PROVO, Utah — Kailey Woolston scored 18 points, leading BYU women’s basketball (8-2, 0-0 Big 12) to a 65-50 victory over Boise State (7-3, 0-0 MWC) at the Marriott Center on Saturday afternoon.
"We shared the ball well tonight," said head coach Amber Whiting. "We had 19 assists on 24 made shots. Emma Calvert had a career night as far as rebounds go so I was proud and happy for her to step in and do that."
After an off-night by Woolston's standards against the Aggies on Tuesday, the freshman went 7-for-11 from the floor, including a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. She also finished with three assists, a steal and a rebound.
Lauren Gustin contributed 16 points and secured 18 rebounds, marking her eighth double-double of the season and 64th of her career. Lauren Davenport scored eight points off the bench with four rebounds. Kaylee Smiler didn't miss from behind the 3-point line, going 2-for-2 for eight points and five assists.
In her first start of the season, Calvert scored six points and notched a career-high 14 rebounds, along with three assists and three blocks.
BYU shot 42 percent from the field while holding Boise State to 30 percent and 50 points, the Broncos' second-lowest scoring output of the season. The Cougars dominated the boards, outrebounding Boise State 52-39 with Gustin and Calvert combining for 32 alone.
With the win, the Cougars moved to 8-2 on the season marking the third time in the last 10 seasons that a BYU team has started the year by winning eight of the first 10 games.
First Quarter
The Cougars led 7-6 early in the game with a driving layup from Woolston, giving BYU the advantage with just under 5:30 remaining in the quarter.
Later in the quarter, a triple from Boise State tied the score at 11 before a turn-around floating layup from Davenport gave the Cougars a 15-13 lead at the quarter's end.
Second Quarter
A 3-pointer from Smiler and a bucket from Gustin helped BYU to a 20-13 lead to open the quarter.
The Cougars forced Boise State’s fourth turnover with a throwaway out of bounds, leading 22-14 and prompting the Broncos to call a timeout.
Boise State cut the lead to 32-26 before a corner triple from Smiler and a driving layup at the buzzer from Woolston extended BYU’s lead to 37-26 to close out the half.
Gustin and Woolston led BYU at the half with 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Cougars outrebounded Boise State 24-17 and outshot the Broncos in the half, 47 percent to 33 percent.
BYU’s 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc helped secure an 11-point advantage heading into the locker room.
Third Quarter
Boise State trimmed its deficit to 40-33 early in the quarter before an offensive rebound and layup from Calvert put BYU back up nine, 42-33.
Back-to-back blocks from the Cougars led to another Woolston triple, extending BYU’s lead to 46-33 with 4:36 remaining in the period.
The Cougars closed out the quarter with a corner three from Davenport, extending BYU’s lead to 53-37.
Fourth Quarter
Woolston made her fourth 3-pointer of the afternoon from the right corner to extend the Cougars' lead to 56-39 early in the final period.
BYU maintained its 63-45 lead following a jumper from Woolston with 3:39 remaining in the game. The Cougars held on to defeat the Broncos 65-50 moving to 8-2 on the season.
BYU will conclude its homestand against Idaho State at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Dec. 16 at 2 p.m. MST. Watch live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ or listen to live play-by-play of BYU and the Broncos on BYU Radio 107.9 FM or BYU Radio.org/BYU Radio app.