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Austin, Texas • With nine seconds remaining in the first quarter of BYU's NCAA Women's Tournament game against Missouri, Cougars' star Kalani Purcell picked up her second foul.
And although coach Jeff Judkins left the New Zealander in the entire game, the foul caused her to adjust the way she played, and the Cougars' early lead disappeared not long after that. Dominating BYU inside with 36 points in the paint and 30-20 in rebounding, Mizzou took the 78-69 win to advance to the second round.
"I had to have her," Judkins said of the decision to let Purcell play the full 40 minutes. "I just said, 'Hey, we have no chance to win this game without her in there.' And she's done it the whole year."
Purcell, who averages 12.7 rebounds per game, finished with nine — two on the offensive end.
During one critical stretch, Missouri's Jordan Frericks rebounded a missed free throw and scored to give the Tigers a five-point lead with 1:24 left.
"They were just able to understand their [favorable] matchups, and they took advantage of them and they were able to post up their big guards against us, and then it was like a little breakdown on us, as well, not getting on the help side fast enough," Purcell said.
Still proud
Despite having their season end in an NCAA first-round game for the second straight year, the Cougars were pleased with the way it went, winning their first WCC regular-season title and getting to 26 victories.
"We had an awesome team," Judkins said. "A team that a coach dreams of, girls who work hard every day, don't complain and do what the coach wants them to do."
Better post presence
Freshman Jasmine Moody has started most of the season for BYU, but on Saturday Judkins went with a more experienced player inside, 6-foot-2 junior Micaelee Orton. She got in foul trouble and logged just 16 minutes, getting a rebound and two points. Inside play was a weakness for BYU all season, one Judkins hopes to overcome next year when Purdue transfer Haley Bodnar, a 6-3 post from St. George, becomes eligible.
Twitter: @drewjay