alt=Brandon GurneyPROVO — The BYU women’s basketball team enjoys a considerable frontcourt size advantage against most teams, and put all of it to good use in Thursday’s 57-44 win over San Francisco.
Playing in front of 2,203 attending fans, with most of those consisting of screaming elementary school kids, the Cougars overcame a sluggish start to cruise to a relatively easy victory.
“I thought we didn’t play our best offensively, but team defense-wise, we were good,” said BYU coach Jeff Judkins. “People did their job, defensively ... and we made (San Francisco) take tough shots, and normally didn’t give them a lot of second shots.”
“I thought we didn’t play our best offensively, but team defense-wise, we were good. People did their job, defensively ... and we made (San Francisco) take tough shots, and normally didn’t give them a lot of second shots.” — BYU coach Jeff Judkins
The Cougars’ superior defensive performance was again headlined by Sara Hamson, who used her 6-foot-7 frame to block shots early and often, en route to seven total on the afternoon. Hamson’s teammates added six more, for a team total of 13, with the Dons having none on their end.
“Our team is an amazing defensive team, and a lot of these girls have longer arms than you think. Brenna (Drollinger), especially. I think she gets a block a game,” Hamson said.
As for Drollinger, she contributed two blocks, using all of her 5-8 height to cause havoc, defensively.
On the offensive end, Hamson went 5 for 7 from the field for 10 points with Jasmine Moody matching that 5 for 7 effort to score a team-high 11. A lot of the production on the inside came in the second quarter, in response to Judkins’ pleas during timeouts.
“Juddy definitely said from the beginning that the bigs could dominate,” Moody said. “So coming out of the huddle, that’s what he emphasized. ... It was hard at first, but we adjusted, and got it inside.”
The start was relatively ugly for the Cougars, to put it bluntly. Too many possessions ended with decent, but not great, shots at the basket, with the Dons taking advantage to the tune of an 11-7 lead after one quarter.
It changed dramatically in the second quarter, however, with the Cougars outscoring the Dons 20-6 to enter the half up 27-17.
The third quarter saw BYU continue with the momentum established in building a 48-31 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Not scoring as much as usual were standout guards Paisley Johnson and Drollinger, although both worked effectively to get the ball inside.
“It’s awesome when they’re so aggressive and drive to the basket,” Hamson said. “They are (scoring) threats, and if they don’t pull the defense, then they’re going to (score), so they gave us really, really good passes.”
Johnson finished with six assists, with Drollinger adding four to go with guard Maria Albiero’s four.
“I thought they did a good job of knowing who had the mismatch,” Judkins said. “Jasmine was a lot more aggressive, and that’s the way we need her to be to be successful. She’s tough to guard in the post.”
As far as mismatches go, the Cougars have the personnel to create a bunch of them, with Shalae Salmon (6-3) and Babalu Ugwu (6-0) adding to the punch Hamson and Moody provide.
“The thing I have that a lot of people don’t is ... two bigs (coming off the bench) that would start for anyone else in our league, and it’s really true,” Judkins said, specifically referring to Salmon and Moody. “... So I’m really kind of spoiled that way, having that.”
The Cougars improve to 11-7 overall and 6-2 in West Coast Conference play with the win, and will next take on Santa Clara Saturday at the Marriott Center.