BYU COUGARS
BYU Women Advance To WCC Tournament Semifinals
BYU women’s basketball survives and advances in the WCC Tournament.
The Cougars defeated San Francisco 66-56 thanks to a 13-0 run to open up the fourth quarter. BYU, the four seed in this year’s field, was down to the Dons by four points entering the final period.
Big win for #BYU women’s basketball. Cougs take down 4-seed San Francisco, 66-56 to set up a Monday Semifinal against No. 1 Gonzaga.#BYUWBB #WCCHoops
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) March 4, 2023
In a game that had its share of struggles on the offensive end, BYU caught fire in the fourth. All-WCC First Team guard Nani Falatea hit a three, then a jumper and sophomore Emma Calvert hit a pair of threes to give BYU a nine-point lead four minutes into the final frame.
From the opening tip, BYU played tough on the defensive end. Especially on San Francisco’s All-WCC First Team guard Ioanna Krimili. Krimili finished the game with only five points and was 2-of-11 shooting from the field.
Lauren Gustin puts together a career night on the glass
BYU’s star player Lauren Gustin struggled from the offensive end early in the game. At the halftime break, Gustin only had two points. But like her teammates, Gustin came alive in the fourth quarter. She finished with nine points.
Queen of the Boards 👑@byuwbb's @laurengus10 owns the #WCChoops Tournament record😤 pic.twitter.com/3dXEuK3kcS
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) March 4, 2023
Whenever discussing a stat line revolving around Gustin, you must bring up her rebounds. When you think she’s done everything she could on the glass this season as the single-season leader in BYU history, Gustin pulled down a new career-high.
The Salem, Utah native grabbed 27 rebounds. It was one shy of tying the single-game record in BYU history of 28.
Emma Calvert came up big for BYU
Where Gustin struggled on the offensive end, Calvert made up for it. The former Gatorade Player of the Year from Fremont High finished with a game-high 17 points on 5-of-7 from three in only 20 minutes of action.
BIG TIME W 😤 pic.twitter.com/w1CBEcGyky
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) March 4, 2023
Arielle Mackey-Williams chipped in 14 points, and Nani Falatea finished with 15.
Oddly enough, all three of BYU’s leading scorers fouled out of the game, but it wasn’t an issue for BYU as they outscored the Dons by 14 points in the final 10 minutes to secure another WCC Tournament victory.
BYU Women’s Basketball will face Gonzaga on Monday
The win now advances BYU to the Semifinals on Monday afternoon. Awaiting them after a day off on Sunday will be the number one seed and WCC Champion Gonzaga. Last season, Gonzaga upset BYU in the WCC Tournament Championship Game. BYU will now have its chance to play spoiler and upset the Zags’ championship aspirations.
Tip time for BYU versus Gonzaga on Monday is at 1 p.m. on BYUtv.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU moving to the Big 12 Conference on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
