PROVO, Utah – Junior forward Lauren Gustin registered the second 20-20 game of her career to lead BYU women’s basketball to a 69-51 home win over Pacific Thursday night. Gustin’s 21 points and 22 rebounds comes on the heels of her setting a career-high 23 rebounds in the team’s previous game.

"We came out with a goal in mind and we accomplished what we wanted to today," said BYU head coach Amber Whiting. "The focus was there all week. That's sometimes hard coming back from Christmas break, so I feel like we had a good first game back."

The win gave the Cougars (6-8, 1-2 WCC) their first conference win of the season. Gustin was joined in double figures by Nani Falatea (14) and Arielle Mackey-Williams (13). BYU shot 52.1 percent and made seven threes, holding Pacific (5-8, 0-2) to 33.3 percent shooting. The Cougars also outrebounded the Tigers 43-27, with Gustin’s contribution the fifth time in her career with 20 or more rebounds.

Box Score

First Half
The game started slow as the teams combined for 2-of-15 shooting from the field in the first three-and-a-half minutes. Falatea helped spark the offense five minutes in with back-to-back threes and a block on the defensive end to give the Cougars a 13-4 lead with 3:39 to go in the first. 

Mackey-Williams added a layup and three of her own on the next two possessions, with her and Falatea scoring eight and six respectively in the first frame. Her first bucket was set up by a steal from Bosquez, the sixth of Pacific’s seven turnovers in the quarter.

BYU led 18-9 at the end of the first quarter, which included 7-of-14 field-goal shooting and four made 3-pointers.

Gustin helped the team stretch the lead to double digits throughout the second quarter, including an early offensive rebound and put-back. She finished the half with eight points and nine rebounds.

A perfect six-for-six from the free-throw line saw the Cougars hold a 32-18 lead with four minutes until halftime. The lead became 17 after Calvert added a three on the next possession, with seven of her nine points in the game coming in the second quarter.

A 6-0 Pacific run was stopped by a Falatea layup that sent the teams to the break with BYU holding a 37-24 lead. Mackey-Williams was the team’s leading scorer with 10 points, while Falatea had four assists. Four different Cougars recorded steals as they forced the Tigers into 12 first half turnovers.

Second Half
The second half started just as slow as the first, with the teams shooting a combined 1-for-10 from the field in the first three minutes. Gustin got her 13th double-double in 14 games this season off a post move to break the drought, adding another basket on the next possession to put the Cougars up 43-26 with 6:03 left in the third. 

A 7-1 Pacific run trimmed the BYU lead to 12, but consecutive Cougar three-pointers put the score back to 50-33 with a minute left in the quarter. The first came when Kaylee Smiler beat the shot clock, with the second coming from Amanda Barcello in transition after a Gustin steal. A Pacific basket then ended the quarter with the Cougars up by 15.

Pacific scored first to open the fourth before BYU went on a 10-0 run off five-consecutive layups. Gustin capped the stretch to put the Cougars up 60-37 with 5:30 remaining, good for the game’s highest lead of 23.

The Tigers then used a timeout to set up their full-court press. The pressure contributed to seven BYU turnovers in less than three minutes, cutting the lead to 11 with 2:50 remaining after a 14-2 Pacific run. That would be as close as the visitors got, with the Cougars ending on a run of their own, scoring the game’s final seven points to secure the 69-51 victory.

Gustin continued to lead the team down the stretch, grabbing three boards in the final two minutes. She also added a free throw and layup in the final minute to get to 20 points for the fourth time this season. Her 17 field-goal attempts tied a career high.

The Cougars remain at the Marriott Center for their third-straight home game this Saturday at 2:00 p.m. MST against Saint Mary’s. The contest will be broadcast on BYUtv.org and the BYUtv App.

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women's basketball team will host a pair of West Coast Conference teams this week in Pacific on Thursday and Saint Mary's on Saturday. Thursday's game vs. Pacific will tip at 7 p.m., televised on BYUtv while Saturday's game against the Gaels will begin at 2 p.m. and streamed on the BYUtv App and BYUtv.org. 

December is also "Holiday Hoops" month where tickets for all women's basketball home games will be $5 dollars. This includes Dec. 29 vs. Pacific and Dec. 31 vs. St. Mary's. Visit BYUtickets.com to purchase. 

BYU vs. Pacific
Thursday, Dec. 29
7 p.m.
Live TV: BYUtv
Stream: BYUtv App and BYUtv.org
Live Stats
On Twitter: @BYUwbb

BYU vs. Saint Mary's
Saturday, Dec. 31
2 p.m. 
Stream: BYUtv App and BYUtv.org
Live Stats
On Twitter: @BYUwbb

BYU Game Notes

• PACIFIC (DEC. 29). The Tigers are 5-7 on the year and coming off a 54-41 win at CSU Bakersfield. Pacific and Saint Mary’s opened up their conference schedule against each other, with the Gaels beating the Tigers 69-66 in overtime. Last year, BYU swept the season series against Pacific.
• SAINT MARY’S (DEC. 31). The Gaels took down Pacific in an overtime battle last week 69-66 to get their first WCC win. Saint Mary’s is 7-5 on the year and play at San Diego on Thursday before heading to Provo. The Cougars also swept the season series against Saint Mary’s last year.
• LAST GAME. BYU played its third game in five days against Monmouth last week, beating the Hawks 70-50 in Provo. Lauren Gustin set a new personal best with 23 rebounds and added 12 points, notching her 12th double-double in 13 games.
• CONFERENCE PLAY.  After getting in one more game out of conference play, the Cougars are into West Coast Conference action for the remainder of the 2022-23 season. BYU dropped the first two WCC games on the road (at Gonzaga, at Portland) but now have three straight home WCC contests against Pacific, Saint Mary’s and San Diego before their next road trip. Last season, BYU won the WCC regular-season conference crown, going 15-1. The Cougars were picked to finish third this season in the preseason coaches poll.
• DOUBLE-DOUBLE MACHINE. Forward Lauren Gustin continues to be a force down low is No. 1 in double-doubles with 12 in 13 games. Gustin is averaging 15.3 points per game and 14.2 rebounds. She is No. 1 nationally in total rebounds with 185 and No. 2 in rebounds per game at 14.2. The junior from Salem, Utah has posted 20 or more rebounds twice this season, with 20 against Oklahoma and a career-high 23 against Monmouth.