BYU Cougars
Overall: 2-0 ⋅ Big 12: 0-0 ⋅ Last 5: 2-0
THE OPENING TIP
After defeating the Portland Pilots 74-64, the Cougars play their third game in five days as the Montana Grizzlies visit the Marriott Center. With a win, BYU would move to 3-0 for the fourth consecutive season and second under Cummard.
Saturday’s matinee marks the 13th meeting between BYU and Montana, with the Cougars trailing 4-8 in the all-time series. The most recent matchup came on Nov. 19, 2025, in Missoula, when Cummard picked up his first road victory as head coach. BYU trailed by five with 3:37 remaining before scoring six straight points, capped by a triple from Ari Mackey-Williams to earn a gritty 70-69 road win.
BYU played without star sophomore Delaney Gibb in last year’s game as she recovered from a lower-leg injury. However, five Cougars finished with eight or more points, led by Marya Hudgins (23), Olivia Hamlin (12), Lara Rohkohl (10), Bolanle Yussuf (8) and Mackey-Williams (8). BYU scored 42 of its 70 points in the paint while hitting just 5 of 27 triples (18.5 percent shooting from deep).
GETTING EVERYONE INVOLVED
For the second straight game, nine of 10 Cougars who saw action scored, with five finishing with nine or more points. Olivia Hamlin led the way with 15 points, Sydney Benally and Prasayus Notoa each chipped in 13, Brinley Cannon scored 10 and Gibb finished with nine.
Led by Hamlin—one of the top players in the country at pushing the pace—BYU scored 20 points in transition and converted 15 Portland turnovers into 14 points. Cummard’s squad dominated the glass, outrebounding the Pilots 52-36 (including 22-10 on the offensive boards), which led to 34 paint points and 16 second-chance points.
SLOW OUT OF THE BLOCKS
The Cougars have trailed after the opening quarter in both games this season, shooting a combined 8 of 33 from the floor (24.2 percent) and 1 of 19 (5.2 percent) from 3-point range. In the win over Portland, BYU’s struggles extended past the first quarter as the Cougars entered halftime trailing by six. In the first 20 minutes, they scored just 28 points while shooting 31.3 percent from the field and 11.1 percent from deep.
The third quarter—a strength a season ago—proved pivotal on Thursday as BYU shot 12 of 20 from the floor, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. The Cougars outscored Portland 33-10 in the period, with 20 points coming from underclassmen. Notoa went a perfect 3-for-3 for six of her career-high 13 points, adding a career-best four assists and a steal in just six minutes of third-quarter action.
WISE BEYOND THEIR YEARS
Despite having no seniors or fifth-year players on its roster, BYU returns a wealth of experience. The Cougars feature four players who rank among the top six in all-time freshman minutes played: Sydney Benally checks in at No. 2 (1,108), Olivia Hamlin at No. 3 (1,097), Kailey Woolston at No. 4 (1,067) and Delaney Gibb at No. 6 (1,013).
Three of those players also rank in the top five in all-time freshman scoring: Delaney Gibb is No. 2 with 522 points (while ranking first in points per game), Olivia Hamlin sits at No. 3 with 490 points and Kailey Woolston is No. 5 with 425 points. Woolston was also the second-ranked 3-point shooter in the NCAA during her 2023–24 freshman season at 46.6 percent.
70: THE COUGARS' MAGIC NUMBER
The Cougars posted a 21-3 record when eclipsing 70 points on offense in 2025–26. Their only losses came against No. 17 Vanderbilt (without Delaney Gibb), Arizona and No. 22 West Virginia.
Defense remains a cornerstone of Lee Cummard’s program. His team held 27 of 38 opponents under 70 points and went 24-3 in those contests, with their only losses coming against No. 10 TCU, No. 18 Baylor and Oklahoma State. The Cougars held 11 foes under 60 points in 2025–26 and went 25-2 over the past three seasons when doing so.
LUCKY NUMBER 7
Olivia Hamlin scored 15 points to lead BYU in the win over the Pilots on Thursday, going 5-for-16 from the field. The sophomore also contributed three rebounds and a steal in the win.
Hamlin earned All-Big 12 honorable mention, Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors and two Big 12 Freshman of the Week selections last season. She left her mark on the BYU freshman record book, finishing first in field goal attempts (458); third in total points (490), made field goals (186), steals (65) and minutes played (1,097:07); fourth in 3-pointers made (57); sixth in steals per game (1.71); seventh in 3-pointers per game (1.50); ninth in minutes per game (28:52); and 10th in points per game (12.90).
Hamlin spearheaded BYU’s transition attack, averaging 4.5 points per game in transition. Transition buckets accounted for 34.9 percent of her total scoring, ranking her in the 99th and 98th percentiles nationally. She scored 11 or more points in 11 of her final 13 games while hitting at least one 3-pointer in each of those contests. Hamlin matched a career high with 23 points in a win over Iowa State and again in a WBIT victory against Missouri, shooting 8-for-15 from the field with three triples, a rebound, an assist, a steal and a block.
The Santa Clara, Utah, native led all Big 12 freshmen with 65 total steals, which ranked 10th overall in the conference. She averaged 1.72 steals per game, placing 16th in the league and first among freshmen.
PERPETUAL PERIMETER PRECISION
BYU holds the second-longest active and third-longest all-time NCAA Division I streak of games with a made 3-pointer at 834 consecutive games. The streak began on March 2, 2000, in an 86-69 win over Air Force. Chattanooga holds the longest active streak at 838 games.
