Solid shooting gives BYU 82-59 win over San Francisco

PROVO, Utah – Four Cougars scored in double figures as BYU defeated San Francisco 82-59 Thursday night in the Marriott Center.

BYU vs. San Francisco Box Score

"These girls have really learned to trust each other and have been fun to coach," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "This team is very versatile – probably one of the best teams I’ve had. We have a lot of weapons and a strong bench."

Shaylee Gonzales led the team with 16 points while Paisley Johnson followed with 15 points and four assists. Brenna Chase and Maria Albiero were the other two in double figures with 13 and 10, respectively.

Sara Hamson led all players with 12 rebounds while adding nine points. The Cougars totaled 29 points from their bench while the Dons tallied 18 points.

"Sara has gotten a lot better," Judkins added. "She is way more active, rebounding better and being more aggressive offensively. The girls that came in at the end worked so hard. They came out and played with a lot of intensity and executed the ball. I think they came out playing as well as the starters and that’s very rewarding as a coach."

The Cougars (22-6, 14-3 WCC) opened the game against the Dons (6-22, 2-15 WCC) by winning the tip and allowing Johnson to go up for a quick layup in their first possession. She took the first free throws of the game with five minutes left in the quarter, to increase BYU’s lead to 14-11. With seven seconds left, Hamson made an and-one, to bring the Cougar lead to 21-15 at the end of the first quarter.

An assist from Johnson gave Hamson the first basket of the second quarter. San Francisco had a hot start to tie the game at 25-25. Chase quickly answered with a trey as BYU held San Francisco scoreless for the next six minutes while going on a 13-0 run to finish the half leading 41-27.

The Cougars maintained their 51-33 lead in the third quarter with baskets from Johnson and Hamson. Albiero contributed five points towards the end of the quarter and Jasmine Moody made a jumper with three seconds left to bring the score to 63-41 in favor of BYU.

Coming out tough for the Cougars, Albiero hit a 3 in the third minute of the fourth quarter to bring energy to the court. Moody and Babalu Ugwu scored on back-to-back possessions, bringing the score to 73-47. Hitting the first basket of her career, Abby Mangum contributed a trey for BYU adding to the 78-50 score.

After a 2:37 scoring drought, San Francisco scored on a lay-in to bring the score to 78-52. The Dons would score seven more points to finish with 59 in the game. Mangum hit BYU’s final points with four made free throws for the final 82-59 victory.

BYU plays its final WCC game hosting Santa Clara on Saturday, Mar. 2, at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv.

Team Notes

• The Cougars shot 50.0 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from 3 and 65.2 percent from the charity stripe.
• This is the sixth time BYU has shot over 50 percent and has won all six games.
• Four different Cougars scored double-digits in today’s contest for the eighth time this season.
• The team is now 16-1 when they lead at halftime, as BYU was on top 41-27 going into the locker room.
• After tallying 13 assists, the Cougars are 13-2 when dishing out the most assists of the game.
• On the night, BYU hit nine 3-pointers to increase its record to 20-3 when scoring five or more treys.
• All eligible players on the roster earned playing time in tonight’s matchup.

Player Notes

• Abby Mangum scored her first bucket as a Cougar when she buried a trey in the fourth quarter. She finished the game with four points from the charity stripe to total seven points on the night.
• Sara Hamson grabbed 12 rebounds for a new season-high, adding nine points on the night.
• Maria Albiero shot 100 percent, 4 of 4 from the field, including a pair of baskets from beyond the arc.