Cougars finish WCC play with Portland and Gonzaga at home

TEAMTEAM

PROVO, Utah – BYU women's basketball returns to the Marriott Center as the Cougars host Portland on Thursday and Gonzaga on Saturday. BYU will conclude the 2022-23 regular season as it takes on the top two teams in the WCC, Thursday at 7 p.m. MT and at 2 p.m. MT on Saturday with both games broadcast live on BYUtv, BYUtv.org and the BYUtv App. 

BYU (14-13, 9-7) vs. Portland (20-7, 14-2)
Thursday, Feb. 23
7 p.m. MT
Marriott Center
TV/Stream: BYUtv
Live Stats
 

BYU (14-13, 9-7) vs. Gonzaga (25-3, 15-1)
Saturday, Feb. 25
2 p.m. MT
Marriott Center
TV/Stream: BYUtv
Live Stats

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BYU Game Notes

Portland Game Notes

PORTLAND (FEB 23): Portland will visit the Marriott Center having won eight of its last ten contests, the two losses coming at the hands of the first place Zags. Three double-figure scorers lead the Pilots in Alex Fowler (18.0), Haylee Andrews (12.4) and Maisie Burnham (10.9) as they average 70.3 points per game on 46.5 percent shooting. In the previous meeting, Portland took home a 67-45 win in which the Pilots held Falatea and Gustin to a combined 13 points.

GONZAGA (FEB 25): The Bulldogs have won 18 of their last 19 games and come into the second meeting with the Cougars boasting a 15-1 conference record. Gonzaga is led by five players who average over 9.4 points per game: Yvonne Ejim (16.5), Kaylynne Truong (16.5), Brynna Maxwell (14.1), Eliza Hollingsworth (9.4), Kayleigh Truong. The conference leaders are shooting 45.3 percent from the field as a team, assisting on 56 percent of made field goals while holding opponents to 39.3 percent shooting.

SENIOR DAY: The Cougars will honor two players prior to the Gonzaga game on Saturday finishing their careers with the program. Gabriela Bosquez, a graduate transfer from Arizona State and Devry Millett, a veteran from Folsom, California, who has been with the Cougars for four years. 

LAST GAME: The Cougars are coming off a 72-59 loss to San Francisco on the hilltop last Saturday. The Dons held BYU to just 37.7 percent shooting, 27.6 percent from behind the arc and limited the WCC Player of the Week, Lauren Gustin to six shot attempts. Nani Falatea and Arielle Mackey-Williams combined for 26 points to lead the Cougars.

CONFERENCE PLAY: BYU is 9-7 in league play and currently in fourth place, behind Gonzaga (15-1), Portland (14-2) and San Diego (10-6). The Cougars currently are one game clear of San Francisco (8-8). BYU is still in play for as high a three seed in the WCC Tournament and can do no worse than a No. 5 seed. 

SCORING DUO: BYU has two players averaging double-figure scoring, Nani Falatea and Lauren Gustin. Gustin's 16.6 points per game ranks fourth in the conference with Falatea's 15.1 points being good for seventh in the league. Gustin has scored over 20 points in 10 games this season while Falatea has topped 20 points in five games. 

NATION’S BEST: Forward Lauren Gustin was named one of 10 final candidates for the 2023 Katrina McClain Award, her second-consecutive year with that honor. She leads the nation with with 16.3 rebounds per game and 440 total rebounds. She is second in the country with 24 double-doubles in 27 games. The junior from Salem, Utah has posted 20 or more rebounds seven times this year to lead the country. Gustin was also named to the Naismith College Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award watch list.

MILESTONES: With her first rebound against San Francisco on Saturday, the WCC Player of the Year candidate set the single-season WCC record for total rebounds with 428, passing the 427 set by Danielle Mauldin of Saint Mary’s in 2014. Gustin finished the game with 13 rebounds and is currently at 440 with two games to play in the regular season. She also joined the 1,000-points and 1,000-rebound club for her career, joining only former All-American Tina Gunn Robison on the list that has accomplished both at BYU.