alt=Brandon GurneyPROVO — To learn how BYU’s game versus Santa Clara went on Saturday, you can pretty much refer to Thursday’s effort against San Francisco.
And that’s a very good thing.
Two key conference games yielded almost exactly the same result, with the Cougars taking an impressive 71-48 win over the Broncos Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center. Saturday’s game featured superior play down low, with Sara Hamson leading the way, punctuating BYU’s clear advantage over most every other team in the West Coast Conference.
“Our inside presence really showed (today), and we were just bigger and stronger,” said BYU coach Jeff Judkins. “Sarah, offensively, was just outstanding.”
Hamson brings outstanding defensive presence on most occasions, using her 6-foot-7 frame effectively, but when her defensive effort is matched on the offensive end, BYU typically rolls.
“I think it’s always great when you have even scoring throughout. It’s just so much fun to play with these girls and one thing we talked about at the end was just celebrating one another’s success, and that’s what we do. Everybody is playing outstanding.” — BYU’s Paisley Johnson
On Saturday the Cougars rolled early and often, with Hamson setting the tone early, scoring 10 points in the first half to help build a 31-22 point lead at the break.
But Hamson and her team-high 15 points scored was just one part of the equation, with just about everyone on the floor contributing throughout. Paisley Johnson added 12 points and four assists, with Babalu Ugwu adding 11 points and Brenna Drollinger another 10 points.
All of it had Johnson smiling big after.
“I think it’s always great when you have even scoring throughout,” Johnson said. “It’s just so much fun to play with these girls and one thing we talked about at the end was just celebrating one another’s success, and that’s what we do. Everybody is playing outstanding.”
As good as the Cougars were in the first half, the second half proved at least as good, and probably even better. They were able to extend the lead by six points in the third quarter and then by another eight points in the fourth to win by a wide 71-48 margin.
Although Hamson led the way, she was quick to credit her teammates for her steady rise in performance over the past few games, particularly on the offensive end.
“The rest of the team has been putting me in good positions for easy layups, and that builds confidence,” Hamson said. “When you have that much trust from your teammates, it makes it easy to be aggressive on offense.”
As mentioned, Hamson’s performance strongly mirrored what she did during Thursday’s 57-44 win over San Francisco, along with the rest of the team. The only slight difference would be the Cougars proving more effective on offense on Saturday, and perhaps a bit better on the defensive end on Thursday.
But the differences were slight, with the increasing consistency from the team receiving high marks from Judkins.
“What you strive for, as a coach, is for your team to consistently do the things we work on and the things you talk about,” Judkins said. “This team, for the last month, has done a great job taking what they learn from the scouting report and executing it. ... I’m really happy and hopefully we keep being consistent with everybody.”
With the win, BYU improves to 12-7 overall and 7-2 on WCC play and will next take on Portland on the road, followed by a game at Gonzaga.