Cougars knock off Owls 63-51 in Cancun Challenge opener

CANCUN, Mexico — BYU knocked off Rice 63-51 in the first game of the Cancun Challenge at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya to avenge its 2023 WNIT loss to the Owls.

A 19-10 second-quarter onslaught was the spark the Cougars needed to pull away from the Owls of Rice in Cancun on Thursday night. Delaney Gibb had eight of her 20 points and an assist in the second quarter alone to propel BYU to a 31-22 halftime lead. The Cougars had five players with five or more rebounds, five with two or more assists on the night and assisted on 17-of-25 (.680) made field goals in the win.

Gibb led a group of three Cougars who finished in double figures with 20 points on an efficient 7-of-12 shooting from the floor and 5-for-10 from behind the arc. The freshman also grabbed seven rebounds, dished five assists, snatched two steals and a block in the win.

Amari Whiting contributed 15 points on 7-of-17 from the field and recorded eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block on the night. Emma Calvert was the third BYU player with double-digit points with 12 points on a 5-of-9 clip. The senior forward also notched a rebound and an assist.

The Cougars held the Owls to just 31.1 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from three. Coming off a game in which BYU only made three of 24 offerings from downtown, the Cougar team knocked down 9-of-27 triples en route to the bounce-back win.

BOX SCORE

First Quarter
Rice was charged with an administrative technical foul which gave BYU two free throws before the ball was tipped. After Calvert knocked down both, the Cougars led 2-0 before a Rice three notched the first points of regulation.

BYU scored its first points of the game on a Gibb 3-pointer with 7:52 to play in the first to take a 6-5 lead. That was returned with an Owls three on the next possession.

After 4:45 with a bucket, the Cougars trailed 12-5 before a left-handed layup by Whiting snapped the scoring drought and brought the Cougars within five. Calvert then hit a jumper to pull within three with 27 seconds left in the quarter.

The Cougars held the Owls without a field goal for the final 4:18 of the quarter before a rebound by Gibb with three seconds remaining. Gibb dribbled up the left side of the court and found Marya Hudgins who knocked down a 27-footer at the buzzer to knot the game at 12 going to the second.

Second Quarter
After Rice pushed the lead to 16-15 with 8:47 remaining in the half, five-straight points by Gibb, including a Barber offensive rebound to kick-out triple, gave BYU a 20-16 advantage. Following a media timeout, Hudgins hit a step-back three from straight away to push the lead to seven.

Whiting rebounded a Rice miss with 5:46 left, and kicked to Gibb who found a cutting Lauren Davenport for the layup to extend the lead to nine. Back-to-back layups in transition by Whiting and Calvert pushed the Cougar advantage to double-figures at 11 with 3:23 leading to an Owls timeout.

Third Quarter
Whiting and Gibb opened the scoring for BYU with layups on consecutive possessions to maintain a 10-point advantage. A Gibb three with 6:09 pushed the lead to 12 points before five-straight points by Rice pulled the Owls within seven at 39-32.

An 8-3 BYU run to finish the quarter by Gibb, Whiting, Cannon and Calvert reopened a 12-point advantage for the Cougars as they headed to the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter
Whiting wasted no time in the fourth quarter by hitting Hamson on the roll to take a 14-point lead. After a Rice bucket, a Gibb three, a Calvert layup and a Davenport score in transition pushed the advantage to a game-high 16 with 6:03 left in the fourth.

Out of the media timeout, Whiting hit her second three of the season, followed by a driving layup to put BYU up 61-44 for a 17-point advantage with 5:13 left. 

The Owls would score the final four points of the game, but the Cougars finished off a 63-51 win over Rice in game one of the Cancun Challenge on Thursday night. 

Up Next
BYU is back on the floor tomorrow night as they take on the back-to-back national runners-up and No. 22 Iowa Hawkeyes. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT with the game streamed on FloCollege. Fans can also tune into live play-by-play of the game with Jason Shepherd on BYU Radio 107.9FM/BYURadio.org/BYU Radio App.