BYU takes down Houston 79-64 in battle of the Cougars

HOUSTON, Texas — Five Cougars finished in double figures as BYU women’s basketball took down the Houston Cougars 79-64 at the Fertitta Center on Saturday afternoon.

"I feel like we were a lot more like ourselves in the second half and a big reason for that is the two that are sitting up here right now [Olivia Hamlin and Bolanle Yussuf]," head coach Lee Cummard said. "Liv came in and gave us a huge lift. She got a steal for a basket and started to let the threes rain. And Bola did a great job just owning the paint and was really impactful, scoring at the rim and also rebounding. She was the recipient of a number of great plays where our guards created an advantage, Bola's defender slid over and we got some open layups. Overall, I liked what we looked like in the second half a whole lot more than the first."

Bolanle Yussuf and Lara Rohkohl combined for 20 points on 8-of-13 from the floor, with Yussuf scoring 13 and Rohkohl turning in seven. The duo on the forward line for BYU also had 16 rebounds, six blocks and a steal. The Cougars scored 36 of 79 points in the paint in their third-straight win over Houston, and first at the Fertitta Center.

Delaney Gibb led the way for the Cougars with 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting and knocking down three triples to post her third-consecutive game with 18 or more points. She also turned in four assists, two rebounds and three steals in the win.

Fellow backcourt mates Olivia Hamlin and Sydney Benally combined for 17 points and 12 assists. Hamlin matched her career-high with four made threes en route to a 14-point performance to go along with three assists, two steals and two rebounds. Benally led the Cougars in assists with nine, with eight coming in the first half.

BYU assisted on 22 of its 30 made baskets on the day, the fourth time this season that the Cougars have recorded 20 or more assists in a game. The visiting Cougs also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 14 second-chance points, the eighth time this season with 15 or more rebounds on the offensive glass.

The Cougars from Provo outshot Houston 46.2 to 30.3 and made 11 threes to six from the U of H. The 11 made triples marks the seventh time this season BYU has connected on 10 or more offerings from deep, with a 6-1 record in such games. The Cougars coughed it up 21 times, leading to 18 Houston points, but scored 22 points off Houston giveaways in the win.

First Quarter

The Cougars connected on five of their first six shots to take a 12-5 lead with 7:07 to go in the opening frame. Marya Hudgins opened the scoring with a pull-up jumper in the paint, followed by a Gibb left-wing triple and a Cannon free-throw line jumper. After a miss, Benally connected on a kick-out three off an offensive board by Rohkohl.

BYU pushed the lead to 17-7 with a three from Hudgins and a Rohkohl layup set up by a Gibb assist. At the first-quarter media timeout, the Cougars had recorded three offensive rebounds and six assists on seven made field goals.

A 9-2 Houston run trimmed the BYU lead to 21-16 before back-to-back buckets from Bolanle Yussuf, assisted by Halin and Benally, respectively. A right corner triple from Gibb capped a 7-0 run to take a 12-point lead at 28-16 after the first.

Second Quarter

BYU opened the second frame with a made three-pointer by Olivia Hamlin, assisted by Benally. The Cougars in red went on a 12-2 run over 2:47 to trim the once 15-point BYU lead to five at 33-28. Gibb snapped the Houston run with a top-of-the-key three and Cannon knocked down a jumper, but five Houston points left BYU’s lead at 38-33 at the break.

Third Quarter

Houston opened the third quarter with six quick points to pull within two at 41-39. BYU responded with five consecutive points to retake a seven-point advantage. Rohkohl split a pair at the line before Hamlin swiped the ball from the Houston ballhandler and took it the distance for a score off the window. Cannon drove into the lane and scored off the glass to cap the run.

The hometown Coogs wouldn’t go easy as they rattled off another 7-2 run to again pull within two at 48-46. A 1-for-2 trip to the stripe for Hudgins followed by a corner triple for Hamlin pushed the lead to seven again. After a Houston score in transition, Hamlin hit a late-shot clock three to extend the lead to eight, the largest lead since the second quarter for BYU. After four-straight points for the home team, BYU finished the quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 10-point advantage with 10 minutes to play.

Fourth Quarter

The Cougars opened the fourth with six-straight points to extend the lead to 16 with 7:24 to play. BYU and Houston traded baskets over the duration of the quarter, with the lead never dipping below 11. BYU finished with five players with 10 or more points for the third time this season and moved to 3-0 when doing so in the win over Houston.

Up Next

After a week off, the Cougars return to the Marriott Center to host the No. 16 Baylor Bears on Jan. 17. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT with the game streamed on ESPN+. Fans can also tune in to live play-by-play with Jason Shepherd on BYU Radio 107.9, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App.