Cougars fall 55-43 to No. 16 Gonzaga

PROVO, Utah — Despite having a double-double from Babalu Ugwu, the BYU women’s basketball team lost its first conference game of the season, falling 55-43 to No. 16 Gonzaga at the Marriott Center Thursday night.

BYU vs. Gonzaga Final Box Score

"We got outexecuted tonight," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "I thought they ran their stuff well and we were scatterbrained offensively. You've got to give them credit for that, but part of it is still on us. I thought defensively we played pretty well tonight. We got a little sluggish and out of position, but for the most part, we played well. I know this team can play a better than we did tonight and we've got to take care of business on Saturday."

Ugwu led the Cougars (7-6, 2-1 WCC) with 10 points and 11 rebounds to record her second double-double of the season. Brenna Chase Drollinger and Maria Albiero both chipped in eight points apiece while Paisley Johnson filled the stat sheet with seven points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals. Sara Hamson added five rebounds and four blocks for BYU.

The Cougars shot 33 percent from the field on the night compared to the Bulldogs’ (12-1, 2-0 WCC) 40 percent, and had 12 bench points compared to Gonzaga’s 23.

After Gonzaga opened the scoring with a layup, a fast break layup from Moody and consecutive 3-pointers by Albiero gave BYU an 8-7 lead midway through the first quarter. Both teams then traded baskets back and forth with the score at 13-12, then Gonzaga closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to take an 18-12 advantage.

Back-to-back baskets down low from Ugwu and Salmon brought the Cougars within two, 18-16, just over a minute into the second quarter. A free throw from Ugwu then cut BYU’s deficit to one, but the Bulldogs responded with an 8-0 run to build their lead to nine, 26-17, with three minutes left in the period. After a Sara Hamson free throw ended the Cougars’ four-minute scoring drought, Gonzaga scored six more unanswered points to take a 32-18 lead into halftime.

BYU came out strong to open the second half, as Drollinger made a reverse layup, Albiero hit a midrange jumper and Moody converted from distance to bring the Cougars within seven, 32-25. After the Bulldogs hit a jumper for their first points of the half, a Johnson layup followed by 3-pointers from Johnson and Drollinger cut BYU’s deficit to one, 34-33, midway through the third quarter. Gonzaga, however, responded by closing the period on a 10-0 run to take a 44-33 advantage.

A baseline jumper by Ugwu and a basket in the paint by Johnson brought the Cougars within nine, 46-37, with just over six minutes left in the game. After the Bulldogs proceeded to score six unanswered points, a three-point play by Drollinger put the score at 52-40 for Gonzaga with just under two minutes remaining. Both teams each hit one last 3-pointer before time expired to bring the final score to 55-43 for the Bulldogs.

BYU remains at home to take on the Portland Pilots on Saturday, Jan. 4, at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be carried live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.

Postgame Notes

Team

• Prior to the start of the game, BYU head coach Jeff Judkins was recognized for getting his 400th win on Monday, Dec. 31. He was joined by his family, current and former players and former coaches on the court.  
• Both BYU and Gonzaga pulled down 36 team rebounds on the night, the Cougars edged the Bulldogs in offensive rebounds 11-10
• The Cougars shot 32.7 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from behind the arc and 60 percent from the free-throw line

Player

• Babalu Ugwu matched her career-high of 11 rebounds while scoring 10 points for her second double-double of the season
• Sara Hamson had a game-high four blocks, the seventh time this season she has had four or more blocks in a game