Four double-digit scorers lead BYU to 80-68 win over San Diego

PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s basketball team claimed its fourth-straight win after beating San Diego, 80-68, at the Marriott Center on Saturday.

BYU vs. San Diego Box Score

"I’m very proud of how we played tonight, especially in the first half," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought we played with a lot of intensity and moved the ball. We took advantage of what we had against them. Paisley came out and gave us a good lift at the start of the game, Shaylee made some unbelievable plays and Sara had one of her best games offensively."

Brenna Chase and Shaylee Gonzales tied for the most points with 19 apiece. Chase also contributed three 3-pointers, three assists and two rebounds while Gonzales added one 3-pointer, six assists and three rebounds. Paisley Johnson provided 16 points and six rebounds while Sara Hamson added 12 points, tying her career high points in a game.

BYU (21-6, 13-3 WCC) began the first period with a commanding 6-0 lead over San Diego (8-19, 1-15 WCC) off of back-to-back three-point jumpers by Gonzales and Johnson. Halfway through the period, Hamson added a layup to the Cougar lead which was followed by a Babalu Ugwu shot drained in the paint to increase the lead to 15-4. With 1:13 left, Johnson hit two free throws to end the period with a four-point Cougar lead, 19-15.

The Toreros took the first points of the second period off a shot in the paint, bringing the score within two, 19-17. However, BYU responded with a pair of layups by Gonzales and Chase, 23-17. On a breakaway, Chase added to the lead with a drained layup and a pair of free throws to extend the Cougar advantage to 29-21. Gonzales then added a pair of baskets followed by a Maria Albiero shot in the paint; Chase scored on another fast break layup to end the half at 42-26 in favor of BYU.

To start the third period, Gonzales converted at the charity stripe, 44-26, putting her into double-digit points for the 25th time this season. BYU then added four more points to the board off of Johnson and Gonzales free throws to give them the first 20-point 50-30 lead of the game. The Cougars then went on a 7-0 run with three layups and a free throw with under five minutes left in the period going up 57-33. Chase then recorded her second trey from behind the arc, increasing the BYU lead 62-37. A San Diego jumper ended the third period with a 64-44 edge for the Cougars.

Gonzales hit back-to-back buckets at the start of the last period for a 68-44 score. After a run by the Toreros, BYU added a layup and a free throw to its lead, 76-52, with six minutes left in the game. San Diego continued to chip away at the deficit, adding a pair of free throws and jumpers to the board. However, BYU broke the streak off of Albiero buckets at the charity stripe. Eight shots at the charity line added to San Diego’s score, 78-66, but the Cougars were able to get in a layup by Ashley Beckstrand to end the game with an 80-68 victory.

The Cougars will play their second to last regular season game at home on Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7:00 p.m. MST at the Marriott Center. The game will be streamed online at TheW.tv and live stats will be available on the BYU women’s basketball schedule page.

Team Notes

The Cougars shot a season-best 54.5 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from 3 and 82.4 percent from the charity stripe.
This is the fifth time BYU has shot over 50 percent and has won all five games.
Four different Cougars scored double-digits in today’s contest for the seventh time this season.
The team is now 15-1 when they lead at halftime, as BYU was on top 42-26 going into the locker room.

Player Notes

Sara Hamson tied her career-high 12 points that was previously set in 2018 at San Diego. She also grabbed five rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
Brenna Chase recorded 19 points, four assists and two rebounds while Shaylee Gonzales also tallied 19 points, six assists and three rebounds.
Paisley Johnson tallied 16 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal.