Gonzales double-double leads BYU over San Francisco 67-59

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif – A 19-point, 10-rebound double-double from Shaylee Gonzales gave BYU women’s basketball (10-3, 2-0 WCC) the edge in a 67-59 win over San Francisco (5-8, 1-1 WCC) Monday.

BYU vs. San Francisco Final Box Score 

"I thought our bigs played really well in the second half and we got another great defensive effort," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We haven’t won here in a couple of years so this feels good to get a win."

Gonzales shot 7 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 6 on 3-pointers to lead all scorers with 19 points. Her 10 rebounds gave the freshman her second double-double of the season. Brenna Chase contributed an all-around line with 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Johnson had nine points and four rebounds while Jasmine Moody had eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks. 

BYU struggled offensively in the opening quarter, scoring just nine points on 4 of 19 shooting from the field. The Dons ended the quarter on a 12-2 run to go up, 16-9 after one period.

The Cougars fought back in the second quarter, and an and-one from Johnson gave BYU the lead, 21-20, midway through the period. USF regained the lead in the final minute of the half, despite an 18-12 advantage in the quarter for BYU.

Johnson led the Cougars in scoring in the first half with seven points, while Gonzales added six rebounds. Babalu Ugwu contributed six points in the half and Chase led in assists with three.

Gonzales hit her second 3-pointer of the game with 3:21 left in the third quarter to give BYU the lead, 41-40 and put her in double digits with 12 points. She hit another three just seconds later to give BYU its largest lead, 50-45 late in third quarter. A USF 3-pointer brought them within two, 50-48 heading into the final period.

A 3-pointer from Chase put her in double digits with 12 and extended the BYU lead to eight, 62-54 early in the fourth quarter. Free throws from Jasmine Moody gave BYU its first double-digit lead, 64-54 with 3:21 remaining. Gonzales reached the second double-double of her career with 10 rebounds in the final period as well.

BYU returns home to take on Pepperdine Thursday, Jan. 3, at 7 p.m. MDT in the Marriott Center. The game will be televised on BYUtv.

Postgame Notes at San Francisco

Team

• With the 67-59 West Coast Conference road win at San Francisco, BYU women’s basketball improved its record to 10-3, 2-0 on the year.
• In the first half of play, BYU had the advantage in blocks with three to USF’s one. For the game, the Cougars got five blocks to the Dons three. The visiting Cougar team also tallied more steals with six while USF got four.
• For the third time on the year, BYU finished the game with two players scoring in double figures. Shaylee Gonzalez got a game-high 19 points with teammate Brenna Chase contributing 13 points in the win.
• Both teams tied in the rebounds category with each team pulling down 39.
• The Dons had the advantage in assists in the game with 18 to BYU’s 12.

Player

• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales pulled down six rebounds in the first 20 minutes to lead the Cougar team in that category. She finished the game with a game-best 10 rebounds to go along with a game-high 19 points for her second double-double of the year. Her stat line also included two assists, one block and one steal.
• In the first half of action, junior guard Brenna Chase had dished out three assists, the most on the team. She added two more in the second half for a team-best five assists. Chase picked up her 10th and third straight game contributing double-digit points with 13. She also pulled down five rebounds, one block and a game-best three steals.
• Senior Jasmine Moody came off the bench contributing eight points, going 6 of 7 from the free throw line and grabbed six rebounds. She also got a team-high two blocks.
• Sophomore guard Paisley Johnson finished the game with nine points, four rebounds and two assists.