Cougars take on old conference foe LMU on Saturday

LAIE, Hawai'i — BYU women's basketball will renew an old conference matchup when the Cougars face the LMU Lions on Saturday at 2 p.m. MT at the Marriott Center. 

The game can be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Jarom Jordan and Kristen Kozlowski on the call. It will also be broadcast live on BYU Radio 107.9, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App; Jason Shepherd with the play-by-play call.

BYU Notes (3-0, 0-0 Big 12)

• Spark Plug Calvert: Emma Calvert came off the bench against the Saint Louis Billikens on Tuesday and sparked the Cougar offensive attack. The junior notched career-highs in points (22) and free throws made (5), while setting season-highs in rebounds (7), assists (4), three-pointers (1), and minutes (25).
• Freshman Phenoms: Amari Whiting and Kailey Woolston continue to impress in their first season in a BYU uniform. The freshmen are averaging 29 points per game, 11.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists through four games.
• Breaking the ice in the Big 12: Woolston was honored as the Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Nov. 20. She averaged 18.5 points, and eight rebounds on 66.7 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from deep this week en route to the first Big 12 weekly basketball honor for any BYU Cougar on the men’s or women’s side. 
• Defense + Scoring = Wins: The Cougar defense has held its first five opponents to 52.6 points per game. During the 2022-23 season, Whiting’s squad notched a 14-4 record when holding teams under the 60-point threshold. BYU only scored more than 67 points ten times last season.  The Cougars have done so in four of their first five games, averaging 71.6 points per contest in 2023-24. When scoring 67 or more points last season, the Cougars earned a 9-1 record.
• Newcomer's Contributions: The newcomers have played just over a combined 485 of 1,000 minutes for the Cougars through five games. Whiting, Davenport and Woolston have accounted for 171 of 358 Cougar points (.478), 75 of 230 rebounds (.322), 31 of 75 assists (.467) and 31 of 75 steals (.413). 

Head Coach – Amber Whiting

• Alma Mater: BYU, 2001
• Division I Career Record: 21-17 (2^nd Season)
• Record at BYU:  21-17 (2^nd Season)

LMU (1-3, 0-0 WCC)

• Balanced Diet: The Lions are averaging 58.8 points per contest through 4 games with four players scoring more than 8.5 points per game. Da’ja Hamilton leads the way with 11.3, Alexis Mark at 9.0, Amaya Oliver at 8.8 and Nicole Rodriguez and 5.5 per game.

• Da’ja Hamilton: Hamilton is the leading scorer for the Lions at 11.3 despite coming off the bench and only playing 22.9 minutes per game.

  The graduate transfer shoots 42.1 percent from the field, .500 from behind while also contributing 2.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game.

• Crashing the Boards: LMU is outrebounding opponents by 11.5 boards per 40 minutes. Oliver, Mark and Cynthia Ezeja each grab over six rebounds per game.

  Oliver leads with 9.0 boars per game with 2.8 coming on the offensive glass. Mark sits at 8.0 per game with 4.3 coming on the offensive end.

• Sharing the basketball: The Lions have assisted on 38 of 90 made field goals on the season, averaging 9.5 assists per game. Sydney Gandy leads the charge with 3.5 assists while scoring 4.5 points and 0.5 steals.

Head Coach – Aarika Hughes

• Alma Mater: Southern California, 2010
• Division I Career Record: 19-45 (3rd Season)
• Record at LMU: 19-45 (3rd Season)