BYU Cougars || 17-9, 6-8 || Big 12 Conference
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The Cougars are 11-3 at the Marriott Center this season and have knocked off rival Utah and Iowa State in their last two home games. With a win, BYU would notch its 18th victory under first-year head coach Lee Cummard, marking the 24th season in program history with 18 or more wins.
HOW HARD CAN YOU GET HIT, AND STILL MOVE FORWARD?
BYU is 6-2 this season in games immediately following a loss, with Delaney Gibb (15.1) and Olivia Hamlin (14.5) combining for 29.6 points per game. The Cougars have surrendered just 64.9 points to opponents on 37.8 percent from the field and 30 percent from deep. BYU has also swiped 9.6 steals per game and forced opponents into 16.4 turnovers per game that turn into 16.5 points off opponent giveaways. The Cougars have also grabbed 13.5 offensive boards per game, which they have converted into 11.8 second-chance points in games following a loss.
MARRIOTT CENTER MAGIC
The Cougars are 11-3 at the Marriott Center this season, the most wins and highest win percentage since the 2021-22 season in which BYU went a perfect 14-0 at the crib. The Cougars are averaging 74.5 points per game on 42.8 percent shooting, while giving up just 61 points on 35.8 percent shooting by opponents in 11 wins this season.
Delaney Gibb leads the way with 17.5 points per game, Olivia Hamlin with 14.4, Lara Rohkohl with 9.7 and Sydney Benally with 8.2. The home team has dominated the second half of games in Provo, outscoring opponents 21.4-14.2 in the third quarter and 40.4-29.9 after halftime this season. BYU also averages 8.7 3-point field goals per game to just 5.6 by opponents on the Cougars’ home floor.
SLOW OUT OF THE BLOCKS
BYU has been plagued by slow starts since the beginning of Big 12 play. The Cougars have trailed after the first quarter in 9-of-14 Big 12 games. When trailing after the first in Big 12 games, BYU is 3-6. The Cougars have trailed at the half in eight Big 12 games with a 2-6 record. BYU came back from a six-point halftime deficit against Arizona State and climbed out of a 10-point hole against Utah, outscoring the Utes 52-30 in the second half for a 77-65 victory.
YOUNG GUNS, BIG BUCKETS
BYU’s freshmen have made huge contributions to the Cougars’ offensive success. Olivia Hamlin, Sydney Benally, Bolanle Yussuf and Braeden Gunlock have combined for 39.1 percent of all points scored by BYU this season. With sophomores Delaney Gibb, Brinley Cannon and Kambree Barber added to the mix, the underclassmen account for 69.4 percent of all BYU scoring. In Big 12 play, underclassmen have combined for 50 of BYU’s 65.6 points per game (76.2%). In BYU’s win over Iowa State, Hamlin scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, while Gibb contributed 20 on 8-of-12 from the floor. The underclassmen scored 60 of the 83 Cougar points last Tuesday.
COLD NIGHTS AGAINST THE COUGS
Cummard’s squad prides itself on its ability to defend. BYU has held 19 of 26 opponents under the 70-point threshold and is 17-2 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.
LIV'N IN FAST FORWARD
Hamlin is one of the top players in the country at playing in transition. The freshman scores 4.4 points per game, and 35.4 percent of her points come from transition buckets, which rank in the 99th and 98th percentile nationally.
Against Iowa State, Halmin scored a career-high 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting, and knocked down three offerings from beyond the arc to go along with three rebounds and a steal in the 14-point win.
The Santa Clara, Utah, product leads all Big 12 freshmen in total steals with 47 and steals per game with 1.81. Her 47 steals on the season ties her for 8th in the freshman record book with fellow backcourt mate Delaney Gibb. Her 1.81 steals per game are the 6th-highest mark in BYU freshman history.
Olivia Hamlin was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week on Dec. 15, the second weekly award for BYU this season (Sydney Benally, Dec. 1). The freshman comes off the bench and is BYU’s second-leading scorer at 12.3 points per game. The Cougars are 15-4 when Hamlin finishes in double figures. Hamlin also has four 20+ point performances, two in Big 12 play, and BYU is 4-0 in such games, and 9-2 when Hamlin records multiple steals.
BUILT ON BOARDS
BYU ranks second in the Big 12 with 40.6 rebounds per game and third with 13.5 offensive boards per outing. The Cougars have recorded 183 offensive rebounds since the beginning of conference play, leading to 145 second-chance points, 13.1 and 10.4 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 six of its last eight games, and is now 3-5 when being outrebounded. Over the last eight games, the Cougars have been bested 40.9-33.5 on the glass. In BYU’s last outing, the Cougs surrendered 50 rebounds to the Buffaloes, including 17 offensive rebounds leading to 17 second-chance points.
BIG 12 TURNOVER TROUBLE
The Cougars’ Achilles heel since the beginning of conference play has been the turnover monster. BYU averages 18.4 turnovers per game and has surrendered 16.4 points off giveaways to opponents. In BYU’s eight Big 12 losses, the turnover number jump to 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 10 times in its 83-69 win over Iowa State, leading to just nine points off giveaways for the Cyclones. The 10 turnovers were the second-lowest total this season and resulted in a 11-9 advantage in points off turnovers in favor of the Cougars.
PERPETUAL PERIMETER PRECISION
BYU holds the second-longest active and the third-longest all-time streak of games with a made 3-point field goal in NCAA women’s basketball. The Cougars have made at least one triple in each of the previous 820 games. The streak began on March 2, 2000, in an 86-69 win over Air Force Chattanooga holds the longest active streak of 831 consecutive games.
BIG 12 WINS VS. BIG 12 LOSSES
| |
BYU's Big 12 Wins |
BYU's Big 12 Losses |
| Stats |
BYU |
Opp. |
BYU |
Opp. |
| Points/Gm |
75.7 |
61.8 |
58.0 |
76.0 |
| Scoring Margin |
+13.8 |
|
-18.0 |
|
| Field Goal % |
.444 |
.363 |
.340 |
.442 |
| 3-PT FG % |
.342 |
.288 |
.268 |
.316 |
| Free Throw % |
.753 |
.720 |
.696 |
.824 |
| Rebounds/ Gm |
42.0 |
33.3 |
335.1 |
39.9 |
| Rebounding Margin |
+8.7 |
|
-4.8 |
|
| Assists/Gm |
16.3 |
10.7 |
10.6 |
18.3 |
| Turnovers/Gm |
17.3 |
17.0 |
19.1 |
16.9 |
| Steals/Gm |
11.0 |
8.0 |
9.5 |
8.8 |
| Blocks/Gm |
4.8 |
3.5 |
4.0 |
4.0 |
Head Coach – Lee Cummard
- Alma Mater: BYU, 2009
- Division I Career Record: 17-9 || 1st Season
