Four players score in double-digits as BYU downs Santa Clara 71-48

PROVO, Utah — Four different players scored in double-digits as the Cougars downed Santa Clara 71-48 in a West Coast Conference contest at the Marriott Center on Saturday. 

BYU vs. Santa Clara Final Box Score

“I thought today was really one of our best offensive performances," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "Our inside presence really showed this afternoon. Sara [Hamson] offensively was outstanding, and Shalae [Salmon] did what Shalae needed to do in the second half." 

BYU jumped out to a hot start and a 6-0 lead behind layups from Brenna Chase Drollinger and Sara Hamson, followed by a fadeaway mid-range jumper from Maria Albiero. 

The Cougars continued to shoot well throughout the first part of the quarter making 4 of 6 from the field to shoot 67 percent. Hamson contributed early by grabbing three rebounds in the first five minutes of the opening period.

Drollinger dropped another bucket from the baseline and Paisley Johnson added a layup of her own through contact. Strong defense from the Cougars held the Broncos to 3 of 16 shooting from the field. Drollinger ended the quarter with a driving layup in the final seconds to make the score 14-9 for BYU after the first period. 

The second quarter started with an offensive rebound from senior Jasmine Moody that led to a quick layup from Hamson to make the score 16-9. Hamson slashed to the rim for another layup to extend the Cougar lead.

Malli Valgardson Perri added a turnaround jumper of her own near the rim that was followed by another layup by Hamson. Babalu Ugwu added two buckets back-to-back to give BYU its largest lead of the half at 11 points to make the score 27-16. 

The Cougar defense held Santa Clara to 8 of 31 (25.8 percent) shooting and 4 of 16 (25 percent) from three in the opening half. Hamson led all scorers with 10 points herself on 5 of 8 shooting as well as grabbing a game-high five rebounds. 

The first half concluded with two driving layups from Johnson, the second coming with three seconds left before the buzzer sounded as BYU ended the half with the lead, 31-22.

Third period scoring began with a trey from Moody to make the lead 34-22. The Broncos responded with a three of their own before Hamson added another bucket at the rim. 

After a rebound from Hamson, Johnson dished a quick pass to Moody for a layup to make the score 40-29. Johnson was fouled on an ensuing three and drained two of her three shots to extend the Cougar lead even further. 

Back-to-back buckets from Ugwu gave the Cougars their largest lead of the afternoon up to that point as she made a wide-open layup followed by a three-point shot. 

Albiero stole the ball with seconds left in the quarter and dished the ball to Shalae Salmon who rolled the ball in as time expired. Her layup made the BYU lead 51-36 at the end of the third. 

The final quarter began with back-to-back shots from Drollinger and Salmon to make the Cougar lead 55-36. Johnson completed a 3-point play after making a contested layup to give BYU a 61-39 advantage.

Perri dropped a midrange bucket and freshman Kaylee Smiler drained a three-pointer in the final two minutes. The final points for the Cougars came from a Perri trey as BYU put the game away, 71-48.

The Cougars return to action on Thursday, January 30, to take on conference foe Portland in the Chiles Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PDT. The game will be broadcast on the WCC Network.

Team Notes

• BYU shot 52.6 percent from the floor while holding Santa Clara to just 23.7 percent.
• The Cougars dominated down low, recording 46 points in the paint compared to the Broncos’ 10.
• BYU held the advantage in bench points 21-3.
• In assists, the Cougars dished out 20 on the game while Santa Clara tallied eight.
• BYU recorded five blocks to the Broncos’ two, and five steals to Santa Clara’s three.
• 13 different Cougars saw playing time during the 71-48 win, with nine of them scoring.

Player Notes

• Four Cougars reached double figures in scoring for the fourth time this season, with Sara Hamson dropping a team-high 15 points, Paisley Johnson scoring 12, Babalu Ugwu adding 11 and Brenna Chase Drollinger contributing 10.
• Sara Hamson scored 10 points during the first half to go along with five rebounds and two blocks. She finished the contest with 15 points on 7 of 10 shooting while also adding seven rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
• Paisley Johnson recorded seven points, three assists and one rebound during the first 20 minutes of play. She ended the game with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting and added four assists, two rebounds and one block.
• Babalu Ugwu tallied 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting while adding four rebounds and one assist.
• Brenna Chase Drollinger contributed 10 points, four assists, four rebounds and one block.
• Malli Valgardson Perri tied her career-high in points with seven and added three rebounds and one steal.