Hamson records third double-double of the season in 57-46 loss to Portland

PROVO, Utah – Sara Hamson recorded her third double-double of the season in a 57-48 loss to the University of Portland on Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center.

BYU vs. Portland Final Box Score

"The hard part is trying to motivate kids in a lot of ways and get them prepared mentally and physically," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "We couldn’t score, and that affects you. We did a good job the first quarter at moving the ball and getting where we wanted to, but we just stopped doing it. Maybe they made some adjustments, and we need to make adjustments too."

Preseason All-WCC Team member Sara Hamson recorded her third double-double of the season, ending with 11 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks. Paisley Johnson led the Cougars (7-7, 2-2 WCC) in scoring with 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists, followed by Maria Albiero with 13 points.

BYU shot 32.8 percent from the field compared to Portland’s (8-6, 2-2 WCC) 31.1 percent. The Pilots are now 3-11 when playing at Provo, with the Cougars leading the all-time series vs. Portland 24-5.

BYU was the first to put points on the board with a pair of free throws after an early foul on Hamson. Two back-to-back scores by Paisley Johnson gave the Cougars a 9-5 lead. Their scoring run continued with baskets from Babalu Ugwu and Jasmine Moody in the paint to end the quarter, 13-7.

An early three-pointer by Portland in the second quarter cut the Cougar lead down to just three points, and two back-to-back baskets by the Pilots tied the game at 14-14 with 6:35 left in the quarter. An assist from Khaedin Taito set up Hamson for an easy layup, but the Pilots answered back quickly with two three-pointers of their own to pull ahead 20-16.

With 4:08 left in the quarter, Albiero hit her first three of the night and cut the Pilots lead to 23-19, but Portland banked four points off of Cougar fouls to head into halftime with a seven-point lead.

BYU opened strong in the second half with a layup by Hamson only 20 seconds into the third quarter. Hamson hit a bank shot to stop the Pilot’s scoring drive and cut their lead back down to seven points, but the Pilots retaliated fast and brought the score to 38-26 with 4:30 left in the quarter. Johnson hit her second three-pointer of the night, but the Pilots followed it up with seven unanswered points, ending the quarter with the lead at 45-29.

In the final ten minutes of the game, Albiero brought the momentum and scored early for the Cougars. Leading scorer Johnson drove into the paint to get another two points on the board, followed by a fast break from Albiero for another two.

A steal by Hamson set Ugwu up for a layup, and a quick offensive rebound by Hamson got the Cougars another two points. With the momentum shifted, Ugwu took the ball in for another two, and Albiero sank back-to-back buckets to put another five on the board as time expired.

BYU remains at home to take on WCC foe San Diego on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 2 p.m. MST. The game will be shown live on BYUtv and on the BYUtv App.

Team Notes

• BYU shot 32.8 percent from the floor, 23.5 percent from behind the arc and 60 percent from the free-throw line
• The Cougars out-blocked Portland 11-0 and edged the Pilots in points in the paint 20-16

Player Notes

• Paisley Johnson went into halftime with a team-high eight points on three of six shooting. She finished the contest with a team-high 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and three assists
• Sara Hamson ended the first half with five points, seven rebounds and six blocks. She finished the game with 11 points and 13 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. She also finished with a season-high seven blocks
• Maria Albiero recorded a season-high 13 points on five of eight shooting