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Las Vegas • Regardless of what happens at the West Coast Conference tournament in the next five days, BYU's women's basketball team likely will be invited to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Just the same, coach Jeff Judkins' bunch would rather not take the gamble. The regular-season champion Cougars (24-5, 16-2 WCC) want to erase any doubts on Selection Monday by capturing the league tournament, and an automatic NCAA bid.
That's what happened last year, as the Cougars, a fifth seed, got hot at the right time and won the tournament as an underdog. This year, BYU is a substantial favorite.
"We are in a good spot," said guard Lexi Eaton Rydalch, the WCC Player of the Year.
The Cougars are projected to be a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament, according to the latest bracketology projections by ESPN.
But Judkins remains wary.
"I told my team yesterday that a few years ago we were 15-1 and we ended up losing to Utah in the semis [of the Mountain West tournament] and we didn't go to the NCAA Tournament. So, I told them, 'Hey, just make it easy. Just go win it. Then you don't have to worry about it,' " Judkins said. "I think we are in great position, but you can't count on it. You just can't. We know we just got to go out and play our best basketball right now."
Rydalch, who leads the WCC in scoring at 24.1 points per game, said the Cougars aren't interested in settling for anything less than an opportunity to cut down the nets at Orleans Arena on Tuesday.
"Even though there is a chance we can get in without winning it, we are not going in with that mindset," she said. "We want to win the tournament and make sure there's no question in anybody's mind, and not leaving it up to chance and putting it into someone else's hands to decide whether we go."
For the first time in more than two months, however, the Cougars are coming off a loss. Gonzaga snapped BYU's 16-game winning streak with a 73-55 win in Spokane last Saturday, despite a career-high 19 points from senior point guard Kylie Maeda.
Rydalch said getting outscored by 33-13 in the fourth quarter didn't hurt the team's confidence.
"It was a tough loss, and we were definitely disappointed, but I think our attitude is we have lots of fire," she said. "Particularly in practice yesterday, we were all ready to go and eager to work on attacking Gonzaga's game plan, because teams are going to get that film, and they are going to try it again. We are eager to solve the puzzle pieces and get ready for next time."
The Cougars prepared all week not knowing who they would play in a 1 p.m. MST quarterfinal on Friday. Thursday, they learned they will play No. 9 Pepperdine, the winner of Thursday's opening-round game against No. 8 seed Pacific. BYU swept the Tigers in the regular season.
No women's games will be played on Saturday; the semifinals are on Monday at 1 p.m.
"I think my team is ready," Judkins said. "We are the defending champions, and hopefully we can go in and play like we did last year. The nice thing is I have a lot of hungry players. They are not satisfied with winning the conference. They want to do better, and be able to get another tournament championship and go into the NCAAs with momentum."
Along with Rydalch and Maeda, the Cougars will rely on all-WCC first-team performer Kalani Purcell, the league's Newcomer of the Year, and second-team honoree Makenzi Pulsipher, a 3-point shooting ace and defensive stopper.
Twitter: @drewjay —
WCC women's basketball tournament
P At Orleans Arena, Las Vegas
Friday's Quarterfinal No. 1 BYU vs. No. 9 Pepperdine, 1 p.m. MST