Five players in double figures lift BYU to a 79-76 win in first European Tour game

HRADEC KRALOVE, Czech Republic — Shalae Salmon’s double-double of 10 points and a game-high 15 rebounds led the way to a 79-76 Cougar win over the Hradec Kralove Club Team.

Paisley Johnson led all scorers with 17 points along with four rebounds and two steals. Brenna Chase followed with 14 points and three rebounds. Freshmen Tahlia White and Shaylee Gonzales contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, in their debuts as Cougars. Redshirt freshman Ashley Beckstrand had eight points and four rebounds. Salmon also added five assists and three steals in the winning effort.

“We are very proud of how hard all of our players competed today,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “We did a good job of adjusting to their style of play. Shalae really played well for us. She was very physical. We got to see some really good minutes from our freshmen (White and Gonzales)."

Hradec Kralove finished the first period of action with a two-point, 23-21 advantage and extended its lead by eight, 29-21, in the second quarter before a 3-pointer from Chase brought BYU within five, 29-24, with 5:54 left in the first half of play.

The hosts continued to lead the way, up by seven, 36-29, with 3:45 remaining in the second quarter. Gonzales made it a two-point game, 36-34, after two free throws with 3:03 showing on the clock. Johnson scored on the next Cougar possession tying the game at 38. BYU’s strong defense kept Hradec Kralove from scoring the remainder of the period. The Cougars enjoyed a 42-38 advantage at the break after a last-second basket from Gonzales.

A quick start by BYU in the third quarter extended its lead to eight, 46-38, with 8:50 left in the period. The Cougars maintained their lead for most of the quarter. Back-to-back trips to the free throw line by Beckstrand gave BYU a 58-56 lead with 1:40 left, but a last-minute trey from the hosts gave Hradec Kralove a one-point, 59-58 edge to end the period.

In the final quarter, neither team was able to take a comfortable lead. The game was tied 71-71 with 4:27 left. A basket by Chase with 2:27 showing on the clock gave BYU its biggest lead of the quarter, 75-71. Two free throws and basket from Salmon in the final seconds clinched the 3-point, 79-76 Cougar win.

The team will head to Vienna, Austria on Wednesday, playing its next game on Thursday, Aug. 23.

Athlete journal by Ashley Beckstrand – Tuesday, Aug. 20

Today was completely magical! We ate some delicious breakfast in our hotel and then went on a tour to go see the biggest castle in the world.

Who knew that the largest castle in the world was located in Prague? I know I sure didn’t.

It was incredible to learn more about how their government is run and hear more about their rich history.

We toured for about three hours and then walked to our destination for some tasty lunch. Most of the team ordered spaghetti to get a carbohydrate overload, but I ate some unique Caesar salad. The food here has been different but still yummy.

Shortly after lunch, the girls left the parents to go shower and get cleaned up for the game. It took us about an hour and a half to arrive at the gym where we would play our first game.

About the game from athlete Paisley Johnson – Tuesday, Aug. 20

We won our first game 79-76. The first quarter was where we adjusted everything. We finally caught on to all of the different rules after that quarter. We also brought the same level of intensity they had.

The girls we played were really aggressive. They came to give us a tough game, which they did. We were neck-and-neck most of the time. They always pressured our guards in the front court so we needed to adjust to that. They were all shooters! Even their bigs would take deep shots so we went to a small rotation with Tahlia and I both playing the 4 at times.

The facility and gym were extremely hot. We take our air conditioning back home for granted. We started to sweat when we were just warming up. It was still a nice gym.

I like our team chemistry already. It’s awesome. We work well together and for the most part find the open player. This will be a great season for everyone. Be excited about our season!!!