Lauren Gustin’s career night not enough as BYU falls to Kansas
BYU’s matchup with Kansas earlier this season resulted in a 67-53 loss that featured a game delay because of a bat flying onto the court. While Saturday’s matchup didn’t feature a bat, BYU’s three-game winning streak came to an end as the Cougars fell to Kansas 70-62 despite a career-high 33 points from star forward Lauren Gustin.
Saturday’s game was a back-and-forth affair where BYU struggled to find its groove offensively. Outside of Gustin, the other Cougars were only able to put up 29 points on 27% shooting. Despite the poor shooting, BYU managed to keep the game close as there were 18 lead changes throughout the contest.
Lauren Gustin’s career night
Gustin came into Saturday’s game with vengeance on her mind. In BYU’s last meeting against Kansas, Gustin managed just 10 points on 5 of 22 shooting.
“There’s not a player in our conference that plays with a more relentless mentality than she does,” said Kansas head coach Brandon Schneider. “When you play that hard, good things are going to happen.”
Twenty of Gustin’s career-high 33 points came in the first half which ended in a 31-31 tie. Gustin impacted the game with more than just her points as she brought down an impressive 18 rebounds, 8 of which came on the offensive end.
Poor shooting plagues the Cougars
“We had good, wide-open looks. We just need to knock them down,” said BYU head coach Amber Whiting. “When you play at home, you expect those to go in. Next time they will.”
BYU shot well under its season averages in all three phases of the game Saturday night, but 3-point shooting is what struggled the most for Whiting’s squad. The Cougars’ three made 3-pointers tied a season-low for a team that makes more than seven per game and is the most accurate three-point shooting team in the Big 12.
Looking Ahead
With Saturday night’s loss, the NCAA tournament is looking unlikely for BYU. However, the team will look to bounce back and prepare for a Cinderella run through the Big 12 tournament when they play TCU on Wednesday night in their last home game before Senior Night.
