BYU Cougars || 16-8, 5-7 || Big 12 Conference
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
With a win, BYU would notch its most wins in a season (17) since the 2021-22 campaign, which culminated in a trip to the NCAA Tournament, besting 16 wins in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. Coach Cummard would also record the third-most wins by a first-year head coach in program history.
HOW HARD CAN YOU GET HIT, AND STILL MOVE FORWARD?
BYU is 5-2 this season in games immediately following a loss and has three players averaging 10.0 or more points in bounce-back games (Gibb, 14.2; Hamlin, 13.3; Mackey-Williams, 10.0). The Cougars have surrendered just 64.3 points to opponents on 37.7 percent from the field and 28.5 percent from deep. BYU has also swiped 9.9 steals per game and forced opponents into 17.4 turnovers per game that turn into 17.3 points off opponent giveaways. The Cougars have also grabbed 14.6 offensive boards per game, which they have converted into 12.4 second-chance points in games following a loss.
SHARING THE SPOTLIGHT
BYU has 13 players on the active roster and has seen contributions from all over the lineup this season. Eight different Cougars have led the team in scoring this season, six have led in rebounds, seven in assists, nine in steals and nine in blocks.
SECOND-HALF STRUGGLES
The third quarter has been especially kind to the Cougars this season as they have outscored opponents in 16 of 24 games by an average of 4.1 points. BYU is 14-2 when outscoring its opponent in the third period. When losing the third, BYU is 2-6. Despite the success coming out of the break, the Cougars have been outscored in the third period in four of their last five games by an average of 7.3 points and have lost 4-of-5.
Despite BYU’s season-long success in the second half, the last five games have been the antithesis, excluding the win over Utah. The Cougars have lost the second half in four of their last five games, 41.5-28.0 and have shot 27 percent in those games.
BYU and Kansas were knotted at 32 apiece on Wednesday before the Jayhawks bested the Cougars 49-28 after halftime, the largest second-half margin this season. Against K-State on Saturday, BYU trailed by eight, 38-30, before scoring just nine points on one made field goal in the third quarter en route to a 39-22 second half for its second-consecutive defeat.
COLD NIGHTS IN PROVO
Cummard’s squad prides itself on its ability to defend. BYU has held 18 of 24 opponents under the 70-point threshold and is 16-2 in such games, with their only losses to No. 18 Baylor and at Oklahoma State. BYU has kept nine of its foes under 60 points this season, and the Cougars are 23-2 over the past three seasons when doing so. In losses to No. 8 TCU, No. 17 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Baylor and Oklahoma State, BYU held each opponent under their season scoring average: Vanderbilt 3.1 points under, TCU 15.5 points under its 87.5 PPG and Oklahoma State 19.8 points under its 86.8 average. The two teams to outscore their average against the Cougs were No. 22 West Virginia, with 91 points, the most BYU has surrendered this season and Kansas, which scored 81, the most to an unranked team.
BIG 12 TURNOVER TROUBLE
The Cougars’ Achilles heel since the beginning of conference play has been the turnover monster. BYU averages 19 turnovers per game and has surrendered 16.3 points off giveaways to opponents. In BYU’s seven Big 12 losses, the turnover number is stable at 19.2, but the points off giveaways jump to 18.3 per game with three opponents scoring 22 or more.
BYU coughed it up just 11 times in its 77-62 win over rival Utah. The 11 turnovers were the second-lowest total this season and resulted in a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers in favor of the Cougars.
SECOND-CHANCE SPECIALISTS
BYU is second in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds per game (14.1) and has three players who rank in the 88th percentile or higher in offensive rebound percentage nationally, the estimated percentage of available offensive rebounds secured by a player while she is on the floor (Kambree Barber, Lara Rohkohl, Bola Yussuf).
Since returning from injury, Barber has been a force on the offensive glass as she ranks in the 99th percentile for offensive rebounding percentage at 11.8 percent: 2.3 per game.
Lara Rohkohl ranks in the 96th percentile at 15.8 ORB% while recording 3.0 offensive boards per contest. Bolanle Yussuf sits in the 88th percentile with a 13.6 ORB% and 1.8 offensive rebounds per game. With four offensive rebounds against K-State, Yussuf moved into 14th for offensive rebounds by a freshman and passed her coach, Keilani Unga, for 15th on the all-time list.
BYU'S BACKCOURT ANCHOR
Delaney Gibb is averaging 15.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals. BYU is 6-4 in games that Gibb leads the Cougars in scoring, a 5-1 record when she leads the team in steals and a 6-2 record when she records five or more assists.
Despite her usual offensive prowess, the sophomore has been in a slump the last four games, going a combined 10-of-54 (.185) from the floor and 2-for-28 (.071) from deep. In BYU’s lone win over the four-game stretch, the sophomore standout found a way to make winning plays as she turned in eight rebounds, three coming on the offensive glass, seven assists and four steals that all led directly to Cougar scores.
Gibb was named to the Ann Meyers-Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 Midseason Watch List last week, joining Baylor’s Tahlia Scott as the two Big 12 players on the list.
BUILT ON BOARDS
BYU ranks second in the Big 12 with 41.3 rebounds per game and 14.0 offensive boards per game. The Cougars have recorded 169 offensive rebounds since the beginning of conference play, leading to 136 second-chance points, 14.1 and 11.3 per game, respectively. The Cougars grabbed 26 offensive boards in their win over Arizona State, the fifth-most in a game in BYU history and scored 20 second-chance points.
Despite the strong rebounding averages, BYU has been outrebounded in five of its last six games, and is now 3-4 when being outrebounded. Over the last five, the Cougars have been bested 41.0-33.8 on the glass. Cummard’s squad, which has thrived off second-chance points this season, has grabbed just 10.3 O-boards and scored 9.8 second-chance points over the last six contests.
BIG 12 WINS VS. BIG 12 LOSSES
| |
BYU's Big 12 Wins |
BYU's Big 12 Losses |
| Stats |
BYU |
Opp. |
BYU |
Opp. |
| Points/Gm |
74.2 |
60.4 |
59.7 |
76.0 |
| Scoring Margin |
+13.8 |
|
-16.3 |
|
| Field Goal % |
.429 |
.358 |
.344 |
.441 |
| 3-PT FG % |
.336 |
.258 |
.281 |
.318 |
| Free Throw % |
.726 |
.725 |
.688 |
.826 |
| Rebounds/ Gm |
42.6 |
33.8 |
36.4 |
38.4 |
| Rebounding Margin |
+8.8 |
|
-2.0 |
|
| Assists/Gm |
15.8 |
9.2 |
11.0 |
18.3 |
| Turnovers/Gm |
18.8 |
18.6 |
19.1 |
16.3 |
| Steals/Gm |
11.6 |
8.2 |
9.1 |
8.1 |
| Blocks/Gm |
5.2 |
3.8 |
4.1 |
4.1 |
Head Coach – Lee Cummard
- Alma Mater: BYU, 2009
- Division I Career Record: 16-8 || 1st Season
