Cougars hand Sun Devils first loss, 71-62, to move to 13-2

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball handed Arizona State its first loss of the season, a 71-62 defeat, on Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center. 

The Cougar victory was highlighted by a 54-25 advantage in the rebounding battle, including 26 offensive rebounds, the fifth most in program history in a single game, and clutch second-half defense. BYU held the Sun Devils to 23.1 percent shooting in the second half, including an eight-point third quarter to help overcome a deficit that got as large as eight. 

"I loved the moxie, the swag our team played with today and the energy they had as a group," head coach Lee Cummard said. "I loved the defense in the third quarter. More than anything, I really loved seeing the ball go through the net on some of those bingo threes in the second half, where we got offensive rebounds and capitalized on them. Overall, this was a tough game, and it will be a tremendous battle playing them out in Tempe in a couple of weeks.”

Delaney Gibb led the way in scoring with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting and knocking down two timely fourth-quarter triples. Nine of the sophomore’s points came in the fourth quarter to help the Cougars close out their second conference win. Gibb added a season-high eight rebounds, four coming on the offensive glass, and three assists. 

Freshman guards Sydney Benally and Olivia Hamlin each contributed double-digit scoring performances with 16 points and 11 points, respectively. The two combined for seven steals to anchor the BYU defense, including Hamlin’s game-sealing steal with 42 seconds left to put the game away. 

Alongside Gibb’s eight boards, Kambree Barber grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds to lead the team, with six coming on the offensive end. Barber has grabbed 23 rebounds in her last two games against the Sun Devils. Bolanle Yussuf was the third Cougar to record at least eight rebounds, with every player that saw the floor tallying at least three.

First Quarter

Benally got the Cougars on the board with a left-corner three off a drive and kick from Marya Hudgins two and a half minutes in. On the next possession, Gibb grabbed her own missed three and sank a putback layup. She followed that up with an and-1 lefty layup. This capped off an 8-0 BYU run after spotting the Sun Devils four points to start the game. 

ASU countered the run with back-to-back layups before a media timeout. Halfway through the first, the game was knotted at eight apiece. 

Off a Cannon steal, Hudgins fed it to Rohkohl in transition for a bucket underneath. Although the Sun Devils kept trying to pull away, the Cougars had answers of their own with a Hudgins driving layup on the baseline and a pull-up three from Benally, her second of the quarter. The first came to a close with BYU trailing 18-15.

Second Quarter

BYU retook the lead to start the second, thanks to Barber being on the receiving end of a give-and-go with Cannon and Hamlin draining a three off her own offensive board. At the 8:26 mark, Benally hit her third three of the half, putting the Cougars up three. 

ASU responded with a 6-0 run before Gibb knifed through the defense for a layup to stop its momentum. A tight battle persisted as BYU was behind 26-25 to ASU midway through the second. 

The latter part of the second was where points became scarce for the Cougars. Hamlin was able to stop the 5:06 scoring drought with a three on the wing with 49 seconds left. A Sun Devil layup to close the half put BYU down six, 34-28.

Third Quarter

Gibb got the second-half scoring rolling with her fourth layup of the game after a pair of Sun Devil free throws. A putback layup at 6:22 by Brinley Cannon jumpstarted a 12-1 Cougar run to swing momentum their way. Hudgins got to the line and sank four-straight freebies before back-to-back corner triples by Hamlin and Barber capped the run, forcing Arizona State to call a timeout with 4:38 left and BYU up 42-38.

With two minutes to go, Barber zipped a pass from the top of the arc to Benally inside for a fading layup on the baseline. The Cougars maintained their lead the rest of the third and wrapped up the quarter up 45-42 on ASU.

BYU crashing the offensive glass and defensive intensity were key in the quarter. 10 offensive boards led to eight second-chance points for the Cougars while holding the Sun Devils to 1-of-12 shooting and just eight points, including no field goals in the first 5:39 of the third. 

Fourth Quarter

Benally opened the fourth with a corner three, her fourth of the game, and a dime to Rohkohl to extend the lead to six. Baskets were traded between Sun Devil guard Gabby Elliott and Gibb as Elliott hit a three and layup. Gibb answered each ASU bucket with a right-wing three on consecutive Cougar possessions. BYU built its lead to double digits on a Gibb drive and dish to Yussuf for a layup. With 6:22 remaining, the Cougars held a 59-49 lead.

BYU would not relinquish its lead the rest of the game. A Cannon steal and score, followed by a Rohkohl putback layup, gave the Cougars an 11-point lead, its biggest lead of the game, with 2:20 to go. 

Free throws were exchanged by both squads down the stretch, before Hamlin sealed the game with a steal with 42 seconds left. Cannon’s driving layup put the nail in the coffin for BYU’s 71-62 win over ASU.

Up Next

The Cougars will next travel to the Old Pueblo to take on the Arizona Wildcats at the McKale Memorial Center on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MT with the game streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast live on BYU Radio 107.9, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App.