2024-25 women's basketball season in review

PROVO, Utah – The Cougar women’s basketball team completed its second season as a member of the Big 12 Conference in 2024-25 with a 13-17 overall record, a 4-14 mark in conference play and boasting the Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

BYU opened the year by taking down Idaho Vandals 67-62 in the season opener at the Marriott Center in front of 2,876 fans, the 11th most in program history. The Cougars then knocked off Wyoming and Colorado State before earning their first road win in a 77-68 victory at Idaho State. Whiting’s team then took down the McNeese Cowgirls on Nov. 19 for five-straight wins to open the 2024-25 campaign.

The Cougar women suffered their first defeat of the season at the hands of Northern Colorado in a 67-60 overtime loss on Nov. 23. BYU then split a pair of games at the Cancun Challenge, beating Rice 63-51 before falling to the No. 20 and 2024 national runner-up Iowa Hawkeyes. In the game against the Hawkeyes, seniors Kemery Congdon and Emma Calvert each reached career milestones with Congdon eclipsing 1,000 career points and Calvert recording 100 career blocks.

After returning from Mexico, the Cougars rattled off three-consecutive victories, two on the road and one at the Marriott Center. BYU took down the UTEP Miners on the road 81-68 behind a career-high 27 points from senior Emma Calvert on 13-of-18 shooting, also a career-best.

Following the trip to El Paso, the Cougar women returned home to hand cross-town rival Utah Valley a 76-36 defeat aided by Lauren Davenport’s career-high 20 points with six made threes. The 40-point win over the Wolverines marked the largest margin of victory under head coach Amber Whiting.

A trip to the Palouse to face Washington State wrapped up the non-conference slate for Whiting’s squad who returned to Provo after a 72-57 win in the battle of the Cougars and a 9-2 record. The non-conference season also saw the emergence of star freshman Delaney Gibb who picked up two Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors on Nov. 11 and Dec. 16.

The beginning of Big 12 play was not kind to the Cougars who dropped their first two conference contests in fourth-quarter heartbreaks against Arizona at home and Cincinnati. On the tail end of its first Big 12 road trip, BYU hung in with No. 18 West Virginia, but 31 turnovers led to a 13-point loss.

The Cougars snapped the three-game skid with an 89-75 victory over the Houston Cougars on Jan. 8. Sophomore Amari Whiting and Calvert scored 21 and 20 points respectively in the win, the only time two players scored 20 or more points in the same game this season. BYU also recorded 23 assists on 33 made field goals, the second-most assists recorded in a game this season and had four Cougars finish in double figures.

After the win over Houston, BYU faced a red-hot and 12th-ranked K-State team that downed the Cougars 92-65, the first of five-straight setbacks. The women then embarked on a two-game roadie during which they fell at Texas Tech by five and at Iowa State. After returning home for a two-game homestand, BYU dropped its bought with rival Utah by five before suffering a one-point defeat at the hands of Colorado.

The Cougs got back on track as they visited Arizona State in Tempe with a 77-67 win over the Sun Devils. Freshman Kambree Barber recorded her first career double-double in the win as she turned in 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting, 12 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal en route to earning Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors.

Barber continued her strong play, joined by fellow freshmen Brinley Cannon and Gibb as the three combined for 40 of BYU’s 73 points in their win over UCF on Feb. 5. The Texas swing came next as BYU fell to the Baylor Bears and No. 11 TCU Horned Frogs in back-to-back games.

After returning home, the Cougars notched their signature win of the 2024-25 season with a win over the No. 20 Oklahoma State Cowgirls. BYU was led by Calvert who turned in a 10-point, seven-rebound performance to go along with Gibb’s 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Amari Whiting also contributed nine points, four boards and two steals as the Cougars notched their second win over a Big 12 opponent in the last two seasons.

Following the win over OSU, the Cougars hit another rough patch as they dropped the final five games of the season. BYU fell at Arizona before losing back-to-back games against Arizona State and Kansas at home.

The final game of the regular season came on the Hill against the Utah Utes where Gibb turned in the first 30-point performance by a BYU guard since Shaylee Gonzales in Feb. 2022. Gibb finished with a 36-point, 10-rebound double-double which also included five assists, two steals and a block. Congdon, who started her career at Utah, was the other Cougar to finish in double figures with 14 points.

Despite Davenport hitting a three with 23 seconds remaining to give BYU a three-point advantage, Utah returned the favor to force overtime. With three seconds left in overtime, the Utes knocked down a half-court heave at the buzzer to hand the Cougars a fourth-consecutive defeat. The season ended in the first round of the Big 12 Championship as BYU dropped its first-round game to the UCF Knights.

Despite a disappointing 2024-25 campaign, there were bright spots for the Cougars as they head into the 2025-26 season.

Gibb solidified herself as the staple in the Cougar lineup in 2024-25. The freshman led BYU in points and assists per game, three-point percentage, was second in steals and blocks and third in rebounding. She accumulated 10 Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors, the second-most in Big 12 history, including eight of the 10 that were awarded during the conference season. She was named the unanimous Big 12 Freshman of the Year and All-Big 12 Second Team as voted by Big 12 coaches.

Her outstanding freshman campaign landed Gibb in the top five of 15 statistical categories for freshmen in the BYU record book. She became the all-time leader in points per game at 17.48 and sits second in total points (507), 3-point field goals per game (2.58) and assists per game (4.17).

The Alberta, Canada product sits in third for made field goals (177), 3-point field goals made (75), 3-point field goal percentage with at least 35 made threes (.401), defensive rebounds per contest (4.35) and minutes per game (33:48). Gibb also ranked fourth in total assists with 121 dimes and fifth in games started (29) and total minutes played with 979:31.

The emergence of Kambree Barber and Brinley Cannon was also a welcome sight for the Cougars who needed production from their bench after an injury to Marya Hudgins that sidelined her for the rest of the season.

Barber averaged 4.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game while Cannon recorded 4.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.7 steals per game. “The Twins” as the coaching staff referred to them came off the bench with ferociousness and tenacity that will help the Cougars make a jump during their third season as members of the Big 12 Conference.