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PROVO — Before the BYU women's basketball team left on its four-game road trip that ultimately gave it a one-game lead on San Diego for first place in the West Coast Conference, coach Jeff Judkins said the two-week stretch that included games at Loyola-Marymount and Saint Mary's would be his team's most important.
And it wasn't entirely for on-the-court reasons, either.
But the Cougars (20-4, 12-1 WCC) passed the test — and then some — in a 14-day span that saw leading scorer Lexi Eaton Rydalch become the league's all-time women's basketball scoring leader and BYU stretch its current win streak to 12-straight.
"Lexi Eaton had a great two weeks, and maybe that was it," said Judkins, whose top scorer came within 161 career points of Hank Gathers' WCC all-time scoring mark. "But the road can be easier to win for women, and the home is easier to lose.
"We've got to take care of business at home. We did a good job, but now we've got two really good teams that are fighting to get the top spot and we've got to take care of San Francisco."
Judkins used the road trip to help his team refocus on basketball — an often overlooked facet of the game that was helped by constant travel, plenty of time with teammates in hotels and lobbies, and a veteran leadership core of upperclassmen.
That trip helped the team realize what it needs to do, not just to get into the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years, but on a nightly basis against a WCC field it currently leads.
"You can see that in our conference — Saint Mary's can beat any team one night, and then lose to any other team the next night," BYU guard Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher said. "It can vary so much, and so you can't afford to take those chances. You have to be on your game, every game, every time. You have to want it."
Now BYU returns to the Marriott Center for a three-game homestand that begins Thursday at 6 p.m. against San Francisco. The Cougars may be favored on paper, based on league standings and with an unofficial No. 26 ranking in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.
But the Dons (14-9, 5-7 WCC) have traditionally given BYU trouble, in part because of standout post Taylor Proctor. This year, Judkins has a special weapon to defend Proctor in junior college transfer Kalani Purcell. The former NJCAA All-American leads the WCC in rebounds and assists per game, but her toughest assignment Thursday night will come on the defensive end.
That's the end of the court where sophomore guard Pulsipher has shined. The former three-time 5A most valuable player from Alta High came into the program as an offensive threat, but her defense — especially on the perimeter — has caught the attention of most opposing coaches.
"You can be a scorer, but that isn't what is going to get you on the floor," Pulsipher said. "If you can't defend, you aren't going to play, and that's what I took pride in. Sometimes you don't need to score, but if you can defend — that will set you apart."
She isn't a slouch on offense, either. Pulsipher averages 12.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, and she poured in 26 points on 7-of-10 3-point shooting last Saturday in a 65-44 rout at Saint Mary's, which currently sits tied for third in the WCC standings.
"Our coaches prepared us with the way they were going to play us, packing it in and playing to Lexi's ability to drive, so they had to give up the outside shot, and that was our mentality going into the game," Pulsipher said. "I had to be ready to shoot; that's what I worked on, and had that focus. I just took it when it was available."
Judkins knows a thing or two about coaching: Saturday's win marked the Cougars' 20th of the season, his seventh-straight season with at least 20 wins at BYU.
The mark of consistency is the top honor of any Division I basketball coach, but especially so in the women's game, where many teams not named Connecticut can fluctuate regularly from season to season.
But Judkins' players know what they are getting into, and it hasn't scared too many off.
"His personality stands out to everybody, and everybody loves him," Rydalch said of Judkins. "He also wants his players to be great and his program to be winning, and that's what I wanted when I came here."
Judkins, though, deflected the praise for the program's consistency to those around him — Rydalch, Pulsipher, Purcell and the rest of the players, assistant coaches and team personnel at BYU.
"It starts with everybody, not just one person," he said. "It's players that buy into the system, coaches that work hard and find the players that fit into your system, an administration that supports you, and there's a little luck in there to not have injuries and play well.
"I think I'm a pretty good coach, but mostly I just put my team in the best positions. I think that's what happens."
