Cougars fall to No. 12 Gonzaga 59-44 on the road

SPOKANE, Wash. — Despite a season-high 24 points from Brenna Chase Drollinger, the BYU women’s basketball team fell 59-44 to No. 12 Gonzaga Saturday afternoon at the McCarthey Athletic Center.

BYU at Gonzaga Final Box Score

"We came out playing really well early in the game," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We just needed to sustain that level of play. We took them out of their offense for much of the game, but they still got some shots. We’re a good team and we’ll bounce back. I thought Brenna had an outstanding game tonight, both offensively and defensively."

Drollinger shot 10 of 17 from the field, including four of eight from three-point range to reach 24 points while also adding two rebounds and one assist. Paisley Johnson added seven points to go along with two rebounds and one assist, while Sara Hamson contributed nine rebounds, three points, two steals and two blocks. Babalu Ugwu chipped in four points, four rebounds and three steals for the Cougars (13-8, 8-3).

Hamson scored BYU’s first points of the game with a put-back layup to bring the score to 4-2 for Gonzaga (22-1, 11-0) three minutes into the contest. Drollinger then scored a floater in the lane and a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Cougars an 8-5 lead. A Johnson pull-up jumper put BYU up 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.

A mid-range jumper by Johnson followed by a baseline floater by Drollinger and a pair of free throws by Maria Albiero put the Cougars up nine, 16-7, two minutes into the second quarter. The Bulldogs responded, however, with a 7-0 run to come back within two, 16-14.

Back-to-back triples from the left wing by Drollinger then gave BYU a 22-14 advantage with four minutes left in the half. Gonzaga answered with a 12-3 run to take a 26-25 lead into the locker room.

After the Bulldogs opened the second half on an 8-2 run, a deep trey by Drollinger and a layup by Ugwu brought the Cougars within two, 34-32. Gonzaga proceeded to score eight unanswered points before a Drollinger mid-range jumper brought BYU within six, 40-34, at the end of the third quarter.

Drollinger hit a jumper to stop an 8-1 Bulldog run and bring the Cougars within 11, 48-37, with 4:25 left in the game. Drollinger drained two more mid-range jumpers to bring the score to 51-41 for Gonzaga with 2:28 remaining. Despite a late 3-pointer by Johnson, the Bulldogs held on to secure the 59-44 win.

Up next, BYU travels to take on San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m. PST at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. A live video stream of the game will be available on the WCC Network.

Team Notes

• BYU shot 39.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from the charity stripe in the first half. For the game, the Cougars shot 37.2 percent from the field, 25 percent from 3-point range and 58.3 percent from the free-throw line.
• Gonzaga had the advantage in assists through the first half of action with six. BYU dished out three. At the conclusion of the game, the Bulldogs had recorded 15 assists to the Cougars' five.
• BYU pulled down the most rebounds in the game with 37. Gonzaga grabbed 25.

Player Notes

• Brenna Chase Drollinger led all scorers at the break with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the field, picking up her 12th game with double-digit points. She finished the contest with a game-high and season-best 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the field and 4 of 8 shooting from behind the arc. Drollinger also pulled down two rebounds.
• Sara Hamson grabbed six rebounds in the first half to lead all players in that category. She finished with a game-best nine rebounds along with three points while also tying for game bests in blocks with two and had two steals.
• Babalu Ugwu scored four points, pulled down four rebounds and had a team-best three steals.