Clutch play gives BYU 62-57 overtime win at Utah State

LOGAN, Utah – Brenna Chase had a block, a steal and a 3-pointer all within the final minute Tuesday to give BYU women’s basketball its second overtime win of the season, 62-57, over Utah State.

Final Box Score for BYU vs. Utah State

“This was a fun and scary game to coach," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought we came out and played a lot better in the second half, especially the fourth quarter and overtime."

Chase finished with 13 points on the night, including three 3-pointers in the second half alone, representing all of BYU’s makes from behind the arc. Freshman guard Shaylee Gonzales led all players in scoring with a career-high 20, while she and Chase both contributed three steals each. Paisley Johnson joined the two guards in double figures with 10, including a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.

After getting beat 17-7 in the opening quarter, BYU fired back with a 14-9 advantage in the second to bring them within five at the half, 26-21. The Cougars struggled to shoot the ball in the first half, missing all seven of their 3-point attempts.

BYU took a brief lead, 31-30, with three minutes remaining in the third quarter, but a 10-3 run by the Aggies to close the period gave USU a six-point lead, 40-34, going into the fourth.

Gonzales was the first Cougar to hit double digits with 11 on an and-one to open the fourth quarter. Gonzales got two more free throws to bring the Cougars back within two, 41-39. The game was then tied at 43 on a fast-break layup from Chase to give her 10 points. BYU took a 46-45 lead on another Gonzales free throw with five minutes left in the game, as the freshman had 10 of her 20 total points in the fourth quarter alone.

Jasmine Moody fouled out with two minutes remaining, exiting the game with five points and six rebounds. Shalae Salmon stepped up for the Cougars down low, finishing with nine rebounds on the night. A foul in the final minute sent USU back to the free-throw line, where a pair of shots put them up, 55-53, but a layup by Johnson with 30 seconds to go sent the game to overtime.

Gonzales scored first for the Cougars in overtime to reach 20 points for the first time in her  BYU career. Chase blocked a shot to potentially put the Aggies up in the final minute and then hit a straightaway 3-pointer to put BYU up, 60-57, with 33 seconds remaining in overtime.

Freshman Babalu Ugwu forced a held ball to give the Cougars the ball back with 15 seconds to go, and Johnson hit both of her free throws to put BYU up for good. The Aggies brought the ball back up to try and close the gap, but Chase’s third steal of the game squandered any such hopes.

BYU outscored the Aggies 28-17 in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a 7-0 run to end the game. The Cougars forced 19 total turnovers on the Aggies, including five in overtime alone, and scored 15 points off of them to finish with the edge. 

The Cougars stay on the road to play TCU Friday, Nov. 23 as part of the SDSU Thanksgiving Classic at Viejas Arena in San Diego. The game tips off at 7:15 pm PDT and can be streamed live at gofrogs.com/HFTV. 

Postgame Notes – At Utah State

Team

• The win improved the Cougars' record to 3-1 on the season.
• In the road victory, BYU shot 38.6 percent from the field, 68.2 percent from the free throw line and 25.0 percent from 3-point range.
• For the third time on the season, three Cougars finished with double digits in points. Shaylee Gonzales (20), Brenna Chase (13) and Paisley Johnson (10).
• BYU finished the game getting 30 points in the paint compared with 20 for Utah State.
• The Cougars tallied 15 points off of Utah State turnovers. The Aggies got nine points from BYU miscues.
• The Aggies won the rebound battle in the game, grabbing 44 boards to the Cougars 37. They also dished out more assists (16) to BYU’s 10 and recorded seven blocks to the Cougars three.
• BYU finished the game with the advantage in steals with nine. USU had six. 

Player

• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales led BYU in the first half with six points. She finished the contest with game and career highs in points with 20. Gonzales also grabbed five rebounds and tied for team bests in assists and in steals with three each.
• Junior Shalae Salmon led the way for the Cougars in rebounds with nine while contributing seven points in the win.
• Junior Brenna Chase had 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, two blocks and tied for team bests in steals with three.
• For the fourth straight time, sophomore Paisley Johnson concluded the game with double-figure points, tallying 10 to go along with four rebounds, one assist and one steal.
• Before fouling out, senior Jasmine Moody contributed six points, five rebounds and two assists in the win.