STANFORD, Calif. – The seventh-seed BYU women’s basketball team earned a 73-64 win over 10th-seed Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday.

BYU vs. Auburn Box Score

BYU Photo Gallery

"I was getting a little nervous but I thought we handled the pressure until right at the end there," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "Part of it was we lost Paisley and she was a good outlet. I don't have the inside presence [like our 2014 tournament team], but we have three guards that are more capable of scoring in different ways as well as a deep bench."

"This was a great win for our team and am happy for our players," added Judkins. "Auburn is a very good team and they were a lot quicker than we saw on film."

Brenna Chase led the team with 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds, three blocks and one steal. Shaylee Gonzales contributed 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Caitlyn Alldredge added 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and one steal.

In the first quarter, the Tigers took control early as they scored a trey for the first basket of the game and went on to take a 9-4 lead with 4:28 on the clock. Chase and Shalae Salmon combined for an 8-0 run to end the first period as the Cougars took a 15-13 lead.

Maria Albiero drained three free throws while Alldredge and Chase each added a bucket from behind the arc to give BYU a 24-18 advantage half way through the second period. Auburn rallied to cut into the deficit and a last second jumper sent the teams into the locker room with the Cougars on top 28-26.

BYU started out the second half strong as five-straight points from Alldredge gave the Cougars a double-digit lead, 41-31, with 5:40 remaining on the clock in the third quarter.

A layup by Chase gave BYU a 13-point advantage, its largest lead of the game. A 3-pointer by the Tigers cut into the deficit but Alldredge answered with a layup on a fast break to keep the Cougars on top 51-39 going into the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, a trey from Paisley Johnson extended the BYU lead to 56-41 with 8:24 left to play.

Auburn responded with an 11-1 run to bring the score to 65-61 with two minutes remaining in the game. A pair of points from the charity stripe by Chase and a layup by Gonzales kept the Cougars in control, 69-61. BYU hit four free throws in the remaining seconds to secure its win.

On the game, the Cougars shot 47.5 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from 3 and 60.0 percent from the free throw line. The Tigers recorded 32.0 percent from the field, 14.8 percent from beyond the arc and 66.7 percent from the charity stripe.

BYU advances to the second round and will take on the winner of Stanford and UC Davis on Monday, Mar. 25.

Postgame Notes

Team
With the 73-64 win over Auburn in the first round of the NCAA tournament, BYU improved its record to 26-6 on the season and extended its win streak to nine games.

In the first half of play, Auburn pulled down 27 rebounds compared to BYU’s 20. The Tigers finished the contest with the advantage 46 to 39.

For the 14th time on the year, BYU had three players score in double figures. Brenna Chase (19), Shaylee Gonzales (17) and Caitlyn Alldredge (14).

At halftime, the Cougars had recorded four blocks. The Tigers had none. For the game, BYU had the edge getting seven blocks in the game. Auburn recorded one.

BYU had five assists in the first half to Auburn’s six. At the conclusion of the game, the Cougars had the advantage dishing out 15 assists to the Tigers' 10.

On the game, BYU shot 47.9 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from 3-point range and 60 percent from the free throw line.

Player
Junior guard Brenna Chase led all scorers in the first half with 10 points, two rebounds and two blocks. She tied for game highs in points with 19 along with seven assists. Chase also had three blocks, four rebounds and one steal.

Freshman Shaylee Gonzales led the way in rebounds through the first 20 minutes of action for the Cougars, pulling down seven. She finished the game with a team-best nine rebounds along with 17 points, three assists and two steals.

Sophomore center Sara Hamson tied in team blocks with two at halftime. She finished with a game-high four along with eight rebounds, four points and one assist.

Senior Caitlyn Alldredge tallied a career-high 14 points along with three rebounds and three assists. The assists tied for career bests.

BYU Press Conference Quotes

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball (25-6) is making its 13th appearance in the NCAA Championships receiving a No. 7 seed. The Cougars will play No. 10 seed Auburn (22-9) Saturday, Mar. 23, at 12:30 p.m. PT at Maples Pavilion on the Stanford campus. The game will be carried live on ESPN2 and on BYU Radio Sirius XM 143. Locally fans can follow the action on 107.9 FM and 89.1 FM HD2. A live audio stream will also be available on byuradio.org.

BYU vs. Auburn Game Notes

NCAA Women's Basketball Bracket

Ticket Information 

ABOUT BYU

• For the third time in program history, BYU received a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Cougars were in the NCAA Championships was during the 2015-16 season where they were a No. 7 seed and lost to Missouri in the First Round. BYU has a 5-12 record in the postseason tournament. This year’s invitation is the ninth under head coach Jeff Judkins.
• The Cougars made the tournament as the automatic qualifier by beating No. 12/14 Gonzaga 82-68 in the West Coast Conference Championship. It was BYU’s third WCC tournament title.
• This week the Cougars received 24 votes in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. They entered the AP Poll on Jan. 28 and fell out of the top 25 the week of Feb. 4. The team enters the tournament on an eight-game win streak.
• On the year, BYU has an 18-1 record when leading at the half; is 22-3 when making at least 5 treys; is 15-2 when dishing out more assists, and is 13-1 when it pulls down more rebounds than its opponents.
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales, who has scored in double-digits in 29 games, leads the team in scoring and assists with 16.5 and 4.2 averages, respectively. Sophomore Paisley Johnson contributes 14.8 points while junior Brenna Chase puts up 12.7 points a contest. Chase leads in steals (2.3 spg). Sophomore center Sara Hamson leads the team in rebounding (5.8) and blocks (2.8).
• The Cougars are averaging 69.2 points and 37.9 rebounds a game. They are holding opponents to just 62.8 points per contest. BYU is shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from behind the arc and 70 percent from the free-throw line.

ABOUT AUBURN

• The Auburn Tigers have compiled a 22-9 record and are making their 21st all-time NCAA Tournament bid and the third in the last four seasons.
• Auburn finished in sixth place in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) with a 9-7 record. It advanced to the quarterfinals where it lost by two, 64-62, to Texas A&M.
• The Tigers are averaging 71.9 points and 34.2 rebounds per game. They shoot 42.2 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from 3-point range and 71.1 percent from the free-throw line.
• Four players are putting up double-digit points for Auburn led by 13.8 points from senior guard Janiah McKay. Junior guard Daisa Alexander is next in scoring with 12.6 points. Sophomore forward Unique Thompson follows with 12.2 points. Rounding out the scoring for the Tigers is junior guard Chrystal Primm who contributes 10.4 points. Thompson leads the way in rebounds with a 10.0 average while McKay tops the leaderboard in assists with a 4.1 average.

UP NEXT FOR BYU

A win over Auburn would send the Cougars in to the Second Round of the NCAA Championships with the game to be played on Monday, Mar. 25. They would play the winner of Saturday’s game between host Stanford and UC Davis. A start time for that game will be announced later.