PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s basketball team claimed its fourth-straight win after beating San Diego, 80-68, at the Marriott Center on Saturday.

BYU vs. San Diego Box Score

"I’m very proud of how we played tonight, especially in the first half," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought we played with a lot of intensity and moved the ball. We took advantage of what we had against them. Paisley came out and gave us a good lift at the start of the game, Shaylee made some unbelievable plays and Sara had one of her best games offensively."

Brenna Chase and Shaylee Gonzales tied for the most points with 19 apiece. Chase also contributed three 3-pointers, three assists and two rebounds while Gonzales added one 3-pointer, six assists and three rebounds. Paisley Johnson provided 16 points and six rebounds while Sara Hamson added 12 points, tying her career high points in a game.

BYU (21-6, 13-3 WCC) began the first period with a commanding 6-0 lead over San Diego (8-19, 1-15 WCC) off of back-to-back three-point jumpers by Gonzales and Johnson. Halfway through the period, Hamson added a layup to the Cougar lead which was followed by a Babalu Ugwu shot drained in the paint to increase the lead to 15-4. With 1:13 left, Johnson hit two free throws to end the period with a four-point Cougar lead, 19-15.

The Toreros took the first points of the second period off a shot in the paint, bringing the score within two, 19-17. However, BYU responded with a pair of layups by Gonzales and Chase, 23-17. On a breakaway, Chase added to the lead with a drained layup and a pair of free throws to extend the Cougar advantage to 29-21. Gonzales then added a pair of baskets followed by a Maria Albiero shot in the paint; Chase scored on another fast break layup to end the half at 42-26 in favor of BYU.

To start the third period, Gonzales converted at the charity stripe, 44-26, putting her into double-digit points for the 25th time this season. BYU then added four more points to the board off of Johnson and Gonzales free throws to give them the first 20-point 50-30 lead of the game. The Cougars then went on a 7-0 run with three layups and a free throw with under five minutes left in the period going up  57-33. Chase then recorded her second trey from behind the arc, increasing the BYU lead 62-37. A San Diego jumper ended the third period with a 64-44 edge for the Cougars.

Gonzales hit back-to-back buckets at the start of the last period for a 68-44 score. After a run by the Toreros, BYU added a layup and a free throw to its lead, 76-52, with six minutes left in the game. San Diego continued to chip away at the deficit, adding a pair of free throws and jumpers to the board. However, BYU broke the streak off of Albiero buckets at the charity stripe. Eight shots at the charity line added to San Diego’s score, 78-66, but the Cougars were able to get in a layup by Ashley Beckstrand to end the game with an 80-68 victory.

The Cougars will play their second to last regular season game at home on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:00 p.m. MST at the Marriott Center. The game will be streamed online at TheW.tv and live stats will be available on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.

Team Notes

• The Cougars shot a season-best 54.5 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from 3 and 82.4 percent from the charity stripe.
• This is the fifth time BYU has shot over 50 percent and has won all five games.
• Four different Cougars scored double-digits in today’s contest for the seventh time this season.
• The team is now 15-1 when they lead at halftime, as BYU was on top 42-26 going into the locker room.

Player Notes

• Sara Hamson tied her career-high 12 points that was previously set in 2018 at San Diego. She also grabbed five rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
• Brenna Chase recorded 19 points, four assists and two rebounds while Shaylee Gonzales also tallied 19 points, six assists and three rebounds.
• Paisley Johnson tallied 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal.

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball is 20-6, 12-3 on the year and is in second place in the WCC standings. The Cougars host San Diego (8-18, 1-14) Saturday, Feb. 23, at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be carried live on BYUtv with a video stream available at byutv.org.

BYU vs. San Diego Game Notes

ABOUT BYU

• With the road win at Gonzaga, BYU picked up its first win over the Bulldogs in Spokane since joining the WCC and its first sweep over Gonzaga; the road win gave head coach Jeff Judkins his 12th 20+plus win season.
• BYU is 14-1 when leading at the half; is 18-3 when making at least 5 treys; is 11-2 when dishing out more assists; and is 10-1 when it pulls down more rebounds than its opponents.
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales, who has scored in double-digits in 23 games, leads the team in scoring and assists with 16.3 and 4.2 averages, respectively. Sophomore Paisley Johnson contributes 14.3 points while junior Brenna Chase puts up 12.4 points a contest. Chase leads in steals (2.5 spg). Senior forward Jasmine Moody tops the leaderboard in rebounding, averaging 5.6 boards a game. Sophomore center Sara Hamson leads the team in blocks with a 2.3 average and is second in rebounding pulling down 5.5 boards a game.
• The Cougars are averaging 67.9 points and 38.3 rebounds a game. They are holding opponents to just 62.5 points per contest. BYU is shooting 42 percent from the field, 33.6 from 3-point range and 69.6 from the free-throw line.
• In the first meeting with the Toreros this season, the Cougars picked up the 65-56 victory in San Diego on Jan. 26. BYU leads the overall series 13-6. The Toreros are 1-6 when playing in the Marriott Center, winning on the Cougars home court last season in a 66-60 victory.

ABOUT SAN DIEGO

• The Toreros enter this week’s WCC action in last place with a 1-14 record and are 8-18 overall. San Diego beat Santa Clara in Los Angeles for its lone league victory.
• The University of San Diego has three players (all juniors) putting up double-digit points with 10.9 from guard Madison Pollock. Patricia Brossmann follows with 10.8 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds. Leticia Soares rounds out the team’s scoring threat with 10 points a contest. Senior guard Sydney Shepard tops the leaderboard in assists with a 3.6 average.
• USD is averaging 61.3 points and 36.8 rebounds a contest. The Toreros shoot 40 percent from the field, 27.9 percent from behind the arc and 65.5 percent from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT FOR BYU
After hosting the Toreros Saturday, BYU women’s basketball remains at home for its final two league games. The Cougars host San Francisco on Feb. 28 and Santa Clara on March 2.