Cougars take down Knights 64-60 for third straight Big 12 win

ORLANDO — BYU women's basketball took down the UCF Knights, 64-60, fueled by Lauren Gustin, Amari Whiting and Kailey Woolston all scoring in double figures.

Gustin continued her inspired play as she led the Cougars with 22 points on 11-of-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, a steal and an assist. The senior was aided by the freshman backcourt of Kailey Woolston and Amari Whiting, who finished with 18 and 11 points, respectively. 

Woolston went 5-for-10 from the field including 2-of-5 from downtown en route to her eighth straight double-digit scoring performance. She also recorded five rebounds and an assist. Whiting finished with 11 points on 4-of-10 from the field, five rebounds and an assist. Kaylee Smiler contributed six of the Cougars' 14 assists on the night.

After trailing at the half, 38-31, BYU outscored the Knights 23-6 in the third quarter alone and down the stretch held on to earn the team's second Big 12 road win. The Cougars gave up 12 offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points to the Knights in the opening half, but the BYU defense held UCF to only two offensive boards and zero second-chance points in the second half. 

The Cougars finished off their road trip going 2-0 with wins over Cincinnati and UCF to move to 5-8 in conference play.

First Quarter

The Knights took control early, leading 9-2 over the Cougars in the first three and a half minutes of play. BYU responded, however, as Kaylee Smiler forced a turnover and passed to Kailey Woolston, who dropped a deep two for her first points of the night. After UCF countered with a made bucket from behind the arc, Gustin followed on the offensive end with a layup off the glass to make the deficit 12-6 before the media timeout. 

Later, another UCF turnover led to a Smiler right-wing triple, which put BYU within one at 15-14. UCF would go on to push its advantage but Amari Whiting drew a foul with under one second left in the quarter, sinking one of two shots to end the quarter with BYU trialing by three at 20-17. 

Second Quarter

Whiting opened the scoring in the second for BYU with layups on consecutive possessions. The Cougars were held without a field goal for 3:31 with only two free throw makes from Lauren Davenport to keep BYU in the mix.

The Knights controlled the boards, outrebounding the Cougars 24-13 with 10 offensive rebounds to the Cougars’ one in the first half, scoring 11 second-chance points.

Third Quarter

The Cougars started the second half strong with a second-chance layup by Gustin. A turnover by the Knights on the next possession led to a made jumper by Woolston before she connected from behind the arc to knot the game at 38 apiece just 2:10 into the quarter. A drive by the Knights was blocked by Smiler, leading to a fast-break layup by Whiting for BYU's first lead of the game and forcing a UCF timeout.

The Knights responded with a drive of their own to tie the game, but Emma Calvert nailed a left-wing triple before Woolston went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe followed by another three for the freshman just moments later. With time winding down, a spin move by Gustin led to a layup at the buzzer to give the Cougars a 54-44 lead going to the fourth quarter. 

Fourth Quarter

BYU would add to the lead with six straight points from Gustin and Woolston and lead by a game-high 14 with 6:55 remaining in the game. The Knights wouldn't go quietly as they scored 14 of the next 16 points to draw within one possession with 30 seconds remaining. 

A UCF foul sent Woolston to the line in the waning seconds, and she drained both free throws to all but ice the game. BYU's defense held on the Knight's last possession to give the Cougars a 64-60 win on the road.

Up Next

The Cougars will return to Provo to face the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday at the Marriott Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. MST with the game being broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The game will also be available on BYU Radio 107.9, BYURadio.org and the BYU Radio App with play-by-play from Jason Shepherd.