Women's Basketball 2017-18 Season Preview

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball enters the 2017-18 season with optimism and excitement as it looks to improve on an eighth straight 20-plus win season, a second place finish in conference play and a 13th postseason appearance.

The 16-member team returns reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year, senior guard Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee, along with starting junior forward Jasmine Moody. The two are the lone starters back this year. Devashrayee, a 5-foot-7 guard, led the team in scoring last season with a 17.8 point average and was second in assists, dishing out 4.3 assists per game. In the WCC, she ranked second in scoring, in free throw percentage and in 3-point field goal percentage while finishing the season ranked third in field goal percentage and fourth in assists. Moody started in 12 contests while averaging 10.3 minutes of playing time. The 6-foot-2 junior forward averaged 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season.

Senior forward Amanda Wayment along with sophomores Brenna Chase and Shalae Salmon played in more than 25 games last season and come in to the year with strong playing experience. Wayment, a 6-foot-1 forward, played nearly 15 minutes a game while averaging 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds a contest. Chase, who was named to last season’s WCC All-Freshman team, played in all games tallying 3.8 points and 1.3 assists per contest. Salmon, a 6-foot-3 forward/center, is just a sophomore who saw playing time in 27 games starting in nine of them. For the season, she averaged 2.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game and returns with the second most blocks, 15.

The other three of the six returning letterwinners from last season’s roster include juniors MaCayla Hanks Longson and Haley Rydalch along with sophomore Liz Eaton. The trio played in at least 14 games last year. Forward Longson saw action in 15 contests averaging 1.7 points and 1.3 rebounds. Rydalch, a 6-foot-3 forward/center combo, played in 14 games contributing 1.1 points and 1.1 boards to the team effort. Eaton, a 5-foot-9 guard, came off the bench in 19 games and tallied 1.2 points and grabbed 0.6 boards a contest.

The two returning starters and six returning letterwinners along with the eight newcomers to the program will make for a very balanced Cougar  team that will also play solid offense and defense.

New faces expected on the Marriott Center floor will be eight newcomers, six freshmen and two transfers.  This year’s Cougar team will have a little international flare with the addition of Khaedin Taito, a transfer from USC who sat out last year. She’s from Hastings, New Zealand and joins fellow New Zealander Shalae Salmon. Freshman Maria Albiero is from Londrina, Brazil.

Expected to also see plenty of playing time is graduate transfer Malia Nawahine. She played at Utah and has one more year of eligibility. Nawahine started in 33 games for the Utes in 2015-16 averaging 9.5 points per game, but only played one game last season due to an injury. Additionally, freshmen Paisley Johnson, from Everett, Washington, Utah standouts Ashley Beckstrand, Malli Valgardson and Sara Hamson; and Abby Mangum from Eagle, Idaho round out the talent on the 2017-18 squad.

These players come into the BYU program with strong talent, experience, confidence, athleticism, solid work ethic and have a good feel for the game.

Albiero played on the U17 and U18 Brazilian National Teams.  She prepped at Neuse Christian Academy in  Raleigh, NC., where she was named to the NCISAA All-State 1A Basketball Team in 2017. Johnson, from Everett, WA., was named 4A Player of the Year in 2017. Beckstrand, who prepped at Deseret Hills High School, is a three-time First Team All-State honoree. Valgardson prepped at Pleasant Grove High School where she was a two-time Deseret News 5A Third Team honoree. Sara Hamson, who also prepped at Pleasant Grove High School, was named to the Deseret News 5A Second Team All-Region in 2017. Mangum played at Eagle High School in Eagle, ID., where she was a two-time Second Team All-State award recipient.

BYU finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 20-12 record, for the 11th overall and eighth straight 20-plus win season. In conference play, the Cougars tied for second place with a 13-5 mark. For the second straight season, the Cougars finished conference play undefeated at home.

Once again this year the BYU team will play another strong, competitive schedule including six teams that competed in the postseason in 2017.

The 11-game nonconference schedule includes six home events that will bring in-state foes Southern Utah, Utah Valley, Utah State and Utah to the Marriott Center.

In West Coast Conference action, 18 games will decide the league’s regular-season champion with nine of those contests being played in Provo.

The 2017-18 campaign opens at home on Nov. 10 when the Cougar women host Southern Utah in a 7 p.m. tilt.

BYU then takes its first road trip of the season with a game at Pac-12 powerhouse Washington on Nov. 15. The Huskies advanced to the NCAA’s Sweet 16 last year. From there the Cougars will remain in the Pacific Northwest taking on Eastern Washington in Cheney, on Nov. 17.

Then it’s back home for two games for BYU. The Cougars host in-state foe Utah Valley University on Nov. 21 in an 11 a.m., Kid’s Day game. On Sat. Nov. 25, Southeastern Conference foe Georgia makes its first-ever appearance to the Marriott Center for a 2 p.m. game.

Making its second road trip of the nonconference slate, BYU travels to Colorado for two contests. They are at Northern Colorado on Nov. 30 and at Mountain West Conference (MWC) foe Colorado State on Dec. 2. The Rams advanced to the second round of the WNIT postseason tournament last year.

Two tough home battles against in-state rivals follow. Playing their second opponent from the MWC, the Cougar women host in-state foe Utah State on Dec. 6 and the University of Utah on Dec. 9. The Utes represented the Pac-12 in the first round of the WNIT last season.

Back-to-back games against Pac-12 foes add to the grueling schedule for BYU when they take to the road to play at Cal on Dec. 16. The Bears advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2017.

The 2017-18 nonconference schedule concludes on Dec. 22 for the Cougars, hosting Montana State on Dec. 22. BYU has plans to play one exhibition game against Colorado Mesa on Nov. 2.

The Cougars will open the 2018 West Coast Conference season on Dec. 28 at Portland. BYU will continue its road trip to play at Saint Mary’s on Dec. 30. Saint Mary’s was the only other WCC team to compete alongside BYU in the 2016-17 WNIT. The Gaels lost in the first round.

BYU women’s basketball will return to the Marriott Center to host San Francisco on Jan. 4 and Pacific on Jan. 6. The Cougar women split with San Francisco in the 2016-17 season, while BYU beat Pacific in both contests.

Three of its next four league games are on the road for BYU women's basketball. They travel to Pepperdine on Jan. 11, return home to host Santa Clara on Jan. 13, and return to California to play Loyola Marymount (Jan. 18) and San Diego (Jan. 20).

Saint Mary’s will return to Provo on Jan. 25. The Cougars downed the Gaels 70-65 in a close-fought battle at home last season. After traveling to Pacific on Jan. 27, BYU will host Loyola Marymount on Feb. 1 and Gonzaga on Feb. 3. The Zags received the automatic bid to the 2016-17 NCAA tournament as they claimed the WCC championship title.

On Feb. 8, the Cougars will travel to Northern California to compete at Santa Clara and will stay in the Bay Area to play at San Francisco on Feb. 10. BYU will then play three-straight games at home, hosting Pepperdine (Feb. 15), San Diego (Feb. 17) and Portland (Feb. 22).

BYU women’s basketball will conclude the 2017-18 campaign at Gonzaga on Feb. 24.