Women's hoops 2018-19 season review

PROVO, Utah — A third West Coast Conference Championship title, advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA tournament and an impressive 26-7 record highlighted the exciting and successful 2018-19 season for the BYU women’s basketball team.

2018-19 Final Season Notes

The 26 wins mark the 12th time that the team recorded at least 20 wins in a season under head coach Jeff Judkins. The total was just two victories shy of a career-best 28 victories.

After winning the WCC championship title, the Cougar women were the automatic team from the league to participate in the 2019 NCCA Women’s Basketball Championships. With a No. 7 seed, BYU traveled to Palo Alto, California to take on No. 10 seed, Auburn from the SEC in its first 2019 NCAA tournament game.  The Cougars beat the Tigers 73-64 advancing to the second round where they took on host Stanford, the No. 2 seed. BYU competed well and fought hard, but eventually fell 72-63 to the Cardinal, who went on to finish its season in the Elite Eight. The tournament appearance by the Cougar women was the seventh under coach Judkins and the 13th in program history. It was the third time in school history that the team was a No. 7 seed.

During the 2018-19 campaign, the Cougars went on an 11-game win streak that included an upset home win over then ranked No. 13/14 Gonzaga, 70-68. BYU’s success was recognized nationally as the team entered the Associated Press Top-25 Poll at No. 25 on Jan. 28. The team then fell out of the poll the following week and had 24 votes entering the NCAA tournament. BYU was last listed on the AP poll was during the 2011-12 season.

In their nonconference portion of the schedule, the Cougars picked up big wins over UC Riverside, Eastern Washington, Utah State, TCU, Cal Baptist University, UVU, Colorado State and Northern Colorado.

BYU finished the WCC race in second place with a 15-3 record collecting sweeps over Gonzaga, Pacific, Portland, San Francisco, San Diego and Santa Clara. For the first time in the series history with Gonzaga, the Cougars won in Spokane and also beat them in the WCC championship game in Las Vegas. In the preseason league race, the Cougars had been picked to finish third behind Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s.

Several BYU players received honors from the WCC. Junior Brenna Chase along with freshman Shaylee Gonzales was named to the WCC Women’s Basketball First Team. Sophomore Paisley Johnson made the Second Team while Gonzales made the All-Freshman team and was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year. Johnson was the 2019 MVP of the league tournament.

In the WCC, the Cougars finished ranked first in field goal percentage defense and in blocked shots; were second in scoring defense and in assists; placed third in scoring margin, field goal percentage, rebounding offense, assist/turnover ratio, defensive rebounds and in 3-point field goals made; and finished fourth in 3-point field goal percentage and in 3-point field goal percentage defense.

Chase led the league in 3-point field goals made and in minutes played while placing third in steals, fifth in assist/turnover ratio, and ninth in assists.  Sara Hamson led the conference in blocked shots, ninth in offensive rebounds and 14th in rebounding.

Gonzales ranked second in minutes played in the conference, third in scoring, sixth in steals, eighth in assist/turnover ratio and in assists. Johnson finished the season in third place in the league in minutes placed, 10th in scoring and in free throw percentage.

On the national scene, the Cougars concluded the year ranked 22nd in win/loss percentage, 24th in total blocked shots and 30th in blocked shots per game. In the assist/turnover ratio category, they were 47th and in assists they placed 56th.

BYU had two players that were ranked nationally consistently throughout the year. Hamson concluded her sophomore campaign ranked seventh in blocked shots per game and 11th in total blocked shots. Chase placed 38th in total minutes played, 43rd in 3-pointers per game and 45th in total 3-pointers made.

And when comparing freshman scoring, Gonzales ranked second nationally in points per game with a 17.0 average.  At BYU, her points per game average are the most by any freshman all-time.

During the season, the Cougars finished with a 19-1 record when leading at the half; went 23-3 when recording at least five 3-point buckets; had a 16-2 record when dishing out more assists and were 13-1 when pulling down more rebounds than their opponents. The team picked up season highs in points with 83; in rebounds with 54; in 3-pointers with 13; in assists with 23; in blocks with 13; and in steals with 14. In 14 of the games played, the team had at least three players score in double figures and in nine games, the Cougars finished with four players in double digits.

Gonzales finished her freshman campaign as the team’s leading scorer with a 17.0 average and also led the way in assists with a 4.1 average. She finished second in two other categories. She was second in steals with a 1.9 average and in rebounds pulling down 5.6 boards a game.

Johnson ended the year in second place in scoring with 14.5 points per game and was third in both assists and steals with a 3.0 and 1.4 average, respectively.

Chase was the team’s third-leading scorer with a 12.8 average. She also led the way in steals with a 2.2 average for a total of 73 steals. For the second straight year, Hamson led the team in blocked shots and in rebounding with a 2.8 and 5.9 average, respectively.

With all significant contributors except one senior and starter back next year, the future looks bright for the women’s basketball program. The Cougars are poised to become a strong consistent contender to win the league year in and year out and advance further in the NCAA tournament in the years to come.