STOCKTON, Calif. – Sophomore guard Nani Falatea had a career-high 27 points and six 3-pointers but the BYU women’s basketball team suffered a 79-66 loss on the road to Pacific on Saturday afternoon.
Falatea made 9 of 19 from the field and 6 of 12 from distance, keeping pace with a Pacific team that shot 45.2 percent from the field and made 17 of 22 free throws to ice the game in the end. Falatea also had five steals and three blocks, also career bests.
The Cougars (12-10, 7-4) made a season-high 12 shots from behind the arc and shot 40.0 percent from the field overall but were outrebounded 38 to 32 and outscored in the paint 30 to 18. BYU cut the lead to one point midway through the third quarter but Pacific controlled the remainder of the game.
Forward Lauren Gustin grabbed 17 rebounds but scored only eight points to miss out on a double-double for just the second time in 22 games this year. Her 17 boards gave her 1,000 career rebounds at BYU.
Gustin is just the second Cougar to notch 1,000 boards, trailing only BYU Hall of Famer and All-American Tina Gunn Robison’s 1,482 on the all-time list at BYU.
Emma Calvert added 11 points while Kaylee Smiler had nine points on three 3-pointers. Arielle Mackey-Williams dished out six assists to tie a career-best.
First half
The first quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams tied at 20-20 at the end of 10 minutes. Pacific shot 60 percent from the field while BYU got four makes from downtown to keep pace.
The Tigers continued to work the paint and took a 30-25 lead in the first few minutes of the second quarter. After a Rose Bubakar three, Pacific added one more layup and led 41-34 at the break thanks to a 51.5 percent clip from the field.
Second half
Calvert hit a 3-pointer to give her 10 points and keep the Pacific lead at seven, trailing 44-37 with eight minutes to go in the third quarter. Smiler added another trey and Falatea drained her fourth of the game to make it a one-point game two minutes later with a 9-0 run.
Pacific answered however, with a 14-3 run to make it 58-46 with 1:36 left in the third quarter. Calvert made one and Falatea hit two freebies to make it 58-49 heading into the final frame.
The Tigers stayed in control and despite Falatea hitting her fifth and sixth triples in the fourth quarter, Pacific continued to cash in at the charity stripe and handed the Cougars a 79-66 loss.
BYU next plays on the road for the third consecutive game with a trip to San Diego on Feb. 4. The Cougars and Toreros will match up at 2 p.m. PST in the Jenny Craig Pavilion on the WCC Network.