Brigham Young improved to 10-2 in West Coast Conference play and improved to 14-3 overall with three road wins last week over Pepperdine, Pacific and Saint Mary’s.
The NCAA.com Team of the Week, BYU opened the week with a 57-43 win over Pepperdine on Feb. 9 and then posted a 65-52 win at Pacific on Feb. 11, before culminating with a 79-61 win at Saint Mary's on Saturday.
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In the win over Pacific, Shaylee Gonzales and Paisley Johnson Harding scored 14 points apiece to lead the Cougars, while Lauren Gustin pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go along with 10 points. Maria Albiero contributed nine points, six rebounds and three assists, while Sara Hamson tallied six points, seven rebounds and three blocks. As a team, BYU shot a 45.6% clip from the floor while holding the Tigers to just 24.6% shooting on the night.
BYU won its fifth straight game on Saturday afternoon as Johnson Harding scored a season-high 28 points as the Cougars defeated Saint Mary’s. Harding sank 12 of her 20 shot attempts from the floor, going 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point line, while adding three rebounds in 32 minutes of action. The senior guard set the tone early for BYU, scoring nine first quarter points, and hit a couple of timely 3-pointers to help the Cougars pull away from the Gaels in the third quarter.
Gonzales backed Johnson Harding with 16 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Gustin posted her 10th double-double of the season, tallying 16 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals.
The current five-game winning streak is the second five gamer of the season for BYU. The Cougars will host conference-leader Gonzaga on Feb. 18 in a key matchup that will go a long way towards deciding the regular season champion.
