 3-point field goal to put the Cougars within four, 35-31, going in to the half. Rydalch led all scorers with 15 points at the break, and Purcell had a game-high eight rebounds. Both teams shot 50.0 percent in the first half.

3rd Quarter

Missouri scored a basket quickly out of the break, but BYU then scored four straight points to make the score 37-35. The Tigers then went on an 8-0 run to take the 45-35 lead. At the 6:29 mark, Purcell made the basket and got fouled to put a stop to Missouri’s run, cutting the lead to seven, 45-38. After a Tiger lay up, Rydalch converted her first 3-pointer of the game to bring the Cougars within six, 47-41. Missouri then went on a 5-0 run to make the score 52-41. The Cougars cut the Tiger lead to five, 52-47, as Pulsipher and Rydalch both hit a pair of free throws. Missouri extended its lead to 10, 58-48, as Sophie Cunningham drove to the hoop. BYU went into the fourth period down 11, 60-49.

4th Quarter

Pulsipher opened the fourth period with a 3-point field goal to cut the Missouri lead to eight, 60-52. Kylie Maeda then scored on a backdoor layup to bring the Cougars within six, 60-54. At the 7:50 mark, Purcell cut the lead to four, 60-56, as she finished a layup in the lane. The Tigers increased their lead back to six, 62-56, on a jumper by Jordan Frericks. On the next BYU (26-7, 16-2) possession, Pulsipher got fouled on a jumper and made two free throws to put the Cougars back within four, 62-58. The Cougars played lock-down defense on the next Missouri possession to force a key turnover. At the 4:25 mark, Amanda Wayment finished a layup under the basket to put BYU within two, 62-60. On the next Tiger possession, Wayment fouled out of the game putting the Tigers on the line. Frericks sank both free throws to give Missouri the 64-60 lead. With 2:42 to go, Purcell got fouled in the paint and put the Cougars within two, 64-62, as she went 2 of 2 from the foul line. The Tigers then regained the four-point 66-62 lead. With 2:19 to go in the fourth period, Rydalch made a pull up jumper to put BYU within two again, 66-64. Missouri scored three straight points and pulled ahead by five, 69-64. With under a minute to go, Missouri’s Robinson sank two more free throws to go up by eight, 72-64. BYU’s late rally fell short and BYU lost the game to Missouri 78-69.

“I am really proud of my team, we have had a great year. The seniors have been not just great players, but great leaders. We had a great season and we won a conference championship. We are sad about this loss, but we will learn from it and build off of it.” - Jeff Judkins