Gustin and Woolston garner All-Big 12 Honors

BYU’s Lauren Gustin and Kailey Woolston each received Big 12 All-Conference honors, the conference announced on Tuesday afternoon.

Author Austin Rustand
Big 12 Honors-Web (1)Big 12 Honors-Web (1)

IRVING, Texas — BYU’s Lauren Gustin and Kailey Woolston each received Big 12 All-Conference honors, the conference announced on Tuesday afternoon.

"I am super proud of Lauren and Kailey for all they accomplished in our first year in the Big 12," said BYU head coach Amber Whiting. "Lauren is as good at her position as anyone in the country and she is incredibly deserving of this honor. Kailey was asked to fill a void for our team, and despite being young and inexperienced at the college level, she has stepped up in every way that we needed her to."

Lauren Gustin is recognized after breaking BYU's all-time rebounding record with 1,483 rebounds and counting.

Gustin was named to the All-Big 12 First Team, her fourth All-Conference First Team honor in four seasons at BYU since transferring from Salt Lake Community College. The senior leads BYU in scoring at 17.3 points per game, having scored 20 or more points in seven of the final 11 games. 

The Salem, Utah native also leads the Cougars and the nation in rebounds with 15.4 per contest, double-doubles with 29 in 31 games, total rebounds (476) and defensive rebounds per game (10.3) while ranking second in the country with 5.1 offensive rebounds per game.

Gustin is the fourth-ranked rebounder in the history of NCAA women’s basketball and BYU’s all-time rebounding leader with 1,666 rebounds and counting. She is a four-time all-conference first-team honoree, was named the 2023 WCC Defensive Player of the Year and an AP All-American in 2021.

Kailey Woolston hits a runner in a BYU women's basketball game against Iowa State.

Woolston was named an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after putting together one of the best freshman campaigns in recent BYU history as she led the Big 12 and ranked third in the NCAA in three-point percentage at 45.6 percent. She also ranked second in the conference, 18th nationally in made three-point field goals with 78 and second in the Big 12, and 32nd in the NCAA for three-point field goals per game at 2.52.

The freshman is the second-leading scorer for the Cougars at 13.4 points per game while shooting 46.4 percent from the field, 45.6 percent from behind the loop and a team-best 83.6 percent from the charity stripe. Woolston also recorded 3.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and nearly a steal per game during her highly touted freshman campaign.

Woolston scored in double figures in 24 of 31 games, scoring over 15 points 14 times and recording two 20-point games as a freshman. The Lone Peak High School product scored a career-high 26 points against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse, making 6-of-10 attempts from downtown. Woolston also recorded her first career double-double with 19 points and 10 boards in a win over cross-town rival Utah Valley.

After a stellar freshman season, Woolston has chosen to take an 18-month hiatus from basketball to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Maryland Baltimore Mission.

Gustin, Woolston and the Cougars now set their sights on Kansas City, Missouri where BYU will compete in its first Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship.

The Cougars earned the 10-seed and will face the 7th-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the second round on Friday, March 8 at 5:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Brenda VanLengen and Sheryl Swoopes on the call. Fans can also tune in to live play-by-play with Jason Shepherd on BYU Radio 107.9, BYURadio.org and the BYU Radio App.

The conference's release of the All-Big 12 Awards can be found at https://big12sports.com/news/2024/3/5/2023-24-phillips-66-all-big-12-womens-basketball-awards-announced.aspx.