Three players in double-digit points propel BYU women’s hoops to 78-51 victory over ZKD Ilirija

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – A balanced scoring effort helped the BYU women’s basketball team to a 78-51 victory over ZKD Ilirija in Slovenia Saturday.

Freshman Ashley Beckstrand’s 12 points off the bench along with Shalae Salmon’s 10 points and 10 rebounds, her second double-double on the tour, and 11 points from Jasmine Moody provided the lift the Cougars needed to clinch the win. BYU is now 3-0 on its European Tour with one game left.

Freshmen Shaylee Gonzales and Malli Valgardson contributed eight and seven points, respectively, with teammate Paisley Johnson tallying seven. Maria Albiero and Babalu Ugwu put up six points each. Albiero pulled down six rebounds while Gonzales led the way in assists with six.

“Jasmine and Shalae had an outstanding first half for us tonight,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “Our inside presence hurt them. Then in the second half other players stepped up like Ashley, Paisley and Shaylee. I think our team is learning how to play together and our balance will be one of our strengths this upcoming season.”

BYU grabbed 55 rebounds, dished out 16 assists and had six steals. As a team, they shot 44.2 percent from the field, 63.6 from the free throw line and 16.7 percent from behind the arc.

The Cougars have scored over 70 points in each of the three games to date on their tour.

Tied at 15 through the first 10 minutes of play, BYU’s inside presence took control in the second quarter. Beckstrand hit a 3-pointer when she checked with 7:28 left in the half to give the Cougars a five-point, 22-17 lead. Albiero extended the lead to seven, 24-17, taking the ball coast-to-coast for an easy layup. Salmon scored the last four points of the half to maintain a seven-point Cougar lead, 36-29, after getting her own rebound for an easy put-back.

In the second half, BYU took control of the game going up by 12, 49-37, with a two-pointer from Signe Glantz with under four minutes left in the third quarter. The Cougars would go up by 18, 55-37, to finish the period with Glantz’s second basket of the game.

A 3-pointer from Beckstrand with 5:35 remaining in the contest gave BYU a 21-point lead, 63-42.  She went on to score four of her team-best 12 points to finish the game and seal the Cougars’ 27-point win.

BYU makes its way through Italy starting Sunday, finishing with a game in Rome next Tuesday. Along the way, the team will make brief stops in Trieste, Venice and Florence. 

Athlete journal by Kaylee Smiler – Saturday, Aug. 25

It was raining the whole day in Bled, but that didn’t stop the team from having fun! There was no scheduled tour so we were free to do what we wanted. I had fruit salad, cereal and a bacon and egg croissant for breakfast, but there was a variety of other yummy food.

The entire team and some of the parents took a boat to see the monastery on the island inside Lake Bled. You could see the town, the mountains and the castle on the hill that we visited yesterday. We also learned a fun dance together.

We really wanted to go swimming in the lake but there were specific spots that you had to go to and we needed time to have lunch and prepare for our game.

After winning our game, we ate dinner and I noticed many people liked the salmon because it went really fast. I enjoyed the potatoes and the vegetables, especially broccoli. Besides the game, the best part of the day was after dinner when the team went for a night swim because the water was warm, everyone was there and we got to experience the night beauty of Lake Bled, Slovenia.

About the game from athlete Maria Albiero – Saturday, Aug. 25

We played in Slovenia today. It’s been a lot of fun to play in Europe and to learn more about different styles of basketball.

The beginning of the game was a little bit rough. It took us a few minutes to get going and to get into a rhythm. As we started to defend better we were able to get some easy layups and to make it a better game. We won by 27 points (78-51). Our team is getting better each day.

Our opponent was a good team. I thought they were well coached and that they moved the ball pretty well. They were a typical European team. Their posts were good shooters but they didn’t like to post up, which was good for us because we were able to have a strong presence in the key.  Shalae did an amazing job taking over the paint.

The facility we played in was nice. It wasn’t like the Marriott Center, of course, but it was fine. It wasn’t as hot as the previous gyms, but the court was wider than normal.

Overall I think our team did a good job. We’re learning how to play together and we are meshing well. Even though our shots weren’t going in as much, we had great effort defensively and we all had something to contribute. I expect great things from our team this year.