BYU Cougars || 7-1, 0-0 || Big 12 Conference
WHAT'S AT STAKE? || With a win, the Cougars would move to 8-1 on the season, with their only defeat coming at the hands of No. 17 Vanderbilt. BYU would also move to 1-1 in games played at Delta Center, the home of the NBA's Utah Jazz. The only other women's basketball game played at Delta Center came on Nov. 28, 2012, as BYU fell to the Creighton Bluejays, 65-62.
NAVAJO DIME DROPPER || Sydney Benally was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Dec. 1, 2025, after an outstanding performance at the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam last week. The freshman phenom led the Cougars with a career-high 18 points, with 15 coming in the second half to overcome a four-point halftime deficit and take down the ACC’s Virginia Tech Hokies 64-60 and push BYU to 7-0 on the season. The freshman connected on 2-of-5 offerings from behind the arc and tallied a game-high seven assists, two steals and two rebounds.
Benally is one of the top guards in the country at setting up her teammates in positions to score as she assists on 36.2 percent of all made baskets when she is on the floor, which ranks in the 98th percentile nationally. She leads all Big 12 freshmen, ranks fourth in the conference and 16th in the country with 6.1 assists per game. On the defensive end, Benally also leads conference freshmen with 17 steals on the year, good for sixth in the conference. Benally averages 1.5 made threes per contest, which ranks fourth among Big 12 freshmen.
"BALANCE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN, IT'S SOMETHING YOU CREATE" || With the loss of Delaney Gibb, BYU’s leading scorer, the Cougars have found ways to step up and lift where they stand. Before Gibb went out with an injury, BYU had four players, including Gibb, who averaged 7.8 points or more per game. In her absence, the Cougars now have Hudgins (15.8), Rohkohl (11.0), Benally (10.5), Hamlin (8.5), Mackey-Williams (8.0) and Cannon (7.8) who each score over 7.8 per game. BYU is 3-1 in Gibb’s absence, with the only loss coming to No. 17 Vanderbilt.
HANGING WITH THE BIG DOGS || Last season, the Cougars faced five ranked opponents and went 1-4 in ranked matchups. BYU scored an average of 56 points in games against ranked foes last season, had an average margin of -18 and lost three of those games by 20+ points. Against No. 17 Vanderbilt, the Cougars scored the most points (71) against a ranked foe since taking down No. 18 Baylor on Feb. 7, 2024, and the most in a game away from home since March 12, 2019, against No. 12 Gonzaga.
NEW SWIFTIE IN TOWN || Since Delaney Gibb has been out with injury, Marya Hudgins has emerged as the Cougars’ top scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game over Gibb’s four-game absence. In games against Montana, Weber State, Virginia Tech and No. 17 Vanderbilt, the redshirt junior is shooting 52.6 percent from the floor, 70 percent from three and 84.2 percent from the charity stripe. Hudgins has more than doubled her scoring average of 7.5 points from the first four games to 15.8 over the last four.
Against Montana, Hudgins scored a career-high 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting with four rebounds, two assists, two steals and went 7-of-9 from the line. She followed that up with an 11-point, five-rebound game against Weber State. In the Virgin Islands, Hudgins topped her career high with a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double, the fourth of her career against No. 17 Vanderbilt. She went 10-of-14 from the field, going 4-for-5 from downtown and notching a career-high three assists in the process.
SHARING THE LOVE || Coach Cummard has emphasized that his team will play for each other, make the extra pass and make the right play. Cummard’s squad has assisted on 138 assists of 217 made field goals for a 63.6 percent assist rate, good for the 42nd-highest mark in the country. The Cougars currently rank 39th nationally with 17.3 assists per game.
Six Cougars are averaging multiple assists per game, with Sydney Benally leading the way with 6.1. Delaney Gibb, Olivia Hamlin, Brinley Cannon, Arielle Mackey-Williams and Marya Hudgins each average 6.0, 2.0, 2.0, 1.5 and 1.3 dimes per contest. Benally has recorded five or more assists in 6-of-8 games.
CRASHING THE GLASS || BYU currently ranks second in the Big 12 with 44 rebounds per game, also good for 29th in the country. The Cougars have six players averaging 4.0 rebounds or more per game, with five recording 5.1 or more boards. Lara Rohkohl leads the way with 7.4. The others: Brinley Cannon (6.1), Marya Hudgins (6.0), Bola Yussuf (5.9), Olivia Hamlin (5.1) and Delaney Gibb (4.0).
Head Coach – Lee Cummard
- Alma Mater: BYU, 2009
- Division I Career Record: 7-1 || 1st Season
- Record at BYU: 7-1 || 1st Season
