Lauren Gustin Grabs 21 Rebounds In BYU’s Crosstown Win Over UVU

PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s basketball took down crosstown rival Utah Valley on Tuesday night behind another dominant performance on the glass from Lauren Gustin.

The 6-foot-1 senior forward pulled down 21 rebounds and scored 13 points to lead BYU to a 59-44 win in front of 1,690 fans at the Marriott Center.

GOT IT DONE ☑️ pic.twitter.com/2o33u46xxK

— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) November 15, 2023

As a team, BYU outrebounded UVU 55-27 in a game that saw the Cougars debut their new alternate gray uniforms.

BYU Women’s Basketball improves to 3-0

For most players, 21 rebounds in a game would be a career-high. That’s not the case for Gustin, who was still six shy of her single-game best of 27 rebounds, which she set last year in the WCC Tournament against San Francisco.

BYU improves to 3-0 on the season. By comparison to last season, BYU didn’t reach its third win until December. Amber Whiting’s squad has taken advantage of the light non-conference slate to open the season.

Former BYU guard Amanda Barcello started for UVU

BYU had a wire-to-wire victory against the Wolverines, who fell to 1-1 on the season. Former BYU player Amanda Barcello started at guard for UVU. She finished with three points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field.

BYU pulled away from UVU in the second quarter, closing the first half on a 15-4 run. The final bucket of that second quarter was from Kailey Woolston, who had a career-high 19-point performance.

While Nani Falatea continues to be out with an injury, it’s created an opportunity for Woolston to begin her BYU career as a starter. She’s capitalizing on the moment. Along with scoring 19 points, Woolston grabbed 10 rebounds.

Fellow freshman guard Amari Whiting chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds.

BYU’s defense continues to shine in the early portion of the schedule. The Cougars limited UVU to 28.6% shooting from the field and only 17.6% from three.

You won’t see many games where a team wins despite shooting 36.4% from the free throw line. But BYU did that on Tuesday night. BYU is 301st nationally in free throw shooting this season.

Next Up for BYU, UVU women’s basketball

BYU is off to Hawaii for the North Shore Showcase at BYU-Hawaii. The Cougars will take on Wake Forest from the ACC this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (MT) on BYUtv. Then on Tuesday, the Cougars will face Saint Louis to close out the showcase event.

UVU goes back on the road to take on the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.

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