BYU Women Display Offensive Firepower In Win Over Utah State
Nov 23, 2021, 3:11 PM | Updated: 4:54 pm
BYU Women's Basketball guard Shaylee Gonzales drives to the rim during a win over Utah State. (BYU Photo)
(BYU Photo)
PROVO, Utah – The BYU women’s basketball team improves to 5-0 on the season after crushing Utah State 101-74 in a matinee special at the Marriott Center.
With Jeff Judkins out in the game due to precautionary reasons, as BYU awaited results on a COVID test, assistant coach Lee Cummard was elevated as interim head coach.
Former #BYU great @LeeCummard was the interim head coach in @byuwbb’s win over USU today.
Jeff Judkins was out for precautionary reasons. #BYU is awaiting results on a COVID test for Juddy.
Cummard would love to one day have a chance to be a full-time head coach.@kslsports pic.twitter.com/TPZcPRHzhn
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) November 23, 2021
“They’re well taught, Juddy’s (head coach Jeff Judkins) done a great job with them,” BYU assistant coach Lee Cummard said. “They know exactly what we’re going to do. We had a great game plan coming in that Juddy implemented before we knew any different and they came out and they were locked in from the jump.”
The offensive firepower from Shaylee Gonzales, Paisley Harding, Lauren Gustin, and Tegan Graham made Coach Cummard’s first head coach opportunity a memorable one.
What. A. Game. pic.twitter.com/is5oulsYvO
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) November 23, 2021
BYU jumped out to a massive 36-11 after the end of the first quarter on the Aggies. Star guard Shaylee Gonzales led the way with 13 of her game-high 24 points in the opening 10 minutes of action.
From there, Utah State went back-and-forth with the undefeated Cougars, but they could never overcome the first-quarter blitz that put the game out of reach.
Between Gonzales, Harding, Gustin, and Graham, those four combined for 71 of BYU’s 101 points.
Utah State starting guard Emmie Harris was a bright spot for the Aggies as she scored 17 points and knocked down three three-pointers.
BYU’s 101 points were the most they’ve scored this season. The previous high was 81 points in the season opener against Lipscomb.
Next up for BYU women’s basketball is their first opportunity away from the cozy confines of the Marriott Center. BYU will face No. 17 and undefeated Florida State in the St. Pete Showcase in Florida on Thanksgiving Day.
Immediately after the win over Utah State, BYU made a bus ride to Salt Lake International Airport to fly out to Florida for the upcoming MTE event that features three undefeated teams.
The Aggies fall to 2-3 on the season and will next be in action on Saturday against Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond, Louisiana.
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 him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
