Saturday marked the first meeting between the BYU Cougars and Texas Tech Lady Raiders in 36 years. It also was an opportunity for Lauren Gustin to break the all-time BYU rebounding record held by Tina Gunn, whose jersey hangs in the rafters of the Marriott Center.
And that she did, seven minutes into the game. The Cougars also went on to win the game 60-46, improving to 2-5 in conference play.
Gustin was honored and applauded at the end of the first quarter on the Jumbotron, followed by a larger ceremony at center court with athletic director Tom Holmoe directly after the game in which she was given a bouquet of flowers and swarmed by her teammates.
And although Gustin has never met Tina Gunn, she feels grateful and honored to surpass Gunn's 1,482 career rebounds.
'Tina Gunn is obviously a legend here so I’m honored to be able to break one of her records just cause she set so many,' Gustin said postgame.
Coach Amber Whiting said one of her biggest pitches to Lauren when she entered the transfer portal was the rebounding record. 'If she breaks the record here, she goes in the history books forever and if she went somewhere else, you're not breaking any records at that school,' she said.
Whiting even joked they'd build a statue out front.
Jokes aside, in addition to the rebounding effort, the Cougars were really concerned with ball security after turning the ball over a combined 50 times for 65 points against Houston and Oklahoma State.
Saturday, they only committed 12 turnovers which is four less than their average in conference play.
Whiting was proud of her teams effort in the turnover department. 'We cut our turnovers in half on a team that presses the whole entire game and that was really, really big,' she said.
Texas Tech did indeed press the entire game, but that didn't phase the Cougars. BYU led at the end of every quarter.
The Cougars were also active on defense with five blocks and seven steals. The Lady Raiders shot 27% from the field, 14% below their season average and 26% from three, 9% below their season average. They only scored eight points in the fourth quarter.
'They came out and threw the first punch and never looked back,' Texas Tech Head Coach Krista Gerlich said. 'We looked like we were in a tailspin the entire game.'
This was a much needed win for the Cougars after 'a major gut check', according to Whiting, on Wednesday when they fell to Oklahoma State on the road by 32 points.
When asked about how the team moved on from Wednesday's loss, Whiting said she talked to her players individually.
'I felt like I needed to have deep conversations (with them),' she said.
'Just being able to talk to them about what I need from them, where they're valued, and what they can bring to our team helped them do their job tonight.'
Individually and collectively, the Cougars certainly did their job Saturday evening against the Lady Raiders, posting their largest margin of victory since their 15-point win on Dec. 9 against Boise State at home.
The Cougars were led by the aforementioned Gustin, who posted yet another double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds and freshman Kailey Woolston pitched in 15 points.
With the game in hand for the Cougars with 14 seconds left, guard Amari Whiting suffered an apparent injury. She was helped off the court by team athletic staff wincing in pain and was immediately taken back to the locker room.
No comments regarding her status were made in the postgame presser with coach Whiting, but the Cougars will definitely need Amari for next Saturday's big matchup, when they face No. 7 Kansas State on the road. A tall task for the Cougars, but an exciting one nonetheless.
The Wildcats are undefeated in the Big 12 and have also won 13 straight games.