BYU Ready for Showdown With No. 16 Gonzaga

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball will take on No. 16 Gonzaga on Thursday, Feb. 18, in a showdown featuring the West Coast Conference’s top two teams. The game will tip-off at 6 p.m. MST and will be broadcast live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.

BYU vs. No. 16 Gonzaga Game Notes

ABOUT BYU (14-3, 10-2)

• The Cougars won a trio of road matchups last week against Pepperdine, Pacific and Saint Mary’s to improve to 14-3 on the season
• BYU sits in second place in the WCC standings, 2.5 games back from the Zags and 1.5 ahead of third place San Diego
• Lauren Gustin, who recorded her 10th double-double of the season against the Gaels on Saturday, ranks second in the nation in rebounds per game (12.9)
• Sara Hamson tied her career-high with nine blocks last Tuesday at Pacific and ranks 18th in the country in blocks per game (2.7)
• Shaylee Gonzales is the WCC’s second-leading scorer (17.8 ppg) and leads the team in assists (3.8 apg) and steals (2.5 spg)
• Following Gonzales, Paisley Johnson Harding (13.5 ppg), Gustin (12.1 ppg), Tegan Graham (8.2 ppg) and Maria Albiero (5.8 ppg) round out the Cougars’ top five scorers
• As a team, BYU ranks 14th in the country in field-goal percentage defense (.348) and 26th in assists per game (16.8)

ABOUT NO. 16 GONZAGA (18-2, 13-0)

• The Zags are fresh off a pair of home wins last week over San Francisco and Santa Clara. Gonzaga is currently on a 17-game winning streak and has not lost since Dec. 6
• Senior guard Jill Townsend (13.6 ppg) and senior forward Jenn Wirth (13.3 ppg) pace the Zags in scoring
• Following Townsend and Wirth, senior forward LeeAnne Wirth (8.9 ppg) and sophomore guard Kayleigh Truong (8.2 ppg) round out Gonzaga’s top four scorers
• Jenn Wirth is averaging a team-best 8.6 rebounds per game while Truong leads the team in assists (4.2 apg)
• Junior forward Anamaria Virjoghe is averaging a team-high 0.9 blocks per contest while senior guard Cierra Walker and Jenn Wirth both pace Gonzaga in steals (1.1 spg)
• As a team, the Zags lead the WCC in scoring offense (72.3), scoring defense (56.4), field-goal percentage (.474), rebounding margin (13.95) and assists per game (17.7)

SERIES HISTORY

• Gonzaga holds an 18-12 all-time series advantage over BYU, dating back to the 1983-84 season
• The Cougars are 7-4 when playing the Zags in the Marriott Center
• Earlier this season, Gonzaga came away with a 63-56 win over BYU in the Kennel

UP NEXT

The Cougars are scheduled to play their final home game of the season on Saturday, Feb. 20, against Portland. The game will tip-off at 2 p.m. MST and will be broadcast live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.