Cougars drain 12 3s to defeat Tigers

PROVO, Utah – Paisley Johnson scored 24 points to lead BYU women’s basketball to a 65-54 win over Pacific on Saturday at the Marriott Center.

BYU vs. Pacific Final Box Score

"That was a great second half," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "Paisley (Johnson) kept us in it the first half with her scoring. Brenna (Drollinger) got more involved in the second half. I was so happy for Maria (Albiero) because she has worked so hard shooting hours and hours to have a game like that when we needed it. Sara (Hamson) took away at least 10-21 points tonight. We are really spoiled to have a player like that. Pacific played really well today. They’re a good team. We played like it really mattered today and they really wanted the win. I’m really happy for this team."

Johnson made a career-high five 3-pointers to lead the Cougars to a season-high 12 makes from behind the arc. The junior guard also added five assists and four steals in the win. Maria Albiero had 13 points and recorded a career-high eight assists while Sara Hamson was a force in the paint with eight points, eight blocks and seven rebounds.

Johnson started things off with a 3-pointer on the opening possession for BYU (15-9, 10-4). Hamson scored in the paint and Malli Valgardson Perri knocked down a shot from deep to give the Cougars an 8-4 lead over Pacific (14-12, 7-8). The Tigers made a jumper and a 3-pointer to close the gap to one point, 10-9, midway through the first period.

BYU failed to score through the remainder of the first quarter while Pacific added five more points to claim a 14-10 advantage heading into the second period.

Johnson ended the scoring drought with a jump shot to open the second quarter before splitting a pair of free throws to make the score 16-13. Hamson caused fits on the defensive end blocking four shots in the first five minutes of the quarter. After a Tiger trey, Babalu Ugwu made a layup to cut the deficit to 19-15.

Brenna Chase Drollinger drained a shot from downtown to bring the score within a single point while Johnson added a 3-pointer of her own to reclaim the lead for the Cougars, 21-19. After a pair of Pacific free throws knotted the game up at 21-all, Johnson knocked down her second 3-pointer to break the tie. The junior scored her third trey to of the quarter with 40 seconds on the clock to increase the lead to 27-23. The Tigers answered with a 3-pointer of their own to make it a one-point game at the half, 27-26.

BYU ended the half with six 3-pointers while shooting 42.9 percent from behind the arc. Johnson led both teams in scoring with 15 points while Hamson anchored the defense with six at the break.

The Cougars remained hot from behind the arc with Drollinger making a 3-pointer to begin the second half. Pacific scored consecutive baskets to even the score at 30-30 before taking the lead with a 3-pointer. Both teams traded baskets with Hamson scoring in the post and Johnson adding a jumper from deep to bring the score to 38-all five minutes into the third period.

Albiero broke the deadlock with a trey to retake the lead for BYU, 41-38. Hamson made a layup and Drollinger dropped another 3-pointer to fuel a 7-0 run. The Tigers scored a layup with under a minute remaining in the period to make the score 49-41 at the end of the third quarter.

Pacific scored five-straight points at the start of the final period of play to make it a three-point game, 49-46. Albiero scored back-to-back baskets from behind the arc to increase the Cougars’ advantage to 55-46. Johnson made a pair of free throws and Albiero drained a pull-up jumper from the elbow to extend the lead to 11 points, 59-48, with 4:17 left in the game.

Hamson scored a layup and Johnson added a fast-break basket down the stretch to help BYU remain in control and clinch the 65-54 victory.

The Cougars will hit the road to take on Santa Clara at the Leavey Event Center on Thursday, Feb. 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST and a live stream will be available on the WCC Network.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE: Head coach Jeff Judkins

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE: Paisley Johnson and Maria Albiero

Team Notes

• With 1,888 fans in attendance, today’s game was the second-highest attended home conference game this season. The highest was on Jan. 23 against San Francisco, where 2,203 fans attended.  
• BYU made a season-high 12 3-pointers on the game.
• Two Cougars scored in double figures for the seventh time this season, with Paisley Johnson recording 24 points and Maria Albiero adding 13.
• BYU shot 39 percent from the floor on the afternoon, 41 percent from 3-point range and 75 percent from the free-throw line.  
• The Cougars recorded 16 points in the paint to Pacific’s 14 and 11 fast-break points to the Tigers’ seven.
• In assists, BYU dished out 20 while Pacific had 14.
• The Cougars held the advantage in blocks (8-1), steals (8-7) and bench points (8-5).

Player Notes

• Johnson finished the game with a team-high 24 points, marking her second-highest scoring performance this season and 17th time this year scoring in double figures. She made a career-high five 3-pointers while also adding five assists, four steals and three rebounds in 40 minutes of play.
• Sara Hamson tallied six blocks during the first 20 minutes of action to go along with two points, one assist and one rebound. She ended the game with eight blocks and added eight points, seven rebounds and one assist. Her eight blocks were one shy of her season and career highs.
• Albiero set a new career-high in assists with eight. She also contributed 13 points, five rebounds and one steal.
• BrennaDrollinger filled the stat sheet with nine points, five assists, four rebounds and one steal.