BYU women’s tire wins St. Pete Showcase | News, sports, jobs

BYU’s Shaylee Gonzales competes for a free throw against No. 22 West Virginia at. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

NS. PETERSBURG, Fla. – If the BYU women’s basketball team has been flying a little under the radar this season, their performance at the St. Pete Showcase should get serious attention.

After the Cougars beat 17th Florida State on Thanksgiving, the Cougars held a 58-57 win over number 22 in West Virginia on Saturday to win the showcase and go 7-0 undefeated.

The Cougars, who had up to 13 points behind them in the first half, took advantage of a late 7-0 run that included a three-pointer from Paisley Harding with less than three minutes of play to take the lead again. With 12.7 seconds remaining, Shaylee Gonzales drew 56 points into the basket and committed a foul. Gonzales pocketed both free throws with 3.2 seconds remaining for a 58-56 lead. A foul on the other end put West Virginia’s Kari Niblack on the line 0.4 seconds before the end. Niblack made the first but missed the second and BYU survived for the win.

Gonzales, who was named the St. Pete Showcase MVP, finished with 20 points (16 in the second half), six rebounds and two assists, and walked 6 of 6 off the charity streak. She had 24 points and five steals in the Cougars’ win over 17th Florida State on Thursday.

Harding added 13 points and three steals while Tegan Graham added 11 points.

The Cougars were without head coach Jeff Judkins, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this week. Assistant coach Lee Cummard went 3-0 as the interim head coach last week, taking wins against Utah State, Florida State and West Virginia.

BYU shot 47.7 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from the 3-point line. The Mountaineers made a total of 40.1 percent and just 28.6 percent behind the arch. West Virginia outstripped the Cougars 34 to 26, but BYU countered with efficiency from the free throw line, making 9 out of 11 for the Mountaineers 9 to 15 chances.

Graham hit back-to-back threesomes early in the first quarter to give BYU a 9-6 lead just under eight minutes from time, but the Cougars suffered a nearly seven-minute goalless drought before Maria Albiero scored a layup to a 13-0 West -Virginia run. The Cougars were behind by 21:11 at the end of the first.

After 34-26, newcomer Emma Calvert hit a three to 34-29 with 1:45 to go until the break. BYU went into halftime with 37:29. Graham led all scorers with 11 points, including three Treys.

Gonzales hit back-to-back threesomes to reduce West Virginia’s lead to 39:35 with 7:39 in the third quarter. Harding added back-to-back twos and BYU tied things up a little over a minute later.

Harding scored with an inbound game the lead 43-42 with 2:50 to go in the third game. Gustin added another knight on the next possession and took a 45-42 lead.

West Virginia got hot in the third quarter, scoring three straight field goals, including two triples, and taking the lead at 52:47 with less than six minutes in the game.

BYU fought their way back with a 7-0 run, including a Harding three-point who took the lead 54-52 with 2:33 remaining, setting up the last hectic moments of the game.

BYU received six votes in last week’s AP Top 25 poll, but with two wins over its ranked opponents, it will likely crack the rankings on Monday.

Next, BYU will play in Salt Lake City at the University of Utah in a rivalry game in the state on Saturday, December 4th at 5 p.m. MT. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 network.

BYU’s Paisley Harding prepares to play the ball against No. 22 West Virginia inbounds to throw. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

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