Three Players in Double Figures leads BYU to 75-56 win over San Jose State

LAHAINA, Hawaii – Three Cougars scored in double figures to lead BYU women's basketball to a 75-56 victory over San Jose State for the first game in the Maui Jim Maui Classic on Wednesday night in the Lahaina Civic Center.  

BYU vs. San Jose State Final Box Score

“The difference in the game tonight was that our zone was really active,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “We made them shoot more jumpers and pull-ups than they’re used to because they like to drive it and go all the way. I thought Brenna and Paisley played an outstanding game tonight. Paisley came in and hit some big shots.” 

BYU (5-4) outshot San Jose State (8-4) with a .519 clip compared to the Spartans .382 clip. A solid defense led to 34 total rebounds, totaling 18 more than the Spartans. 

Paisley Johnson led all players with 20 points, 17 of which were scored in the first half. Brenna Chase Drollinger followed with 14 points and Shalae Salmon with 10. Along with dishing out seven assists, Drollinger showed up on defense as she and Salmon each collected eight rebounds. Sara Hamon was the only player in the game to put up blocks and she totaled four in the game.  

Johnson scored the first points of the game off a trey, giving the Cougars the lead, which they held for the remainder of the game. The Spartans collected three points from free throws, but BYU quickly took back control and had an 11-1 run, extending the lead to 15-4. Johnson capitalized on a San Jose State turnover to score for the Cougars and a layup from Hamson secured BYU's 19-10 lead at the end of the quarter. 

The Spartans came out and scored four points to start the second quarter, but the Cougars regained control and led by 10 points off baskets from Johnson. Back-to-back buckets from Drollinger extended the BYU lead to 31-16 with seven minutes left in the quarter. The Cougars entered half-time leading the Spartans by 19 points, 46-27. 

A layup from Salmon kicked off the third quarter for BYU, but San Jose State rallied with an 8-0 run, bringing the score to 48-35 with five minutes left in the quarter. The Cougars regained control of the game as baskets from Salmon and Jasmine Moody led BYU in a 9-0 run, closing out the third quarter 57-38 in favor of the Cougars.  

Consistent shooting from BYU led to a game-high 22-point lead over San Jose State in the fourth period. Drollinger drove to the basket to lay the ball in and Johnson hit a trey on the following possession, extending the Cougar lead to 65-43 with 6:20 remaining in the game. Big plays from Malli Valgardson Perri and Signe Glantz extended the lead, and BYU closed out the game with the 75-56 victory over the Spartans.  

Tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 19, the Cougars face Oregon State at 7:30 p.m. HADT for their final game in the Maui Jim Maui Classic. There will be a radio broadcast of the game on the BYU Cougars App and the BYU Radio app.  

Team

• With the 75-56 win over San Jose State, BYU women’s basketball improved its record to 5-4 on the season.
• Through the first half of action, BYU shot 54 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc and went 7 of 14 for a 64 percent shooting from the charity stripe. For the game, the Cougars finished shooting 51.9 percent from the field, 47.4 percent from 3-point range and 63.2 percent from the free-throw line.
• BYU had the advantage in total rebounds in the first half with 18 to San Jose State’s 15. The Cougars maintained their advantage for the game pulling down 34 rebounds to the Spartans 26.
• As a team, the Cougars dished out 10 assists in the first 20 minutes of action and finished with 18 assists compared with 13 for San Jose State.
• For the fifth time on the year, three BYU players recorded double digits in points. Paisley Johnson (20), Brenna Drollinger (14),  Shalae Salmon (10).

Player

• Paisley Johnson had a first-half high17 points to lead all players. She finished with a game-best 20 points on 4 of 4 shooting from behind the arc and 6 of 8 shooting from the field while making all four attempted free throws. The points mark the first 20+point performance of the season for Johnson. She also grabbed three rebounds and dished out two assists.
• Brenna Drollinger reached double figures in the first half with 12 points to go along with five assists. For the game, she dished out a game-high seven assists along with 14 points. She tied for game highs in rebounds with eight and had two steals.
• Sara Hamson had three blocks in the first half of play. She finished the contest with a game-high four blocks along with five points and five rebounds.
• For the first time in over a month, Hawaiian native Jasmine Moody (Honolulu and Radford High School) played in a game. In the 17 minutes of action, she scored seven points, grabbed two rebounds and dished out one assist.
• By the end of the third quarter, Shalae Salmon had picked up her fourth game with double figures in points with 10, the third Cougar player to reach double-digit points. She was perfect from the field going 5 of 5 and tied with teammate Drollinger in the rebounds category pulling down eight. Salmon also recorded one steal.