STOCKTON, Calif – Paisley Johnson and Shaylee Gonzales scored in double digits in the 77-74 win over Pacific and secure the Cougars unblemished 5-0 league record, Thursday at Alex G. Spanos Center.

BYU vs. Pacific Final Box Score

“We had some great plays from several players in the win tonight,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “ I thought Paisley played a great game, they had a hard time guarding her. Brenna did a good job on their top player and Shaylee had another great game. Defensively, I thought Sara had a really good game, played like herself tonight.”

Johnson and Gonzales led BYU (13-3, 5-0) with 24 points and two 3-pointers each. Gonzales also contributed three assists and nine rebounds. Moody added eight points and nine rebounds, while Salmon brought six points and four assists. Chase also put five points on the board with one 3-pointer.  

A defensive rebound and a layup by Shalae Salmon started the scoring for the Cougars who quickly took a 6-4 lead in the sixth minute. The two teams traded baskets until Johnson came in with a jumper for a 10-9 lead. Scores by Gonzales, Johnson, Brenna Chase and Sara Hamson gave the Cougars a 22-13 lead as the team closed out the first period leading the Tigers (9-5, 2-2) 22-17.

Two made free throws by Jasmine Moody maintained the Cougar lead. Midway through the quarter, Johnson knocked down two 3-pointers to give BYU a 32-24 advantage.  Moody and Gonzales contributed layups of their own and Chase came in with a 3-pointer for a 39-31 BYU lead. Another jumper and a final 3-pointer by Gonzales closed the first half with the Cougars leading 44-37.

Two easy layups from Salmon started the second half for the Cougars. Johnson took advantage of a fast break and scored in the paint, bringing the score to 50-42 in favor of the visiting BYU team. Gonzales made her second 3-pointer of the night near the end of the third quarter. Pacific cut into the lead with four made free throws before Johnson responded with a jumper. Baskets by Hamson, Maria Albiero and Gonzales gave BYU a nine-point, 63-54 lead to close out the third period.

A quick basket in the post from Moody pushed the Cougars’ lead to 11, 65-54 to start the final period. The Tigers made a comeback, cutting the lead to just two points, 65-63 on a three-pointer. A basket by Gonzales put BYU up 67-63. Back-and-forth points from both teams brought the first tie of the night at 69-69 with 2:13 left on the clock before a Moody layup gave BYU the lead. Pacific answered with a layup and free throw to get them within one, 73-72, with 20 seconds left. After two fouls on the Tigers and four critical made free throws by Gonzales, the Cougars secured the win at 77-74.

BYU will next travel to Moraga, California, to face Saint Mary’s at McKeon Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. PST. The game will have a live video stream on TheW.tv.

Team Notes

• With the win over Pacific, BYU improved its record to 13-3, 5-0 on the season and is riding a seven-game win streak.

• BYU had five steals in the first half to Pacific’s two. The Cougars finished with 12 while the Tigers got 11.

• In the rebounds category, each time had 15 in the first half of play. For the game, the Tigers grabbed 32 boards to the Cougars 30.

• The Cougar bench contributed 18 points in the win, compared with 13 for the Tigers.

Player Notes

• Paisley Johnson reached double-digit points (10) on a layup with 1:10 left in the first quarter. By halftime, she had a game-high 16 points. She finished tied for game highs in points with 24. The points are her third game with 20+ points this season. Johnson went 8 of 14 from the field and made six of her eight attempted free throws. She also grabbed two rebounds, dished out three assists and had one steal in the win.

• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales had scored 13 points in the first half, making it the 16th  time she’s recorded double-figure points. For the game, she ended tied for game highs with 24 points. She nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds. Gonzales recorded team bests in steals with three and dished out three assists.

• Despite fouling out of the game, Shalae Salmon led the way in assists with four, tallied six points and pulled down two rebounds.

• Jasmine Moody was close to getting a double-double in the game finishing with eight points and nine rebounds. She also had one steal.

PROVO, Utah — With a 12-3 overall and 4-0 league record, BYU women’s basketball is on the road for the third week of West Coast Conference action. The Cougars battle Pacific (9-4, 2-1) Thursday, Jan. 10, at 7 p.m., PST.  They are at St. Mary’s on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. PST. Fans can follow the action for both games live with a video stream on TheW.tv. 

BYU at Saint Mary's Game Notes

BYU vs. Pacific Game Notes

ABOUT BYU

• The Cougars are off to a perfect 4-0 mark in league play after a 55-44 home victory over LMU on Saturday. Currently, BYU is putting up 66.1 points per game while shooting 40.6 percent from the field, 32.3 percent from the 3-point line and 67.8 percent when shooting from the free throw line. The team grabs 39.9 rebounds and has pulled down more boards in eight contests.
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales, who has scored in double-digits in all games, leads in scoring with a 17.1 average. Junior Brenna Chase puts up 13.0 points a contest while sophomore Paisley Johnson contributes 12.8 points. Chase also leads the way in assists (4.4) and steals (2.6).  Gonzales tops the list in rebounding with a 5.4 average. Sophomore center Sara Hamson leads in blocks with 1.7 per contest.
• BYU was picked to finish third in the WCC preseason poll while junior Chase and sophomore Hamson were named to the WCC preseason team.
• In last year’s WCC race, BYU and Pacific split the series with each team winning on its home court.

ABOUT PACIFIC

• Pacific has compiled a 9-4, 2-1 record on the year with league victories over St. Mary's and Portland and a loss at Gonzaga
• The Tigers are 5-0 on the year when playing at the Alex C. Spanos Center
• Three players are scoring in double figures for Pacific with 16.6 points from senior guard Ameela Li. She’s followed by Valerie Higgins, a redshirt sophomore guard, who gets 16.5 points a game with Brooklyn McDavid, a sophomore forward that’s contributing 14.7 points a contest. The team's leading rebounder is Higgins who pulls down 8.5 rebounds a contest.
• Pacific is averaging 72.6 points and 38.6 rebounds a game. It shoots 40.8 percent from the field, 30 percent from behind the arc and 76.4 percent from the free-throw line.
• The Tigers were predicted to finish seventh in the 2018-19 WCC Preseason Poll. 

ABOUT ST. MARY’S

• St. Mary’s enters the third week of conference play with an 8-6, 1-2 record. The Gaels host San Diego Thursday, before battling the Cougars on Saturday afternoon.
• In league play, SMC has a win over Portland and losses to Pacific and Gonzaga.
• The Gaels are putting up 74.6 points while grabbing 39.6 percent rebounds per game. They shoot 47.7 percent from the field and 66.2 percent from the charity stripe. From 3-point range, they shoot 38.9 percent.
• Sydney Raggio tops the leaderboard in scoring for St. Mary’s with a team-best 11.9 points. Megan McKay is next with 11.4 points, Emily Codding contributes 10.8 points per game. Sam Simons rounds out the Gaels offensive output with 10.2 points a contest.  Raggio grabs a team-best 8.4 rebounds a game while Jasmine Forcadilla is the team’s assist leader with 4.0 assists per game.
• The Gaels were selected to finish second in this year’s league race. Raggio was named to the 10-member preseason team.
• Last season during the conference race with SMC, BYU won in Provo and lost in Moraga.

UP NEXT FOR BYU

After the road trip to California, the BYU women return home to host two more conference foes. The Cougars host league-leading Gonzaga on Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 p.m. MST and Portland on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 2 p.m. MST. Both games are scheduled to air live on BYUtv.