LOS ANGELES — Four different Cougars scored in double figures as BYU women’s basketball defeated Loyola Marymount 71-57 Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion.

BYU at LMU Final Box Score

“I thought we played really well,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “Our bench was key tonight. Tegan (Graham) and Kaylee (Smiler) hit some really big shots for us. Our defensive effort was also huge. Paisley (Harding) and Maria (Albiero) shut down LMU’s two leading scorers. It was a good win.”

Shaylee Gonzales led all scorers with 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting to go along with five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Lauren Gustin recorded her sixth double-double of the season, pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds while adding 11 points and two assists. 

Graham poured in a season-high 14 points after connecting on four of her five three-point attempts and added five assists and three rebounds. Harding was the fourth Cougar to score in double figures on the night, posting 10 points and three rebounds.

Smiler contributed nine points, knocking down three timely 3-pointers, while Sara Hamson tallied two points, two blocks, two rebounds and two steals.

As a team, the Cougars (7-2, 3-1) shot 48% from the field, including 43% from distance, while holding LMU (3-8, 2-4) to 34% shooting. BYU led by as many as 31 points at the end of the third period before fending off a furious Lion comeback attempt in the fourth.

Gonzales opened the game with a steal and a fast-break lay-in before hitting a put-back layup to give the Cougars an early 4-2 lead. Layups by Hamson and Gonzales followed by a Graham corner trey in transition then put BYU up 11-2. Harding drained a triple to cap a 12-0 Cougar run before Harding and Albiero each scored layups to give BYU an 18-6 lead through the first quarter.

Smiler hit a 3-pointer from the wing and Gustin scored in the paint after rebounding her own miss to put the Cougars up 24-10 three minutes into the second quarter. Gonzales blew by her defender for a layup then found Gustin in transition for a lay-in, giving BYU a 28-15 advantage. Graham knocked down a corner trey and Gonzales hit a pair of free throws to close the half and put the Cougars up 33-19 at the break.

Gustin scored a pair of put-back layups to open the second half and give BYU a 38-21 lead. Back-to-back layups by Gonzales and a Graham 3-pointer then stretched the Cougars’ lead to 21, 45-24. Triples by Harding and Smiler then put BYU up 51-24. The Cougars closed the third quarter on a 9-2 run highlighted by a Smiler transition trey to take a 60-29 advantage.  

LMU opened the final quarter with a 10-0 run before a Harding layup brought the score to 62-39 for BYU. After the Lions proceeded to score seven unanswered points, Graham knocked down a 3-pointer and scored a fast-break layup to put the Cougars up 67-46. LMU brought the game within 11, 68-57, with 1:26 remaining, but a Kyra Beckman layup with 46 seconds left sealed the 71-57 win for BYU.

The Cougars return to the Marriott Center next week to host a pair of WCC opponents in Saint Mary’s and Pacific. BYU will first host the Gaels on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. MST. The matchup will be broadcast on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.

Player Notes

• Gonzales scored a game-high 10 points through the first half on 4 of 8 shooting. She finished the contest with a game-high 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting to go along with five assists, three rebounds and two steals.
• Gustin pulled down eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes to go along with four points. She ended with her sixth double-double of the season, racking up 14 rebounds, 11 points, two assists and one steal.
• Graham tallied a season-high 14 points on 5 of 7 shooting, including 4 of 5 from three. She also recorded a season-high five assists, three rebounds and one steal.
• Harding also scored in double figures with 10 points while adding three rebounds, one assist and one steal in 31 mintues of action.
• Smiler tied her season-high with 9 points on 3 of 5 shooting, going 3 of 4 from distance while contributing one rebound, one assist and one steal.
• Hamson swatted two shots on the night and added two points, two rebounds and two steals.

Team Notes

• BYU shot 43% from the floor in the first half, including 50% from three, while holding LMU to 24% shooting. On the game, the Cougars shot 48% from the floor and 43% from three while the Lions shot 34% overall.
• In the first quarter BYU held LMU to just six points, the least allowed by the Cougars in a single quarter this season.
• Four different Cougars scored in double figures for the first time this season (Gonzales, Gustin, Graham and Harding).
• BYU out-rebounded the Lions 34-32 and dished out 16 assists compared to LMU’s 14.
• The Cougars’ bench outscored the Lions’ reserves 25-14.
• BYU had 17 second-chance points to LMU’s 6 and scored 34 points in the paint compared to the Lions’ 24.
• The Cougars led throughout the entire contest.  

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball remains on the road to face Loyola Marymount at Gersten Pavilion on Thursday, Jan. 7, at 6 p.m. PST. The matchup will be streamed live on the WCC Network.

Thursday’s contest will be the 20th all-time matchup between the two teams, dating back to the 1996-97 season. The Cougars (6-2, 2-1) swept the season series last year and hold a 19-2 series advantage over the Lions (3-6, 2-2).

BYU at LMU Game Notes

Live Stats

ABOUT BYU (6-2, 2-1)

• The Cougars dropped to 2-1 in conference play Monday after narrowly falling to San Diego on the road, 58-56
• Lauren Gustin is averaging a team-high 13.1 rebounds per game, ranking her 4th in the nation. Gustin ranks 2nd in the country in defensive rebounds per game with 10.1
• Shaylee Gonzales leads the WCC in scoring with a 20.4 point-per-game average. She is currently the 37th highest scorer in the nation
• Sara Hamson has tallied 19 blocks this season and currently ranks 19th in the country in total blocked shots. Hamson passed her older sister, Jennifer, as No. 2 on BYU’s all-time career blocks list (343) against San Diego. Sara's mom Tresa Spaulding Hamson holds the BYU career record (494)
• In addition to Gonzales, Gustin (12.5 ppg) and Paisley Harding Johnson (11.3 ppg) are also averaging double figures in scoring
• Tegan Graham is the Cougars’ fourth leading scorer, averaging 6.9 points per game off the bench
• In assists, Maria Albiero leads the team with 4.3 apg  

ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (3-6, 2-2)

• The Lions picked up a pair of conference wins on the road last week with victories over Santa Clara (66-57) and San Francisco (72-55)
• Junior guard Ariel Johnson leads LMU in scoring (12.7 ppg) and steals (1.3 spg)
• Sophomore guard Ciera Ellington (12.4 ppg) and sophomore forward Khari Clark (10.2) are also averaging double figures in scoring this season
• Clark is pulling down a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game for the Lions
• Senior forward Meghan Mandel leads the team in blocks (2.4 bpg) while freshman guard Nicole Rodriguez is LMU’s assist leader (3.0 apg)
• Last season, the Lions finished 10th in the WCC standings with a 3-15 conference record. LMU was picked to finish 8th in this year’s Preseason WCC Poll
• Head coach Charity Elliott, in her 9th season at LMU, has a 101-157 record with the program

SERIES HISTORY

• BYU leads the all-time series with LMU, 19-2
• The Cougars are 7-2 against the Lions when playing in Los Angeles
• In 2020, BYU swept the season series. The most recent meeting resulted in a 57-42 Cougar win at the Marriott Center

UP NEXT

BYU returns to the Marriott Center next week to host a pair of WCC foes in Saint Mary’s and Pacific. The Cougars will first face Saint Mary’s on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcast live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.