BYU Women’s Basketball: Cougars knock off No. 13 Gonzaga

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 04: A basketball flies through the hoop during the round eight NBL match between Melbourne United and the Illawarra Hawks at Hisense Arena on December 4, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 04: A basketball flies through the hoop during the round eight NBL match between Melbourne United and the Illawarra Hawks at Hisense Arena on December 4, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) /
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After a slow start, BYU Women’s Basketball stormed back to pick up their biggest win of the season, knocking off No. 13 Gonzaga on Thursday night.

BYU Women’s Basketball picked up their biggest win of the season and took early control of the West Coast Conference’s top spot on Thursday night.

The Cougars held serve at home, knocking off No. 13 Gonzaga 70-68 to remain perfect in conference play. The victory extends BYU’s winning streak to nine games while ending the Bulldogs’ 12-game streak.

It wasn’t a pretty start for BYU, as Gonzaga rushed out to an early double-digit lead, ending the first quarter with a 19-9 lead after being up by 12 at one point.

But once the young Cougars settled down they slowly worked their way back into the game, tying it up just before halftime and playing back-and-fort basketball the rest of the way.

The final 2:30 of the game became a battle between BYU’s free throw shooting and Gonzaga senior Laura Stockton’s floaters. But Stockton missed a game-winning three pointer and a last-second tip by LeeAnne Wirth didn’t go in either as the Cougars held on for the win.

BYU’s three guards led the Cougars once again. Shaylee Gonzales led all scorers with 17 points, along with Brenna Chase’s 14 and Paisley Johnson’s 12. Jasmine Moody added 10 rebounds off the bench, and all eight Cougars who saw action scored.

Stockton led the Bulldogs with 15, and Zykera Rice was the only other Gonzaga player to reach double-figures with 13.

The Cougars move to 15-3 on the season, including a 7-0 conference record. They’re now a game and a half up on the Zags at the top of the WCC standings, and they’ll host Portland at the Marriott Center on Saturday at 2:00pm MT.