BYU Women’s Basketball gets fifth-straight win in dominant fashion over Santa Clara

BYU Women’s Basketball played five games in the month of December and went undefeated in those five, finishing 2020 with a 76-50 win over Santa Clara on Wednesday to move to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in WCC play.

“I’m so proud of my team,” sophomore star Shaylee Gonzales said after the win. “We’ve come prepared to every game and my teammates bring the energy.”

Gonzales had 20 points against the Broncos, marking her fourth time scoring 20 or more this season. She added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals to lead the Cougars on both ends of the floor. Lauren Gustin and Sara Hamson dominated the paint for BYU, with Gustin finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Hamson with 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocks.

The game was never close, with the Cougars jumping out to a 7-0 lead and leading by double digits after the first quarter, 24-8. Gonzales had 13 of her 20 points in the opening period.

The Cougars went on an 11-0 run in the second quarter to go up by 20 points and the Broncos were unable to get the deficit back to single digits. BYU held Santa Clara to just one field goal on 10 attempts late in the second quarter.

Gonzales had 18 points at halftime and BYU led by 20, 38-18. Gustin nearly had a double-double at the break with eight points and seven rebounds. She ran into foul trouble early in the second half and played limited minutes but still managed to get to double-digit points and rebounds.

By the end of the third quarter, the lead had grown to 27 and Gonzales was up to 20 points on the night. BYU finally started to hit shots from the 3-point arc in the fourth quarter, making five in seven attempts after going 3-for-17 to start the game.

Young players such as Devry Millett and Kyra Beckman got a chance to enter the game with the sizable lead, as BYU won by 20-or-more points for the third time this season. The Cougars are beating their opponents by an average of 19 points during their five-game win streak and have won their two WCC contests by a combined 50 points.

Next up for BYU is an away game against San Diego on Monday, Jan. 4 at Jenny Craig Pavilion.