BYU downs LMU 67-42 on Saturday afternoon

PROVO, Utah – Behind a season-high 21 assists, the BYU women’s basketball team beat LMU 67-42 on Saturday afternoon. 

“These girls show so much fight and so much character on bouncing back after that game on Thursday,” said head coach Amber Whiting. “They very easily could have folded, but they showed who they really are and I was proud of them today.”

BYU (13-12, 8-6) outrebounded LMU 42-33 and capitalized on 13 opponent turnovers for 19 points. The Cougars also notched 21 second-chance points and tallied a season-high 21 assists on 27 made baskets. BYU also had a season-low eight turnovers. 

With 21 points and 16 rebounds against LMU, Lauren Gustin now has 409 total points and 411 total rebounds this season, becoming the first player across all divisions of NCAA basketball, men or women, to notch the 400/400 mark this season. Gustin is just the third BYU women’s player to have 400/400 in a season, behind Tina Gunn Robison and Jennifer Hamson.

Three Cougars finished the game in double-digits against the Lions: Gustin (21), Nani Falatea (10) and Rose Bubakar (10). Falatea also tallied five rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals against LMU while Bubakar chipped in six boards and two assists.

Four different players had at least three assists with Falatea (5), Gustin (4), Arielle Mackey-Williams (5) and Emma Calvert (3). Mackey-Williams and Calvert each added nine points apiece. 

BYU held LMU to its second-lowest scoring output of the season, holding them to a 28 percent from the field and 27 percent from the 3-point line. The Cougars recorded five steals and four blocks on the defensive end to hold the Lions to their 42. 

Box Score

First Half
LMU saw the first points of the game go up, but Gustin answered back with a layup assisted by Calvert to put BYU on the board. After scoring in the first minute of the game, both teams saw a three-minute scoring drought before Calvert put up another basket for BYU’s first lead of the game, 4-2 midway through the first quarter.

With just under four remaining in the first quarter, Falatea knocked down a three off an assist by Mackey-Williams. After a few defensive stops and a three by Bubakar, the Cougars ended the first quarter with a 12-2 run over the Lions, up 12-3.

Bubakar started the second quarter with a layup and another trey, followed by a three-point play by Gustin to extend BYU’s lead by 10, with a score of 20-10. The Cougars went on a 10-0 run over LMU with back-to-back layups by Gustin and Calvert, a block and steal by Calvert, and a three by Mackey-Williams to put BYU up 30-12 with two minutes remaining in the first half.

A three by Kaylee Smiler closed out the first half and the Cougars went to the locker room ahead of the Lions 37-13. BYU notched 14 assists on 15 field goals, with assists from all eight players who saw minutes in the first half. 

The Cougars shot 60 percent from the 3-point line and 46 percent from the field in the first half. Leading the Cougars, Gustin had 11 points and nine rebounds. 

Second Half 
BYU started the second half strong with a Calvert layup and a set of triples from Mackey-Williams and Smiler. With a defensive rebound and a three-point play at the start of the third quarter, Gustin hit her 23rd double-double this season. 

A steal by Falatea and a layup by Mackey-Williams put the Cougars up 50-23 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Cougars forced three opponent turnovers in the third, capitalizing for five points.

With a three by Falatea and a layup by Gustin, the Cougars went up 63-36 with five minutes remaining in the game. With 10 points in the paint in the final quarter, BYU beat LMU 67-42 on Saturday afternoon. 

Up next, BYU travels to California to compete against Santa Clara in the Leavey Center on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed on the WCC Network.