BYU beats Stanford with big 4th quarter to reach WBIT Final 4

byu women's basketball,Delaney Gibb,Featured - Sports

Zach Hansen

March 26, 10:58 PM March 26, 11:06 PM

It was yet another display of brilliance from Delaney Gibb.

The BYU women's basketball team picked up a 76-61 win against the Stanford Cardinal Thursday night at the Marriott Center to propel the Cougars to a WBIT semifinal matchup against Big 12 rival Kansas on Monday in Wichita, Kansas.

Stanford kept the game close through three quarters, but when the lights were brightest, in the fourth quarter, Gibb took over.

Thats who she is, and she lives for the moment, coach Lee Cummard said. Shes never going to stop being aggressive, she just gives that little buffer.

Gibb scored 27 points while shooting 9 of 21 from the floor, hitting all the ones the Cougars needed. She knocked down the 3 that ended up opening the door for BYU to win this game.

I got wide open, so I shot it, and it happened to go in, Gibb said. After that, the momentum of the crowd was really what helped me with my next one.

Gibb was coming off a 29-point game against the Missouri Tigers, in which she was electric, scoring the ball and controlling the game from start to finish.

The Cougars led 50-49 at the end of three, before Gibb and freshman Olivia Hamlin led BYU on a 17-2 run to create some separation in the fourth quarter.

It was a true display of team basketball, with the Cougars playing hard and finishing the game with 17 offensive rebounds.

BYU senior Lara Rohkohl made a huge impact on the game, diving for lose balls and crashing the glass, battling against a physical Cardinal team.

The Cardinal just couldn't seem to create any distance, with their leading scorer, Nunu Agara struggling.

Stanford Junior Courtney Ogden had an impressive night, scoring 26 points, but ultimately wasn't enough.

Even though Cummard would have preferred his team in the NCAA tournament, he is making the most of this special WBIT tournament run.

Okay, we didnt do enough to make it in the tournament, Cummard said. We have a chance to go out and prove them right, or we can go out and prove them wrong.

Cummard seems to be doing the latter, showing just how well this BYU team can play.

Familiar faces in the building

After the disappointing end to the BYU men's basketball season, BYU star freshman AJ Dybantsa encouraged the Cougar faithful to support the BYU women's team.

Dybantsa and almost all of the BYU men's basketball team was in attendance to cheer on the Cougars.

Stanford coach Kate Paye was impressed with the atmosphere of the Marriott Center.

Id like to compliment and congratulate BYU, Paye said. Great environment here, [and a ] very well coached [team].

What's next for the Cougars

It was an electric environment Thursday, helping give the Cougars momentum heading into their WBIT semifinal matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Cougars are looking for revenge after losing to the Jayhawks earlier this season.

We didnt play our best that night, thats how we feel, Cummard said. Theyre a tremendous team.

Although it's only been two months, this Cougar team seems to be playing much better than it did the last time these teams matched up.

"I feel like that game we didn't play as a team," senior Lara Rohkohl said. "I feel like we [have] gotten together and we play our best team basketball [now]."

BYU seems to be catching its stride at the perfect time, playing the best basketball of its season.

29-point performance earns BYU's Delaney Gibb a spot in the 1,000-point club

byu women's basketball,Delaney Gibb

Dakota Reagan

March 23, 10:59 PM March 23, 11:04 PM

Delaney Gibb consistently made her mark on BYU womens basketball during the regular season.

Postseason play is proving no different.

In the second round of the WBIT tournament against No. 4 seed Missouri, the BYU sophomore officially took her place as the 34th member of BYU womens basketball's 1,000-point club.

Gibb reached the milestone in just 57 games, making her the third-fastest Cougar to ever do it.

Honestly, I didnt want to really think about it, Gibb said. Today was such an overall success as a team we really shared the ball and played so well together. Its fun to be able to achieve that in my career on a night where it felt like we were connected.

Gibb entered the game needing 22 points to reach the milestone. When the final whistle blew, her stat line read 29.

Twenty-one of those points came from her scorching performance from beyond the arc. She knocked down a new career high of seven 3-pointers by the end of the night.

I dont know if she knew she was close to 1,000 points, but she definitely was ready to score some baskets tonight. And it was a confident approach, BYU coach Lee Cummard said.

Praise for Gibbs performance didnt stop with the Cougars.

Shes so active, Missouri head coach Kellie Harper said. Shes hard to double-team because she can pass the ball. She does a really good job of reading screens. Shes explosive when she puts the ball on the floor, and she knocks down shots.

Gibb wasnt the only Cougar filling the stat sheet with impressive numbers. Three of her teammates were in double figures for points, one of them being freshman Olivia Hamlin, who tied her career-high of 23.

Offense was the key to the game, Gibb said. Shoutout to everyone whos nailing threes and getting easy buckets. Thats what opened up the game.

In the end, the Missouri Tigers had no answer for Gibb and BYUs dominant offensive presence, falling 93-75.

This group is not ready to be done playing, Cummard said when asked about the road forward in the tournament. Its fun to have them be rewarded for their work.

Gibb and the Cougars look to host No. 2 Stanford in the WBIT quarterfinals on Thursday.