STOCKTON, Calif. – The No. 19 BYU women’s basketball team won its regular-season finale against Pacific 82-52 to claim the outright regular-season West Coast Conference championship on Saturday afternoon.

“I knew that this team had a chance to be one of the best we’ve had at BYU,” head coach Jeff Judkins said. “A lot of players sacrificed to get here and now they have chance to do something special. We have a lot more work to do but I couldn’t be more proud of the hard work they’ve put in this year.”

The win marked BYU’s (25-2, 15-1) second WCC championship and fifth league title under Judkins. The Cougars finished first in the WCC in 2015-16.

BYU will also be No. 1 seed at next week’s WCC Tournament in Las Vegas and play Monday in the semifinals.

Four players scored in double figures, led by Shaylee Gonzales’ 18 points. Paisley Harding scored 14, Tegan Graham made four 3-pointes for 12 points and Lauren Gustin added her 14th double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

Gonzales added eight rebounds, four steals and three assists while Graham led the Cougars with five helpers and Maria Albiero added four of her own.

Box Score

First half
BYU opened the game on an 11-0 run and never really looked back. The Cougars picked up five steals and cashed in throughout the first quarter with quick buckets, finishing the quarter with a Graham three-pointer for a 23-9 lead after the first 10 minutes.

The second quarter started just the same as the first, with an 11-0 BYU run before Pacific broke up the run with a triple. BYU answered back with its own trey from Graham and a jumper by Gonzales to stay in front 39-14 with three minutes left until halftime.

Arielle Mackey-Williams got some first-half action off the bench and knocked down a three-pointer and a transition layup and another runner at the buzzer for seven points and a 50-20 lead at halftime.

Second half
BYU continued to run in the second half but the Tigers kept pace after six minutes of play. Gonzales sank two more freebies and Lauren Gustin got loose for an easy layup, making it 65-30 with under four minutes to go until the fourth.  

In control, the Cougars got the future of the program plenty of minutes in the fourth quarter with Rose Bubakar, Emma Calvert, Kate Vorwaller, Devry Millett and Mackey-Williams all getting extended minutes.

BYU will await its matchup for the West Coast Conference Tournament next week. The Cougars will be the No. 1 overall seed and play Monday after a double bye to the semifinal matchup.  

PROVO, Utah – The No. 19 BYU women's basketball team will play its last two regular-season games on the road at Santa Clara on Thursday and at Pacific on Saturday. 

Thursday's matchup against the Broncos (14-12, 8-8) at the Leavey Center is set for a 6 p.m. PT tipoff and will be streamed on the WCC Network. Saturday's game at Pacific in the Alex G. Spanos Center will tip at 2 p.m. PT, also on the WCC Network.

BYU at Santa Clara
Thursday, Feb. 24
6 p.m. PT
TV/Stream: WCC Network
Live Stats
On Twitter: @BYUwbb

BYU at Pacific
Saturday, Feb. 26
2 p.m. PT
TV/Stream: WCC Network
Live Stats
On Twitter: @BYUwbb

BYU Game Notes (23-2, 13-1)

• LAST GAME: BYU put together another big third quarter and ran away from Gonzaga with a 63-39 win on Senior Day at the Marriott Center. A record crowd of 6,289 fans attended the game––the most to ever watch women’s basketball at the Marriott Center.
• BYU has won 30 consecutive games in the Marriott Center. The program record is 33 games, set over the 1978-80 seasons.
• Shaylee Gonzales was named to the Midseason Team for the 2021-22 Naismith Trophy for the Women’s Collegiate Player of the Year and was just named a semifinalist for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year.
• Lauren Gustin is 1 of 10 finalists for the Katrina McClain Award for the nation’s top power forward.
• BYU is ranked No. 3 in scoring margin at +20.2 points per game and ranks No. 11 in scoring offense at 78.2 points per game. The Cougars are No. 2 in assists per game (20.1) and No. 2 in assist to turnover ratio (1.51), No. 3 in field goal percentage (47.5) and No. 23 in field goal percentage defense (35.6).
• BYU can secure a regular-season championship Saturday against Pacific, The last time the Cougars won a regular-season title was the 2015-16 season when BYU went 16-2 in the West Coast Conference. The Cougars also won the MWC regular-season under Coach Judkins in 2010-11, 2006-07 and 2005-06.

Santa Clara Broncos (14-12, 8-8)

• Santa Clara is coming off a 74-58 loss to Gonzaga on Monday. Earlier this year, BYU beat the Broncos 76-44 in Provo. 

Pacific Tigers (6-20, 3-12)

• The Tigers have lost three in a row and face St. Mary's on Thursday before hosting the Cougars. BYU defeated Pacific 94-68 in January.