PORTLAND, Ore. — Four different Cougars reached double figures in scoring as the BYU women’s basketball team defeated Portland 66-54 on the road Thursday night.

BYU at Portland Final Box Score

"This was a scrappy game, real physical and fast," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We played great defense and didn’t let them get any easy baskets. I thought Sara (Hamson) played her best game since I’ve coached her both offensively and defensively.  I thought Jasmine (Moody) and Babalu (Ugwu) played really well tonight and gave us a good lift and made baskets when we needed them to. I also thought Brenna (Drollinger) handled their pressure really well tonight.

Hamson led the Cougars (13-7, 8-2) with her fourth double-double of the season, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with a season-high nine blocks and one steal. Paisley Johnson followed with 12 points while adding six rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jasmine Moody had 11 points and four rebounds while Maria Albiero contributed 10 points and six assists.

As a team, BYU shot 52 percent from the floor on the night while holding the Pilots (13-8, 6-4) to just 33 percent. The Cougars also dominated down low, scoring 46 points in the paint to Portland’s 22.

Hamson and Babalu Ugwu opened the scoring for BYU with consecutive baskets in the paint to put the Cougars up 4-3 two minutes into the contest. Back-to-back fast-break layups by Johnson and Brenna Chase Drollinger increased BYU’s lead to five, 8-3. Teams then traded baskets to close the first quarter, with Johnson hitting a mid-range jumper to put the Cougars up 14-10.

A put-back lay-in by Moody followed by a pair of free throws by Albiero brought the score to 18-14 for BYU two minutes into the second quarter. Another basket down low by Moody and an Albiero triple from the left wing then put the Cougars up seven, 23-16.

Portland answered with a 9-3 run to take a 27-26 advantage with two minutes left in the first half. Back-to-back layups by Moody and Albiero then put BYU up 30-27, but the Pilots scored the final four points of the half to take a 31-30 advantage into the locker room.

The Cougars came out strong to open the second half, with a deep trey by Albiero and a fast-break layup by Johnson highlighting a 9-0 run to put BYU up 39-30. Consecutive fast-break layups by Hamson and Kaylee Smiler followed by another Hamson layup then gave the Cougars a 45-35 lead.

Ugwu pulled up and nailed a mid-range jumper to extend BYU’s lead to 12, 47-35, with three minutes left in the third quarter. Ugwu proceeded to score two more baskets, making a layup off an inbounds play and hitting another mid-range jumper to put the Cougars up 51-38. Portland responded with five unanswered points to cut BYU’s lead to eight, 51-43, at the end of the third period.

Consecutive baskets down low by Hamson and Moody put the Cougars up 10, 55-45, midway through the fourth quarter. Drollinger then hit a deep 3-pointer to increase BYU’s advantage to 13, 58-45.

Drollinger got a contested layup to fall to give the Cougars a 60-46 lead with 3:08 remaining. After a 6-0 Pilot run cut BYU’s lead to eight, Johnson found Hamson for a wide-open layup on a fast break to put the Cougars up 62-52 with 1:12 left.

After Portland made one final shot to cut BYU’s lead to eight with 53 seconds remaining, Johnson converted four consecutive free throws to close out the 66-54 win.

The Cougars remain on the road this weekend to take on No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. PST at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The game will be carried live on the WCC Network.

Team Notes

• With the 66-54 road win at Portland, the Cougars improved their record to 13-7, 8-2 on the year.
• For the fifth time this season, four BYU players recorded double figures in points. Sara Hamson (14), Paisley Johnson (12), Jasmine Moody (11) and Maria Albiero (10).
• In the first half, BYU scored 22 points in the paint compared with eight for Portland. For the game, the Cougars scored 46 points in the paint with the Pilots scoring 22.
• Both teams went into the locker room at halftime with seven assists each. BYU finished the game with the advantage dishing out 19 assists to Portland’s 12.
• The Pilots had the advantage in steals with six to BYU’s five in the first half of action. Portland concluded the game with 10 steals to BYU’s eight.
• In the rebounds category, the Cougars had the edge pulling down 34 boards compared with 31 for the Pilots.

Player Notes

• Sara Hamson pulled down a team-best six rebounds in the first half of action while contributing four points and a first-half high five blocks. She finished the game with a near triple-double from team bests in points (14) and game highs in rebounds with 10 while also recording a game- and season-best nine blocks.
• Jasmine Moody came off the bench to lead the way in scoring for BYU at halftime with nine points. She finished the game with her fourth game with double figures in points with 11. Her stat line also included four rebounds and one assist.
• Paisley Johnson picked up her 15th game with 10+points with 12 including going four of four from the free-throw line. She also pulled down six rebounds, five assists and had a team-best three steals.
• Maria Albiero tallied seven points at the break and finished the game with her fifth game with double-digit points (10) while tying for game highs in assists with six. She also pulled down two rebounds and got one steal.

PROVO, Utah— BYU women’s basketball begins the second half of the West Coast Conference race with road games at Portland and Gonzaga.

The Cougars take on the Pilots Thursday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m. PST from the Chiles Center.  BYU then travels to Spokane to take on No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. PST. A live video stream will be available on the WCC Network for both games.

BYU at Portland Notes

ABOUT BYU

• With the 71-48 home win over Santa Clara on Saturday, BYU women’s basketball improved its record to 12-7, 7-2 on the season; is on a five-game win streak and is in second place in the WCC standings
• BYU is averaging 61.8 points and 40.7 rebounds a game; is 12-4 when they get more blocks than their opponents; is 11-1 when dishing out more assists than opponents; is 12-1 when leading at the half
• The team is nationally ranked 3rd (32.3) in field goal percentage defense; 4thin blocked shots (124) and in blocked shots per game; 23rd (55.4) in scoring defense; 24th (27.25) in defensive rebounds per game
• Two players are scoring in double digits for BYU led by 14.4 points from Paisley Johnson; Brenna Drollinger contributes 11.5 points; Drollinger ranks 24th all-time in career points with 1,168; leads in assists and steals with 4.3 and 2.0 averages
• Sara Hamson leads in rebounds and blocks, with 7.9 boards and 4.37 blocks; ranks 1st (83) in the nation in blocked shots and 2nd (4.37) in blocked shots per game
• After 19 games played, BYU is averaging 61.8 points and pulls down 40.7 rebounds a contest
• The Cougars are holding opponents to just 55.4 points and are allowing only 37.8 rebounds a game

ABOUT PORTLAND

• Portland has a 13-7, 6-3 record on the year recording league wins over BYU, St. Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara, LMU and Pepperdine; the team is on a five-game win streak just like the Cougars 
• Alex Fowler leads the Pilots in scoring with a team-best 17.5 points a game; teammate Haylee Andrews follows with a 17.2 point average; Kate Andersen rounds out the double-figure scoring for Portland with 14.2 points a contest; Fowler leads the way in rebounding with a 7.9 average while Andrews is tallying a team-high 5.9 assists a game
• The Pilots are averaging 70.6 points and 36 rebounds a game
• Portland was picked to finish in last place in this year’s WCC race
• Head coach Michael Meeks is in his first season at the helm of the Portland women’s program; he has a 13-7 record on the year

ABOUT GONZAGA

• Gonzaga has compiled a 20-1, 9-0 record on the year and is ranked No. 12 in the latest USA Today Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll
• In WCC play, the Bulldogs host San Diego Thursday night before Saturday’s game with BYU
• Three players are contributing double-digit points for Gonzaga led by 12 points from Jill Townsend; Jenn Wirth follows with 11.7 points; Katie Campbell rounds out the double-digit scoring with 10.9 points; Wirth tops the leaderboard in rebounds with a team-best 6.2 rebounds; Jessie Loera tops the list in assists (5.1) and steals (1.7)
• Gonzaga is averaging 70.5 points and pulls down 37.8 rebounds a contest
• The Bulldogs were picked to finish in first place in this year’s conference race
• Head coach Lisa Fortier is in her fifth season at the helm of Gonzaga’s program where she has compiled a 148-41 record

SERIES HISTORY

• In the overall series with Portland, BYU has the 24-5 advantage; in the first meeting with the Pilots this year, Portland picked up the 57-44 win in Provo on January 4; when playing In Portland, the Cougars are 12-2
• Gonzaga leads the overall series with BYU 16-12; when playing in Spokane, the Cougars have a 3-9 record, beating the Bulldogs on their home court last year, 66-64 on Feb. 16, 2019; in this year’s first matchup between the two league foes, the Bulldogs picked up the 55-43 win in Provo on Jan. 2

UP NEXT
BYU continues league play on the road next week, traveling to San Diego to take on the Toreros on Saturday, Feb.1, at 2 p.m. PST. A live video stream of the game will be available on the WCC Network.