Final WCC road swings takes Cougar women to games at Portland and at No. 13 Gonzaga

BYU women’s basketball is 18-6, 10-3 on the year and remains in second place in the WCC standings entering this week’s road games.  

The Cougars are at Portland (10-13, 2-10) Thursday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. PST. BYU then travels to Spokane to take on No. 13 Gonzaga on Saturday, Feb. 16 at, 2 p.m. PST. A live video stream of both games will be available on TheW.tv.

BYU at Portland Game Notes

ABOUT BYU

• In the game vs. Pacific, three players scored in double digits for the 11th time this year; BYU is 13-1 when it leads at the half; is 16-3 when making at least 5 treys; is 9-2 when dishing out more assists, last vs. Pacific; and is 10-1 when it pulls down more rebounds than its opponents, last vs. Pacific
• Freshman Shaylee Gonzales, who has scored in double-digits in 22 of 24 games, leads the team in scoring and assists with 16.1 and 4.1 averages, respectively. Sophomore Paisley Johnson contributes 14.4 points while junior Brenna Chase puts up 11.8 points a contest. Chase leads in steals (2.4 spg). Senior forward Jasmine Moody tops the leaderboard in rebounding, averaging 5.7 boards a game. Sophomore center Sara Hamson leads the team in blocks with a 2.2 average and is third in rebounding pulling down 5.2 boards a game.
• In the WCC in all games, the Cougars rank second in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, blocked shots, assist/turnover ratio and defensive rebounds; third in scoring margin, rebounding offense, assists and 3-point field goals made; and are fourth in steals, turnover margin and 3-point field goal percentage defense
• In the first meeting with Portland this season, the Cougars picked up the 79-71 victory in Provo on Jan. 19. BYU leads the overall series 23-4 and it has an 11-2 record when playing at the Chiles Center. 

ABOUT PORTLAND

• Portland has compiled a 10-13, 2-10 record on the year and is tied in eighth place with San Francisco entering this week’s WCC play.
• The Pilots have conference wins over San Diego and San Francisco.
• Senior Darian Slaga is one of three players that are putting up double-digit points for Portland with a team-best 15.9. Julie Spencer follows with 14.8 points with freshman Haylee Andrews contributing 12.3 points a game. Spencer leads the way in rebounds with a 7.8 average. Andrews dishes out a team-high 3.7 assists per game.
• The Pilots are averaging 74.3 points and 37 rebounds a contest. The team shoots 41.8 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from 3-point range and 76.1 percent from the charity stripe.

ABOUT No. 13 GONZAGA

• Gonzaga enters this week’s league action in first place with an 11-1 record and is 22-2 overall. BYU is the only team that has beaten the Bulldogs in conference play. Gonzaga hosts San Diego on Thursday.
• Senior forward Zykera Rice tops the leaderboard in scoring and rebounding for Gonzaga with 13.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a game.  Three other players are averaging just over nine points a game. Senior guard Laura Stockton is the assists leader with a 4.4 average.
• The Bulldogs are averaging 74.5 points and 39.3 rebounds a contest. They shoot 45.7 percent from the field, 36.2 percent from behind the arc and 76.1 percent from the free-throw line.
• In the first meeting with Gonzaga this season, the Cougars recorded the 70-68 win in Provo on Jan. 17.  The Bulldogs hold a 15-10 advantage over BYU in the overall series. When playing in Spokane, BYU has a 2-9 mark, last winning there on December 2, 2000, a 74-57 road win. Coach Judkins has a 7-14 record in the series with Gonzaga.

UP NEXT
After the game at Gonzaga, BYU women’s basketball finishes the WCC season with three-straight home games, beginning with San Diego on Saturday, Feb. 23.