BYU's upset bid falls short in loss to No. 8 TCU

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball lost its Big 12 home opener to No. 8 TCU, 72-48, on Wednesday night at the Marriott Center.

“I wish we could have been successful for them tonight, but I'm really grateful for that turnout," head coach Lee Cummard said. "I give credit to TCU, they’re a great team. I thought we did a decent job for about 28 minutes of the game, had some errors that we need to evaluate game-plan-wise, but overall I like the fight and hope to be able to play them again later in the season.”

Tonight's defeat marks the Cougars' second loss of the season, with both coming at the hands of teams currently ranked in the top-12. This is BYU's first home loss of the season, the last coming on Feb. 25th, 2025, against Kansas. 

Despite never leading in the game, the Cougars kept within striking distance, with the deficit as few as two with 5:27 remaining in the third quarter. The Horned Frogs closed the third with a 9-2 run to take a 10-point lead entering the final quarter. BYU’s offense sputtered in the second half as the Cougars scored just 10 points in the final 14:29 of the game, making just one of their final 14 attempts from the floor. 

Freshman Sydney Bennally led all scorers in the game with 18 points, matching her career high. Benally finished 7-of-13 from the field and 4-of-8 from behind the arc. Bennally also cashed in two steals and a board. 

Delaney Gibb notched her sixth double-digit scoring game in as many games with 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting with five assists and one steal. Gibb was the only other Cougar to score in double figures.

First Quarter

After two Horned Frog buckets in the first two minutes, Hudgins got the Cougar scoring rolling with a fastbreak layup off a TCU miss and Rohkohl outlet. TCU answered with a right-corner three, before BYU countered with a three of their own by Bennally from the wing to make it 10-7 TCU with 6:25 left.

Both teams traded baskets before two Horned Frog threes and a Gibb isolation triple brought the TCU lead to seven. A Yussuf post-spin and a Gibb driving layup cut the deficit to three at 20-17. 

TCU capped off the quarter with its fifth three of the first with 1:13 to go. After a free throw by Rohkohl, the Cougars trailed 23-18 after one. 

Second Quarter

Bennally responded to a TCU layup with a top-of-the-key three, her second of the game, to begin the second. Off a Horned Frog turnover, Gibb recorded a steal and finished an acrobatic lefty layup at the other end to cut the TCU lead to two, 27-25, halfway through the quarter. 

A scoring drought persisted from both squads out of the media timeout for the next 2:41. The Horned Frogs canned a three with 2:08 left to end their part of the drought. Gibb put an end to BYU’s scoreless streak with a score underneath after the Cougs went 4:26 without a bucket. Still yet to lead in the game, the Cougars trailed 33-27 at the break, the largest halftime deficit this season.

The BYU defense kept its hands active by recording eight steals and forcing 10 TCU turnovers to keep itself within reach. 

Third Quarter

The first field goal of the second half was a Cannon layup from a Gibb bounce-pass dime. Bennally went on a solo 7-1 run consisting of a midrange pull-up jumper, a left-wing three from a swing pass from Kambree Barber, and a step-through layup in the lane. This brought the score to 38-36 Horned Frogs five minutes into the third.

Following two free throws by Gibb with 4:29 left, BYU fell victim to a TCU 10-0 run. Bennally stopped the bleeding as time expired on the frame with a contested midrange jumpshot. After three, BYU trailed 50-40.

Fourth Quarter

Although the Cougars’ first possession of the quarter ended with a contested Hamlin basket inside, the deficit grew to 15 two minutes in. Bennally then hit her fourth three of the night before TCU extended its lead to 18 and forced Cummard to call a timeout with 5:43 remaining. 

The Horned Frogs added two more layups, which led to their second 10-0 run of the half, putting the Cougars behind by 22 at 67-45, with 3:21 left. After TCU grew its lead to 25, Rohkohl had a putback layup that marked BYU’s first field goal in the fourth since the 7:51 mark. The Cougars ended the game falling to the Horned Frogs, 72-48.

Up Next

BYU women's basketball will be back in the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 3, for a 2 p.m. date with the 15-0 Arizona State Sun Devils. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast live on BYU Radio 107.9, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App with Jason Shepherd on the call.