PROVO, Utah – Lauren Gustin recorded her seventh double-double of the season as BYU women’s basketball defeated Saint Mary’s 80-63 Thursday night at the Marriott Center.

BYU vs. Saint Mary's Final Box Score

"I thought offensively we had moments where we really moved the ball well," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "Saint Mary’s did a really good job spreading us out and making us play one-on-one basketball, which is hard to do. I thought Paisley (Harding) played one of her better games tonight. I also think Lauren (Gustin) showed why she’s one of the best in the low post. I’m happy with the win and thought everyone played well." 

Gustin scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high 16 boards. Harding led the team in scoring with a season-high 20 points, adding five assists and a pair of rebounds to her stat line. Shaylee Gonzales added 19 points of her own while leading the team with six assists. Sara Hamson scored eight points while anchoring the Cougars’ defense with four blocks.

"I feel like we hit on all cylinders later on in the game," Harding said. "The game clicked for a lot of us. I think everyone on the team had a good game, and it was really fun to be a part of." 

BYU (8-2, 4-1 WCC) shot 50.8 percent from the field while holding Saint Mary’s (2-10, 0-6 WCC) to 36.9 percent shooting. The Cougars had their way in the paint, outscoring the Gaels 34-22, and forced 17 turnovers in the game.

Harding scored nine straight points to lead the Cougars to a 13-5 advantage midway through the first period. The Gaels answered with a quick 6-0 run to cut the deficit to two points, 13-11, with 3:12 on the clock. The two teams traded baskets in the closing moments as the first quarter ended in a deadlock at 19-all.

Saint Mary’s knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to jump out to a 29-23 lead early in the second period. Gonzales drained two treys and scored a fast break layup to personally fuel 8-0 run, evening the score up at 31-all. Gonzales remained hot from behind the arc, dropping two more from deep to help BYU retake the lead 39-33. Maria Albiero made a baseline jumper at the buzzer to send the Cougars into the half with a 41-33 edge.

After both teams struggled to score at the start of the second half, Gonzales and Harding scored back-to-back baskets to extend BYU’s lead to double digits, 48-36. The Cougars continued to build their lead, outscoring the Gaels 9-7 to end the third period with a 14-point lead, 57-43.

Harding opened the final quarter with two driving layups to increase BYU’s advantage to 16 points, 62-46. Malli Perri had six fourth-period points as the Cougars cruised to the 80-63 victory over the Gaels.

BYU is scheduled to continue WCC play against Pacific at the Marriott Center on Saturday, Jan. 16. The game is set to tipoff at 2 p.m. MST and will be televised on BYUtv.

Player Notes

• Harding scored a season-high 20 points on 7 of 11 shooting to go along with five assists, two rebounds and one steal.
• Gonzales scored a game-best 15 points in the first 20 minutes. She finished the contest with 19 points, six rebounds, six assists and one steal.
• Gustin tallied eight rebounds and six points at the break. She finished the game with 12 points and 16 rebounds to record her seventh double-double of the season
• Hamson stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, four blocks, three rebounds and one steal
• Perri tallied a season-high six points on a perfect 3 of 3 shooting
• Freshmen Megan Stevenson and Kate Vorwaller both recorded their first minutes of playing time this season during the win

Team Notes

• The Cougars capitalized off of Saint Mary’s 17 turnovers, scoring 18 points off takeaways
• BYU dominated down low, scoring 34 points in the paint compared to the Gaels’ 22
• In blocks, BYU had five while Saint Mary’s had one
• The Gaels out-rebounded the Cougars 40-37 and had 29 bench points to BYU’s 16
• Twelve different Cougars saw playing time in the win, with nine of them scoring

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball is back in the Marriott Center to take on Saint Mary’s on Thursday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. MST. The matchup will be broadcast live on BYUtv as well as the BYUtv App.

The Cougars (7-2, 3-1) split their first WCC road trip of the season last week, falling narrowly to San Diego 58-56 before beating LMU 71-57. The Gaels (2-9, 0-5) travel to Provo after dropping a pair of home contests last week to Santa Clara, 77-59, and San Francisco, 73-56.

BYU vs. Saint Mary's Game Notes

Live Stats

ABOUT BYU (7-2, 3-1)

• BYU bounced back from its first WCC loss of the season by using a balanced offensive attack and a smothering defensive effort to defeat LMU 71-57. Four different Cougars scored in double figures versus the Lions for the first time this season.
• Shaylee Gonzales currently leads the WCC in scoring (20.4 ppg) and is the 33rd highest scorer in the nation.
• Lauren Gustin is averaging 13.2 rebounds per contest, ranking her 3rd in the country. Her 9.9 defensive rebounds per game rank her 2nd throughout the NCAA.
• Gustin has also tallied six double-doubles on the season, the 9th most in the nation.
• Sara Hamson’s 21 blocked shots this season ranks her 23rd in the country. She is currently averaging 2.3 blocks per game.
• Gonzales, Gustin (12.3 ppg) and Paisley Johnson Harding (11.1 ppg) are all averaging double figures in scoring. Coming off the bench, Tegan Graham (7.7 ppg) is BYU’s fourth leading scorer.
• As a team, the Cougars rank 32nd in the nation in field-goal percentage (.460) and 44th in field-goal percentage defense (.357).

ABOUT SMC (2-9, 0-5)

• The Gaels are looking to secure their first WCC win of the season after falling at home last week to Santa Clara and San Francisco.
• Junior guard Taycee Wedin leads Saint Mary’s in scoring with an 11.7 point-per-game average.
• Freshman forward Finau Tonga (10.6) and senior guard Madeline Holland (10.2) are also averaging double figures in scoring for the Gaels.
• Senior guard Brianna Simonich leads the team in rebounds (8.5 rpg), assists (2.9 apg) and steals (1.5 spg).
• Last season, Saint Mary’s finished 7th in the WCC regular season standings with a 6-12 conference record. The Gaels were picked to finish 5th in the 2020-21 WCC Preseason Poll.
• Head coach Paul Thomas, who is in his 15th season at the helm of the program, has accumulated a 270-188 record at Saint Mary’s.

SERIES HISTORY

• BYU holds an 11-10 all-time series lead over Saint Mary’s.
• The Cougars are 6-3 against the Gaels when playing in the Marriott Center.
• Last season, BYU swept the season series, most recently defeating Saint Mary’s at home 60-39.

UP NEXT

Following their matchup with Saint Mary’s, the Cougars remain at home to face Pacific (4-3, 2-2) on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. MST. The contest will be carried live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.