BYU women’s basketball gave head coach Amber Whiting the best birthday present she could have asked for in a dominant 67-44 win against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Hawaii.
The Cougars opened their two-game stay in Hawaii rippling the nets from the 3-point line. Coming into the game the Cougars were shooting 40.35 percent from 3 and opened up 6-8 from 3 in the first half. The Cougars can fill it up from deep this year and are currently 31st in the NCAA in 3-point percentage. If they continue to hit 3-pointers at a 40 percent clip the Cougars will be one of the best shooting teams in the country when this season is all said and done.
Leading the way for BYU in 3-point makes and scoring this season is Kailey Woolston. The freshman guard has come onto the scene quickly this season and is becoming a star right before our eyes. Woolston finished with 18 points on 7-10 shooting including 4-6 from 3.
Woolston’s shooting has been a revelation for the Cougars this season and has increased the potency of the offense for the Cougars. The success of their offense this season hinges on the ability of Woolston, Kaylee Smiler, and Lauren Davenport to stretch the floor and allow Lauren Gustin to do her work down low.
That is exactly how their game went against Wake Forest. BYU started the first quarter slow but out of the under four-minute media timeout coach Whiting's team executed immediately out of the time running offense ending in a wide-open 3-point shot for Smiiler.
After a defensive stop, Smiler comes down and hits another 3-point shot to extend the Cougars lead.
A few possessions later Smiler another look from 3 and well...
(Mike Breen voice)
BANG!
Smiler hits her third 3-point shot of the first quarter giving BYU their first double-digit lead 14-2. And once they got the lead her teammates took care of the rest.
Lauren Gustin finished the game with 13 points and 22 rebounds in another superb effort. The Cougars veteran led her team to a 50-28 rebound advantage that was almost as decisive as the Cougars' dominance on defense.
BYU led by the tenacious defensive effort of Amari Whiting held Wake Forest's two leading scorers Elise Williams and Kaia Harrison below double figures. Wake Forest struggled to find any semblance of offensive rhythm as Whitings on ball pressure disrupted the flow of offense all night.
The Demon Deacons shot 25 percent from the field and only hit three of their 18 attempts from 3.
Unfortunately for Wake Forest, they got caught in front of what has been BYU bulldozer so far this season. This was BYU’s third straight win in which they were dominant from start to finish.
It is still early in the season but for a team that was picked to finish 11th in the Big 12 this season, but the Cougars have been impressive so far. If the Big 12 does not know now they soon will, this BYU team has shown that they are physical and they can shoot it.
A winning formula for success and being competitive against any team in the country.