Cougar teamwork shines in 77-67 win over Sun Devils

TEMPE, Ariz. — An all-around performance earned BYU a 77-67 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday night at Desert Financial Arena.

“I am super proud of my women tonight. They have been going through it,” said BYU head coach Amber Whiting. “So to see them close this one out was really good for me to see their grit, their toughness, their fight and their character. They come back every single day to try and get better and I was happy to see the ball bounce their way tonight.”

The Cougars assisted on 25-of-30 made field goals in the win over Arizona State, their second-highest percentage of made field goals assisted this season. BYU's 25 assists mark the most assists in a game since Feb. 24, 2022. Six BYU players finished with three or more assists, led by Amari Whiting and Emma Calvert with five apiece.

Kambree Barber, making her first-career start, led BYU with a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double in the Cougars’ first win since Jan. 8. The freshman also recorded three assists, two blocks and a steal against the Sun Devils.

Calvert was the leading scorer for the Cougars with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting, going 1-for-2 from behind the arc and 5-for-7 from the charity stripe. The senior also dished a career-high five assists along with four boards and two blocks.

Kemery Congdon has been on a heater over the last four games, averaging 14.5 points on 47.7 percent shooting. On the night, the Cougar’s fifth-year senior captain scored 16 points on 6-of-11 from the floor and 4-for-6 from deep. She was one of six BYU players to record three or more assists while also grabbing two rebounds and a steal.  

First Quarter

After a turnover on the Cougars' first possession that gave ASU an early 2-0 lead, Calvert found Barber for a left-handed layup to knot the game at two. On the next trip down the floor, Congdon found Calvert off the pick-and-roll action to take a 4-2 lead with 7:42 to go in the first.

After nearly two scoreless minutes for the Cougars in which Arizona State took a 6-4 lead, Calvert notched her second assist of the night by finding Congdon for the score off the window. With 4:56 left in the first, Delaney Gibb dumped to Calvert who scored with a kiss off the glass to give BYU a 7-6 lead heading into the media timeout.

Out of the timeout, Lauren Davenport hit Congdon for a left-corner triple to push the lead to 11-7 before back-to-back ASU scores to retake a 1-point lead at 12-11.

Second Quarter

ASU scored on its first possession of the second frame to take a 15-12 before Kendra Gillispie knocked down a left-wing three to square the game at 15. Whiting scored on the next Cougar trip to retake a 17-15 lead.

After the Sun Devils tied it at 17, Barber found a cutting Calvert for two before a right-wing triple by Davenport to take a 22-17 advantage with 6:30 to go in the half. Two-consecutive triples by Calvert and Barber pushed the BYU lead to 28-21 before an ASU three-point play trimmed the advantage to four.

With 2:18 left in the half, Gillispie found Barber on a back-door cut for the score to push the Cougar lead to six and record a new career high of nine points. ASU scored four-consecutive points to pull within one, but a Whiting floater in the lane gave BYU a 34-31 lead at the break.

Third Quarter

The Cougars quickly pushed their lead to eight at 39-31 with five-straight points from Calvert to open the half. After an ASU bucket, BYU poured on six more to go up 12 with 6:53 to play in the third with a fast-break layup by Gibb and a right-corner triple, both assisted by Whiting.

Arizona State pulled within 10 twice before fast-break layups by Barber and Calvert were followed by the third triple of the game for Congdon to give BYU a 17-point lead with 4:28 to play in the third.

The Sun Devils rattled off three-straight stops paired with three-consecutive scores to trim the BYU advantage to 11 with 1:56 to go in the frame. The Cougars would trade baskets with ASU in the final seconds of the quarter to take a 58-47 lead into the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter

After two free throws by Calvert to open the fourth, ASU went on a 7-2 run to pull within eight. Gibb snapped the run with a timely left-corner triple to settle the Cougars down and retake an 11-point lead with 6:20 to go.

Arizona State scored on each of its next three possessions, but the door for a comeback was slammed shut by two scores from Barber and a layup from Gibb to maintain an 11-point advantage with less than four minutes to play. The closest the Sun Devils got was within 10, where the game finished with BYU snapping its five-game skid with a 77-67 win.

Up Next

BYU returns to the friendly confines of the Marriott Center on Wednesday, Feb. 5 for a date with the UCF Knights. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip and will be streamed on ESPN+. Jason Shepherd will have the live radio call on BYU Radio, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App.