No. 18 BYU Women Cruise To Blowout Win Over Saint Mary’s
Jan 13, 2022, 9:01 PM
Paisley Harding led BYU Women's Basketball in scoring with 18 points against Saint Mary's on January 13, 2022. (BYU Photo)
(BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – BYU women’s basketball remains undefeated in West Coast Conference play after crushing Saint Mary’s 78-36.
The 18th ranked Cougars never were threatened by the Gaels, who came into the game at 1-0 in league play and 7-5 overall. BYU closed the first quarter on a 14-0 run to go into the break with a 24-5 lead.
Dominant win from No. 18 #BYU Women's Basketball over Saint Mary's, 78-36.
Jeff Judkins' squad is now 13-1 overall and 3-0 in WCC play.#BYUWBB @kslsports
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 14, 2022
BYU’s “Big Three” of Shaylee Gonzales, Lauren Gustin, and Paisley Harding combined for 19 of the 24 points. That was the story of the night as BYU’s stars led the way to their 13th victory of the season.
Paisley Harding led the way with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field. Preseason WCC Player of the Year Shaylee Gonzales finished with 13 points in 24 minutes of action. Harding and Gonzales’s only struggles in the blowout win were shooting from the three-point. Together, they combined to go 0-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Keep it rolling 🍽 pic.twitter.com/ekO4QgS31p
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) January 14, 2022
BYU as a team didn’t shoot the ball well from three against Saint Mary’s, shooting 15%.
Lauren Gustin did what she does best, produce a double-double. Gustin scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in only 20 minutes on the floor.
Anything less than the second weekend in the NCAA Tournament might be an underachievement for this #BYU Women's squad. So much talent at the top of their roster.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) January 14, 2022
If you wanted to expand BYU’s “Big Three” to a “Big Four,” you’d likely include grad transfer Tegan Graham who is a steadying force on the floor at all times for the Cougars. Graham knocked down three 3-points and dished out seven assists with a game-high plus-41 in the plus/minus stats.
During the fourth quarter, BYU head coach Jeff Judkins gave a lot of minutes to some of the young freshmen in his program. Center Emma Calvert, a former Gatorade Player of the Year from Fremont High School, showed some of her solid low-post moves to go along with her stout defensive play. She ended up with four points, four rebounds, and two assists in 12 minutes.
Next Up
No. 18 BYU women’s basketball goes on the road this Saturday to take on the Loyola Marymount Lions in Gersten Pavilion. The tip-off is at 3 p.m. (MT) and will stream on the WCC Network.
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 him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
