BYU Cougars || 26-11 9-9; 9th || Big 12 Conference
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
A win would mark the first time BYU has won five postseason games in the same season, total the second-most wins in program history and secure the program’s first postseason tournament title.
With their first-ever win over Kansas, the Cougars secured their 26th win of the season, improving on Lee Cummard’s record as the winningest first-year head coach in program history, who passed BYU’s all-time winningest coach (men’s or women’s), Jeff Judkins (24-9; 2002-03), last week. It also marks the eighth season with 26 or more wins in program history and first since the 2021-22 (26-4) campaign. A win on Wednesday would secure the second-most wins in BYU history, behind just the 2013-14 squad that reached the Sweet 16.
THE COUGARS STAND ON BUSINESS
BYU has played three of its best games of the season during the WBIT Round of 16, Round of 8 and Final Four. BYU first took down the Missouri Tigers out of the SEC. The Cougars outscored Mizzou 28-7 in the opening quarter behind 60 percent shooting and four made threes. BYU held a 21-point lead at halftime and pushed it to a game-high advantage of 34 in the third quarter before calling off the dogs early in the fourth.
The 93 points scored by BYU are the most scored against a Power-4 team since 2001, when the Cougars beat Washington State 94-67 at the Marriott Center. Their 14 made triples are also the most made by BYU since Dec. 10, 2020.
With 29 points against Mizzou, Gibb became the 34th member of BYU’s 1,000-point club, doing so in 57 career games, the third fastest in program history. Hamlin scored a career-high 23 points, Cannon dished a career-high six assists to go along with 10 points and five boards, while Barber notched her second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 boards.
On Thursday against the Cardinal, BYU was led by 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists from Gibb in the 76-61 win. Cannon (15), Hamlin (12) and Rohkohl (10) also scored 10+ points, as Rohkohl recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 boards.
BYU held Stanford 9.8 points under their season average, surrendering just 61 points on 31.9 percent shooting and 16.9 percent from beyond the arc. BYU also outrebounded Stanford 53-36 and tallied 17 offensive boards in the 15-point win.
Against Kansas, the Cougars were led by their fantastic freshmen. Hamlin, Benally and Yussuf combined for 44 of the 70 points (.629), with Hamlin matching her career high of 23 points. Hamlin (23) and Benally (15) each cashed in on four triples, both career highs. Rohkohl locked it down defensively as the senior turned in season-highs of 14 rebounds and seven blocks, to go along with nine points. Gibb finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals to overcome a 3-point halftime deficit in the win.
POSTSEASON BREAKDOWN
BYU holds a 21-26 all-time record in postseason tournaments and will play in its first postseason championship game on Wednesday. The Cougars are looking for their 22nd postseason win when they take on Columbia. Wednesday’s clash will be BYU’s first postseason game against an Ivy League team.
POSTSEASON PERFECTION ON THE BOARDS
The Cougars have won the battle of the boards in six of their seven games since the end of the regular season. When outrebounding their opponent, BYU is 21-4 on the season and has won nine-consecutive games when doing so.
In the WBIT, the Cougars have four players averaging at least 5.5 rebounds per game, with Lara Rohkohl leading the way with 9.0 per game. The others: Delaney Gibb (7.5), Kambree Barber (7.0) and Bolanle Yussuf (5.5). The four account for 29 of BYU’s 46.5 boards over the four-game winning streak.
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
With three games left in the regular season and on a two-game skid, it seemed like the clock may have struck midnight on BYU’s magical season. Not so fast! The Cougars have won 9-of-10, including wins at Utah, at Arizona State and over Colorado to close the regular season, wins over Houston and Utah in the Big 12 Tournament and four wins in the WBIT over Alabama A&M, Missouri, Stanford and Kansas. Their only loss came to No. 10 TCU in the Big 12 Quarterfinals.
Over the last 10 games, BYU is averaging 73 points per game and holding opponents to 62.8, shooting 43 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from behind the arc. The Cougars are also outrebounding opponents by 6.0 per game with 41.0 rebounds per contest.
CARRIED BY UNDERCLASSMEN
BYU’s freshmen have made huge contributions to the Cougars’ offensive success. Olivia Hamlin, Sydney Benally, Bolanle Yussuf and Braeden Gunlock have combined for 38.7 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 73.8 percent of all BYU scoring. During BYU’s last 10 games, the underclassmen scored 61.4 of the 73 Cougar points per game (84.1%). Against Kansas, Hamlin (23), Benally (15), Gibb (12), Yussuf (6) and Cannon (5) combined for 61 of BYU’s 70 points (87.1%).
70...THE COUGARS' MAGIC NUMBER
When the Cougars eclipse 70 points on offense, the Cougars are 21-3 on the season with their only losses coming to No. 17 Vanderbilt (without Delaney Gibb), at Arizona and No. 22 West Virginia. Cummard’s squad also prides itself on its ability to defend. BYU has held 27 of 37 opponents under the 70-point threshold and is 24-3 in such games, with their only losses to No. 10 TCU, No. 18 Baylor and at Oklahoma State. BYU’s only wins when allowing 70+ points came at Utah (86-74) and against Missouri (93-75). The Cougs have kept 11 of their foes under 60 points this season, and are 25-2 over the past three seasons when doing so.
After surrendering 81 points to Kansas in the first meeting this season, the Cougars held the Jayhawks to 67 points in their Final Four win. In Lawrence, BYU allowed 48.2 percent shooting to KU, but held them to 37.5 percent on Monday. The Cougs also outrebounded Kansas 37-34 after being bested on the boards by 18 in the first meeting, 49-31.
THE GIBB EFFECT
Delaney Gibb earned All-Big 12 First Team honors and a spot on the USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Midseason Top-10 list as she leads the Cougars in scoring, assists and steals per game. BYU’s floor general has scored in double figures in 28 of the 29 games she has appeared in, leading her team to a 26-11 record. With 29 points against Missouri, Gibb became the 34th member of BYU Women’s Hoops’ 1,000-point club, doing so in just 57 games, the third-fastest in program history.
Over her last 10 games, the sophomore is averaging 21.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.9 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, helping BYU to a 9-1 spurt with the only defeat coming to No. 10 TCU. During that stretch, Gibb has finished in double figures in all 10 games with performances of 37 against Utah, 24 against ASU, 26 against Colorado, 29 against Mizzou and 27 against Stanford.
Her 37-point performance at Utah, along with four-straight 20+ point games, earned Gibb a Big 12 Starting Five nod in back-to-back weeks (Feb. 23 & March 2). She also became just the third Cougar to score 35+ points in a game in the last decade, joining WCC Players of the Year Shaylee Gonzales and Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee. She followed that up with 24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals, along with a 13-for-14 clip from the charity stripe in the win over ASU. Then on senior day, Gibb poured in 26 points, 7 assists, 6 boards, a steal, a block and 19 fourth-quarter points in the comeback win over Colorado.
With her stellar season, Gibb has moved into 6th on the all-time BYU scoring list at 17.73 points per game, passing 2-time WCC Player of the Year Shaylee Gonzales. She also moved into 2nd for 3-PT field goals per game (2.48), 5th for career assists per game (4.37), 7th in minutes per game (33:13), 12th for 3-PT field goals made (146) and 12th for 3-PT FG% (.364).
DEUTSCHLAND'S LAST DANCE
Lara Rohkohl, one of BYU’s three seniors, has been a huge part of the Cougars’ success this season as they are 15-0 when the native of Hanover, Germany, scores 10+ points and 17-3 when she leads the team in blocks. When BYU wins, Rohkohl averages 9.8 points on 69.1 percent shooting, 7.4 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 0.9 steals per contest.
Rohkohl’s season field goal percentage sits at 62.8 percent, which is the fifth-highest single-season percentage in BYU history (p. 35) and ranks in the 98th percentile nationally. In BYU’s four WBIT wins, Rohkohl is averaging 9.0 points, 9.0 boards and 3.3 blocks per contest.
NAVAJO DIME DROPPER
In the win over Alabama A&M, Sydney Benally set the BYU freshman assist record with 139 assists (now at 147), passing two-time WCC Player of the Year Shaylee Gonzales (134). Benally has assisted on 25.3 percent of all made baskets while she is on the floor, which ranks in the 91st percentile nationally.
Benally is second in the Big 12 and sixth nationally among freshmen with 147 assists. Her 4.0 dimes per game also ranks second in the conference and 10th nationally. BYU is 22-6 when Benally records at least three assists, and is 14-1 when the freshman drops at least five dimes.
Along with passing Gonzales on the all-time freshman assists list, Benally has started the most games by a freshman in BYU history (37), and is fourth in ast/gm (4.00) in 3FG att. (200) and minutes played (1083:60), sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.39:1), seventh in made 3FG (47), eighth in 3FG per game (1.38), and steals (51) and minutes per game (29:18) and 12th in steals per game (1.38).
At Arizona State, the Navajo hero had more than 500 people waiting outside the arena to welcome her to Desert Financial Arena. Despite a rough shooting night, the freshman scored three points, all from the line, dropped four dimes and recorded four timely steals in the win. She then spent nearly 45 minutes taking pictures and signing autographs for every native youth waiting by the bus, again, a crowd of hundreds of fans.
PERPETUAL PERIMETER PRECISION
BYU holds the second-longest active and third-longest all-time streak of games with a made 3-point field goal in NCAA women’s basketball. With a make against Kansas, the Cougars will have made at least one triple in 832-consecutive games. The streak began on March 2, 2000, in an 86-69 win over Air Force. Chattanooga
ALL-BIG 12 BACKCOURT
Delaney Gibb and Olivia Hamlin each received conference recognitions ahead of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament. Gibb was named to the First Team, while Hamlin was named Honorable Mention All-Big and to the All-Freshman Team. Against Missouri, the duo combined for 52 of BYU’s 93 points. For the season, Gibb and Hamlin average 30.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.7 steals per game for the Cougars.
CANNON'S CASHING IN
Brinley Cannon has been elite in the WBIT so far. In the Cougars’ four wins, the sophomore has scored 8.8 points per game on a 52-percent clip from the floor and is 41.7 percent from deep. She also contributes 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists. BYU is 10-2 when Cannon scores in double figures, 6-2 when she tallies 3+ assists and 13-4 when she has 5+ boards.
