MORAGA, Calif. — Kaylee Smiler scored a career-high 19 points and Brenna Chase Drollinger added 18 as the BYU women’s basketball team defeated Saint Mary’s 65-55 Saturday afternoon at the University Credit Union Pavilion.

BYU at Saint Mary's Final Box Score

"Kaylee had a great game for us today, what a way to step up when we needed her to. I’m very happy for her and all her hard work," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought we played great team defense today and Brenna and Maria were solid for us today both offensively and defensively. I’m really happy for our team."

Smiler shot seven of nine from the floor, including a perfect four of four from 3-point range, while also adding six rebounds and two steals. Drollinger contributed four rebounds and four assists to go along with her 18 points while Maria Albiero added 14 points, two assists and two steals. Sara Hamson recorded seven blocks and five rebounds.

The Cougars (10-7, 5-2 WCC), playing without junior guard Paisley Johnson due to an ankle injury, shot 37.9 percent from 3-point range and used 24 bench points to get past the Gaels (9-10, 4-4 WCC).

Albiero scored BYU’s first points of the game with a midrange jumper to bring the score to 3-2 for Saint Mary’s two minutes into the contest. The Gaels then responded with an 8-0 run to go up 11-2. Back-to-back triples by Smiler and Drollinger followed by a layup by Smiler brought the Cougars within two, 13-11. Teams traded baskets to end the first quarter, with Drollinger hitting a pair of deep 3-pointers from the right wing to bring the score to 20-17 for Saint Mary’s.

BYU came out strong to open the second quarter, with a Smiler trey followed by layups by Smiler and Drollinger putting the Cougars up 24-23. Two more triples by Albiero put BYU up three, 30-27, with two minutes left in the half. A basket in the paint by Moody brought the score to 32-30 for the Cougars after the first 20 minutes.

The Gaels opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers, but a driving layup by Otuafi and an Albiero trey gave BYU a 37-36 advantage. A 7-3 run fueled by a Smiler layup and triple put the Cougars up four, 45-41, with three minutes remaining in the third quarter. A turnaround jumper by Salmon and another 3-pointer by Smiler brought the score to 50-47 for BYU at the end of the third.

A pair of free throws and a driving layup by Drollinger gave the Cougars a 54-49 advantage two minutes into the fourth quarter. Drollinger then found Hamson for a layup and Albiero hit a triple to extend BYU’s lead to seven, 59-52, with 3:29 remaining. Saint Mary’s made a 3-pointer to cut the Cougars’ lead to four, 59-55, with 2:06 left in the game.

BYU’s defense, however, came up big in the last couple minutes and did not allow the Gaels to score another basket the remainder of the contest. The Cougars knocked down six free throws during the final minute to seal the 65-55 win.

BYU returns to the Marriott Center to host San Francisco on Thursday, Jan. 23, at 11 a.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App. Tickets can be purchased on byutickets.com.

Team Notes

• BYU took a two-point, 32-30 edge into the break in the game at St. Mary’s and finished with a 65-55 victory to improve its record to 10-7, 5-3 on the season. The Cougars are now 10-1 when leading at halftime.
• St. Mary’s had the advantage in rebounds through the first 20 minutes of action, pulling down 23 boards to BYU’s 17. For the game, the Gaels grabbed 45 rebounds to the Cougars’ 37.
• In the first half, SMC had dished out 10 assists compared with three for BYU. The Gaels finished the game with the advantage in that category dishing out 14 to BYU’s nine.
• The Cougars tallied six steals in the first half while the Gaels had just one. BYU finished the game with a total of 10 steals. SMC did not record a steal in the second half.
• BYU shot 35.5 percent from the field, 37.9 percent from 3-point range and 62.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Player Notes

• Redshirt freshman Kaylee Smiler came off the bench scoring 10 points in the first half of action for season and career highs. She ended the contest with a game- and career-high 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field and 4 of 4 from behind the arc. She tied for team bests in rebounds with six and got two steals.
• Brenna Chase Drollinger tallied 11 points in the first half picking up her 10th and third straight game with double-digit points. She finished with 18 points, four rebounds and a game-best four assists.
• Babalu Ugwu pulled down four rebounds to lead the Cougars in the first half. For the game, she finished tied for team bests with six rebounds. Ugwu was 3 of 4 from the charity stripe while also collecting two steals.
• Freshman Leilani Otuafi started in her first collegiate game and contributed four points, three rebounds and one assist.
• Sara Hamson recorded two blocks in the first 20 minutes of action for BYU, finishing the WCC matchup with a  game-high seven blocks. She also scored two points, got one assist, one steal and grabbed five rebounds.

PROVO, Utah— With an 8-7, 3-2 record, BYU women’s basketball continues West Coast Conference action with two road games.

The Cougars are at Pacific on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7 p.m. PDT. BYU then travels to Moraga, California, to take on St. Mary’s, Saturday, Jan. 18, at 2 p.m. PDT. A live video stream will be available on the WCC Network for both games.

BYU at Saint Mary's Game Notes

BYU at Pacific Game Notes

ABOUT BYU

• Entering the fourth week of WCC play, BYU is 8-7, 3-2 on the year
• The team ranks nationally eighth (5.9) in blocked shots per game, ninth (33.3) in field goal percentage defense, 12th (89) in blocked shots, 30th (56.0) in scoring defense
• Two players are scoring in double figures for the Cougars led by 13.9 points from junior guard Paisley Johnson; senior guard Brenna Chase Drollinger follows contributing 11.1 points per contest; Drollinger currently ranks 26th all-time in career points with 1,115; she’s currently the team’s assists and steals leader with 4.3 and 2.1 averages, respectively
• Sara Hamson leads the way in rebounds and blocks, pulling down 8.1 boards a game and getting 3.9 blocks a contest; she ranks second (59) in the nation in blocked shots and third (3.9) in blocked shots per game
• After 15 games played, BYU is averaging 60.3 points and pulls down 41.5 rebounds a contest
• The Cougars are holding opponents to just 56 points and are allowing only 37.4 rebounds a game
• In the overall series vs. Pacific, BYU leads 13-4; the Cougars are 5-2 when playing in Stockton; in last year’s race, the Cougars swept the series

 ABOUT PACIFIC

• Entering the fourth week of WCC play, Pacific has an 11-6, 4-2 record with league wins over San Francisco, LMU, Pepperdine and Portland
• Last year, the Tigers advanced to the second round of the WNIT postseason tournament after finishing in sixth place in the league race
• Valerie Higgins is one of two players that is scoring in double figures for the Tigers with a 16.3 average; teammate Brooklyn McDavid is contributing 15.1 points a game; Higgins tops the leaderboard in rebounds (8.8), assists (3.6), steals (3.5) and in blocks (0.94)
• Pacific is averaging 70.5 points and pulls down 34.4 rebounds a contest
• The Tigers were picked to finish in third place in this year’s conference race as voted on by the league’s head coaches last October; Higgins was named to the Preseason All-WCC Team
• Head coach Bradley Davis is in his fifth season at the helm of the women’s basketball program at Pacific where he has a 68-74 record

ABOUT ST. MARY’S

• The Gaels have compiled a 9-8, 4-2 record on the year, picking up conference wins over San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, and LMU. Their two losses are to Gonzaga and Portland; they are scheduled to host San Diego on Thursday night before Saturday’s game against BYU
• SMC’s offensive presence has four players scoring in double figures, led by Emily Codding’s 15.5 points a contest; she’s followed by Sam Simons who’s is tallying 15 points a game; Madeline Holland is next with 13.6 points, with Taycee Wedin contributing 12.2 points a game
• Codding leads the way in rebounds, pulling down 8.8 boards a game; Holland leads in assists with a 5.2 average; Brianna Simonich tops the list in steals with a 1.5 average
• St. Mary’s is averaging 74.1 points a game and 39.4 rebounds a contest while allowing opponents to put up 73.2 points and grab 34.9 boards a contest
• The Gaels were selected to finish fourth in the WCC this year
• In the overall series with SMC, the Gaels have the 10-9 edge; when playing in Moraga, BYU is 2-6; in last year’s WCC race, each team won on the road

UP NEXT
After playing two road games, the Cougar women return to host two WCC foes. On Thursday, Jan. 23, BYU hosts San Francisco in a Kid’s Game that tips off at 11 a.m. then on Saturday, Jan. 25, Santa Clara comes to town for a 2 p.m. matchup. Both home games are scheduled to air live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.