No. 17 BYU Women Seeking Revenge During WCC Tournament
Mar 6, 2022, 8:24 PM
BYU women's basketball guard Paisley Harding was named a First Team All-WCC performer. (Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
(Jaren Wilkey/BYU Photo)
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – BYU women’s basketball has been a powerhouse this season. The Cougars enter the postseason with a 25-2 record and are outright West Coast Conference regular-season champions. With that much success this season, how could BYU possibly want revenge?
Well, their WCC Tournament Semifinal opponent, Portland, is the only WCC team that defeated No. 17 BYU this season. Portland took down BYU 75-64 in the Chilles Center on February 3. The meeting in Provo was canceled due to COVID issues within the Pilot program in January.
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Then if BYU gets by the Pilots, they could possibly face No. 2 Gonzaga, who took down BYU last year in Vegas on a last-second shot in the 2021 WCC Tournament.
So yes, revenge is on the mind for BYU.
The Cougars have had a long break to get ready for the WCC tournament. Because they earned the No. 1 seed in the WCC Tourney, BYU was given a three-round bye, placing them in the semis.
A special year for BYU Women’s Basketball
It’s been a special year for BYU. This team set the program record for most wins in a regular season with 25. But now they are looking for more.
“There’s no question that this was probably the best conference season that I’ve had, going 15-1 and being able to win the conference and be able to beat Gonzaga twice. That’s pretty hard to do,” BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. “I’m hoping that we go farther. My good teams that I’ve had have done well in the NCAA Tournament and done well in the conference tournament. If this team wants to be the best, it will have to do well in those. I can’t be more happy for what they’ve accomplished.”
BYU boasts one of the nation’s top trio of stars in All-WCC First Team Selections Shaylee Gonzales, Lauren Gustin, and Paisley Harding. The three consistently lead BYU in scoring on a nightly basis and Gonzales is the best of the bunch earning her first outright WCC Player of the Year recognition this season.
BYU vs Portland: 2022 WCC Tournament
Date: Monday, March 7, 2022
Tip: 1 p.m. (MT)
TV: BYUtv/RSN/WCC Network
Projected Starters
No. 17 BYU (25-2)
G – Shaylee Gonzales, 5-10, RS-Soph.
G – Paisley Harding, 5-9, Sr.
G – Maria Albiero, 5-8, Sr.
G – Tegan Graham, 6-0, Gr.
F – Lauren Gustin, 6-1, Soph.
Portland (19-9)
G – Rose Pflug, RS-Jr.
G – Emme Shearer, Fr.
G – Maddie Muhlheim, Sr.
F – Alex Fowler, Soph.
F – Lucy Cochrane, Soph.
Tale of the tape
Scoring offense – BYU: 79.2; Portland: 71.8
Scoring defense – BYU: 58.0; Portland: 61.7
Scoring margin – BYU: 21.2; Portland: 10.1
FG percentage – BYU: 47.7%; Portland: 44.2%
3-PT FG percentage – BYU: 33.7%; Portland: 26.6%
Rebound margin – BYU: 5.2; Portland: 2.1
Turnover margin: BYU – 5.59; Portland: 2.61
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.
