Cougars fall in NCAA second round to Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 7-seed BYU women’s basketball team fell 72-63 to No. 2 Stanford in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on Monday night at Maples Pavilion.

BYU vs. Stanford Box Score

"I am very proud of my team and I felt like they came out with a lot of fight and did the things we needed to do," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We just had one bad quarter and against a great team like Stanford you can’t afford to do that. I am just really proud of them. We are young and this is something we have been working hard for. It’s just a start for us and we will continue to get better. Stanford is a very good team, very seasoned and well coached. Someday that is where we are going to be. There is no doubt in my mind."

Shaylee Gonzales led BYU (26-7) with a career-best 32 points, five rebounds, two steals and one assist. Paisley Johnson contributed 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal.

In the first quarter, BYU started strong, with Johnson scoring on a fast break to give the Cougars the first basket of the game, then using a 7-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage after the end of the quarter.

Johnson scored a trey to kick off the second quarter, but Stanford (30-4) answered with nine-straight points to take a 20-18 lead with 6:50 remaining in the first half. A 3-pointer by the Cardinal gave them a 28-27 lead and as the time ran out a jumper kept Stanford on top by two going into halftime, 31-29.

The third quarter started as a 3-point showdown. Gonzales hit back-to-back treys and the first three buckets for the Cardinal were all from beyond the arc for a 40-35 Stanford advantage. Stanford ran away in the final minutes of the period as the Cougars were only able to score one more trey by Jasmine Moody and trailed by 15 going into the fourth quarter.

As the Cardinal continued to dominate on their offensive end of the court, Brenna Chase scored a pair of 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 61-48.

The BYU defense grabbed three steals in a row to cut the lead to single digits, 69-58, with just over a minute to play; however, Stanford secured its win from the free throw line.

On the game, the Cougars shot 38.5 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from 3 and 62.5 percent from the free throw line. The Cardinal recorded 41.3 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from beyond the arc and 42.1 percent from the charity stripe.

BYU Postgame Quotes from Locker Room

BYU Press Conference

Postgame Notes 

Team

 With the 72-63 loss to Stanford, BYU women’s basketball finishes its season with a 26-7 record. It is head coach Jeff Judkins’ 12th 20+win season while at the helm of the women’s program.

The Cougars pulled down 26 rebounds in the first half to the Cardinal’s 25. For the game, Stanford got the advantage grabbing 43 to BYU’s 40.

BYU shot 38.5 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from 3-point range and 62.5 percent from the free-throw line.

For the sixth time on the year, BYU finished the game with two players scoring in double figures. Shaylee Gonzales (32) and Paisley Johnson (11)

Player

Freshman Shaylee Gonzales had a career- and game-high 32 points. She had 15 of those in the first half for her second-highest of the season. On the game, she recorded her ninth game with 20+points and the first with 30+ points.

Sophomore Paisley Johnson finished the game with 11 points for her 29th game with 10+points. She grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists.

Junior Brenna Chase had a team-best three assists along with eight points and two steals.

Senior Jasmine Moody came off the bench scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds.