TUCSON, Ariz. — BYU women’s basketball fell to the Arizona Wildcats, 75-72, at the McKale Center on Tuesday night.
In a game that came down to the final possessions, BYU’s 27 turnovers and Arizona’s 33 free throw attempts proved costly. The Wildcats scored 22 points off Cougar turnovers and went 30-of-33 from the charity stripe, including four in the final 20 seconds to hand BYU its third loss of the season, and first to a non-ranked team.
Delaney Gibb and Marya Hudgins led the way for BYU with 21 and 17 points, respectively. Gibb was an efficient 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-for-6 from three, with eight assists, three rebounds and a steal in the loss. Hudgins was 6-for-7 from the field, went 3-of-4 from behind the arc, with six boards and a steal.
Arizona finished with zero bench points as their starting five accounted for all 75 of its points on the night, with all five scoring 10 or more. Nora Francois led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-12 from the floor.
The Cougars outshot the Wildcats 43.6 to 39.6 percent from the field and 36 to 21.4 percent from three. BYU also outrebounded the home team 41 to 28, including 14 to six on the offensive glass. The U of A shot 33 freebies to the visitors' 25 attempts and outshot BYU 90.9 to 60 percent from the line.
First Quarter
BYU made its first four field goals to take a 9-2 lead just two minutes into the game. The Wildcats countered with a 4-0 run of its own courtesy of four early Cougar turnovers. A three-point play by Gibb gave BYU a 12-6 lead with 6:04 left in the first, but four-consecutive Arizona points trimmed the lead to two at the media timeout.
Out of the timeout, the Wildcats went on a 6-2 run to take a 16-14 advantage with 2:58 remaining in the quarter. A 50-percent trip to the line for Barber followed by a corner triple from Hamlin retook an 18-16 lead for BYU. After a drive and dish from Gibb to Hamson for a score off the window, a 4-2 run to close the quarter by Arizona gave the home team a 22-20 lead after the first frame.
Second Quarter
Gibb found Hudgins for a corner triple to open the second quarter. Arizona and BYU traded buckets over the next two minutes before the Cougars held the Wildcats without a made field goal for the next 5:49.
In that time, Gibb knocked down a triple, followed by a layup from Bolanle Yussuf, assisted by Benally. Yussuf then grabbed an offensive board off a missed free throw and scored off the window to give the Cougars a five-point lead at 33-28 with 2:54 left. Arizona finished the half with five-consecutive points to knot the game at 33 heading into the break.
Third Quarter
The Wildcats scored the first five points out of halftime to take a 38-34 lead just 1:04 into the third. Four straight free throws from Rohkohl and Benally trimmed the deficit to one. BYU and Arizona traded baskets over the next few minutes, with the Cougars cutting the lead to one on multiple occasions.
With the Cats up four with 2:11 to go in the frame, Gibb kicked ahead to Benally, who knocked down a corner triple to calm the Cougars down. After forcing a U-of-A turnover, Hamlin missed a layup, got her own board and scored off the window to retake the lead for BYU.
After a miss by the Wildcats, Gibb got a floater to go to push the lead to 54-51. On the final possession, Barber got an offensive rebound to set up Cannon for a corner triple as time expired to cap a 10-0 run and take a 57-51 lead into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Both offenses went cold for the first couple of minutes of the fourth, with the first points coming from Arizona at the line, followed by a layup. BYU countered with a layup from Gibb and a pair of freebies from Hudgins. With the Cougars leading 61-54, Arizona went on a 10-2 run to retake a one-point advantage at 64-63.
Out of the media timeout, Gibb and Rohkohl went on a 6-2 run to take a three-point lead with 2:04 to go. The Wildcats squared the game at 71 with 1:08 to go with a triple of their own. Arizona hit four free throws to close the game and hand BYU its third loss of the season.
Up Next
The Cougars look to bounce back as they take on the Houston Cougars on Saturday, Jan. 10, at the Fertitta Center. Tip-off is scheduled for noon MT with the game streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast live on BYU Radio 107.9, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App.