LAS VEGAS — BYU women’s basketball fell 77-48 to Washington Saturday night in the final game of the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout.

BYU vs. Washington Final Box Score

Lauren Gustin tallied her first career double-double for the Cougars (1-1), scoring a team-best 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Paisley Johnson Harding contributed nine points, two assists, one rebound and a steal, while Tegan Graham added eight points, one assist and a rebound.

Kaylee Smiler hit a pair of second quarter triples to chip in six points for BYU, while Shaylee Gonzales recorded five points and six rebounds on the night.

The Cougars brought the score within three at the start of the third quarter but couldn’t quite get over the hump, as the Huskies (2-0) used a 13-0 run to pull away. BYU ended the game with a 27% shooting percentage compared to Washington’s 48%.

Gustin hit a runner off the glass one minute into the contest to give BYU an early 2-0 lead. Washington answered with back-to-back triples before Gustin hit another mid-range shot to bring the Cougars within two, 6-4. Following a 6-0 Husky run, Graham drained a free throw line jumper and Gustin hit a shot in the paint to bring the score to 12-8 for Washington. Graham hit a 3-pointer from the right wing and Harding hit three free throws to cut BYU’s deficit to three, 17-14, but the Huskies answered with a 5-0 run to take a 22-14 advantage at the end of the period.

A driving layup by Gustin and a Smiler triple brought BYU within three, 22-19, two minutes into the second quarter. Washington proceeded to go on a 10-5 run before another 3-pointer by Smiler cut the Cougars’ deficit to five, 32-27, with 4:14 left in the half. A Harding triple from the top of the key stopped a 5-1 Husky run and brought the Cougars within six, 37-31, at the break.

Gonzales opened the third quarter with a corner triple, but Washington proceeded to score 13 unanswered points to take a 50-34 lead with 4:11 left in the third. Teams then traded baskets, as Gustin made a layup and Graham hit a 3-pointer to bring the score to 55-39 for the Huskies. Washington closed the quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 61-41 advantage into the final period.

The Huskies put together an 8-0 run to start the fourth before a pair of free throws from Babalu Ugwu brought the score to 69-43 for Washington with 4:11 left in the contest. Albiero hit a mid-range jumper and a pair of free throws with 1:28 remaining, bringing the score to 71-48 for the Huskies. A pair of Washington triples brought the final score to 77-48 for Washington.

Up next, the Cougars hit the road to take on Utah State on Monday, Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. MT at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah. Broadcast plans will be announced at a later date.

Note: BYU was originally scheduled to play Dixie State on Tuesday, Dec. 1, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19-related issues within the Dixie State women’s basketball program.

Player Notes

• Gustin tallied nine first half points, shooting a perfect four of four from the field, to go along with a team-best three assists and four rebounds. She finished the game with team-bests in points (13), rebounds (10), assists (3) and steals (2).
• Harding recorded nine points on the night while also adding two assists and a steal.
• Tahlia White hit a free throw in the final period for her first point as a Cougar.
• Malli Perri tallied BYU’s lone block on the night and added two rebounds.

Team Notes

• The Cougars shot 27% from the floor and from three-point territory, compared to Washington’s 48% from the field and 43% from distance. BYU also shot 85% from the free throw line compared to the Huskies’ 68%.
• Eleven different Cougars saw playing time, with eight of them scoring.  
• BYU pulled down 26 boards on the night compared to Washington’s 37.
• In assists, the Cougars dished out eight while the Huskies had 12.
• BYU recorded 17 bench points while Washington had 30.

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball will open its 2020-21 campaign this weekend at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas, Nevada, taking on LSU on Friday, Nov. 27 and Washington on Saturday, Nov. 28. Both games tip off at 6:30 PST and live video stream links are available on byucougars.com.

BYU vs. LSU/Washington Game Notes

ABOUT BYU

• Head coach Jeff Judkins enters his 20th season at the helm of the BYU women’s basketball program as the winningest head coach in school history with a career record of 411-194
• The Cougars were picked to finish second in the 2020-21 West Coast Conference Preseason Poll after finishing third in the WCC regular season standings last season. BYU finished the 2019-20 campaign with a 13-5 record in WCC play and 18-11 record overall
• Two-time WCC Defensive Player of the Year Sara Hamson returns for her senior season at the center position after leading the nation in blocked shots (137) and blocked shots per game (4.72) last season. Hamson was a 2020 Naismith Women’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Year Semifinalist. She is one of 20 candidates for this year’s Lisa Leslie Award that recognizes the top center in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball
• Senior guard Paisley Johnson Harding, a 2020 WCC First Team honoree and a two-time Preseason All-WCC Team member, also returns for her senior season
• Redshirt sophomore Shaylee Gonzales returns after being named the 2018-19 Newcomer of the Year, a 2019 WCC First Team honoree and 2019 WCC Championship All-Tournament Team member
• After starting every game last year and averaging 6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest, guard Maria Albiero returns for her senior campaign
• BYU will introduce two standout transfers in Tegan Graham (four years at Colgate) and Kayla Belles-Lee (two years at Michigan State). Redshirt freshmen and Utah natives Lauren Gustin (Salem Hills HS) and Tahlia White (Mountain View HS) will vie for playing time along with redshirt freshman Kyra Beckman (Snohomish, Washington)
• The Cougars bring additional experience to their roster with junior returners Babalu Ugwu and Malli Perri as well as sophomore Kaylee Smiler

ABOUT LSU

• Nikki Fargas begins her 10th season as head coach of the Tigers, compiling a 168-116 record thus far
• LSU is coming off a 20-win 2019-20 campaign, finishing seventh in the SEC regular season standings with an overall record of 20-10
• The Tigers return their 2019-20 scoring and assist leader in senior guard Khayla Pointer, who averaged 14.8 points and 4.8 assists per contest last season. Pointer was named a member of the 2020 All-SEC Second Team.
• Fellow 2020 All-SEC Second Team member and senior center Faustine Aifuwa also returns after leading the team in total rebounds (237) and blocks (63) during the 2019-20 campaign. Faustine was also named a 2020 SEC All-Defensive Team member
• Friday’s matchup will be the first ever between LSU and BYU

ABOUT WASHINGTON

• Head coach Jody Wynn enters her fourth season at the helm of the Husky program, posting a 31-61 record at Washington and an overall record of 168-180 in 11 seasons as head coach
• The Huskies finished 10th in the 2019-20 Pac-12 standings after posting a 5-13 record in conference play and a 13-17 record overall
• Washington returns six players who saw game action in 2019-20. Junior forward Haley Van Dyke, who was second on the team with 8.2 points per game, is the leading returning scorer
• Seniors Khayla Rooks and Alexis Griggsby are the most veteran players on this season’s Husky team while junior center Darcy Rees, who was second on the team in 3-point shooting percentage (35.8%) last season, also returns
• Washington holds a 7-5 all-time series advantage against BYU. The two teams’ most recent matchup, which took place in Seattle during the 2017-18 season, resulted in an 80-72 Husky win

UP NEXT

Following this weekend's games, BYU remains on the road to take on Dixie State University on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 3 p.m. MST. A live video stream will be available on the WAC Digital Network.