nullAnna Burkholder

BYU womens basketball rides monster 3rd quarter en route to a 74-64 victory over Portland

women's basketball,cougars women's basketball,Prasayus Natoa,big 12 basketball,lee cummard

Cannon Hakes

November 06, 10:11 AM November 06, 10:12 AM

The BYU women's basketball team defeated Portland 74-64 Thursday night at the Marriott Center to improve to 2-0 on the season.

The Cougars had an amazing third quarter, outscoring the Pilots 33-10 to turn a six-point halftime deficit into a ten-point victory.

Olivia Hamblin led the Cougars with 15 points, with Prasayas Notoa and Sydney Benally adding 13 points each. Brinley Cannon recorded 10 points, all in the second half, as part of a Cougars team who needed offense by committee to get past the Pilots stingy defense.

The Cougars struggled in the first half against a Portland team who deployed a full-court press, causing many mistakes from BYU, leading to 12 turnovers in the first half.

A challenging game for us and their style of play is hard on a one-day prep, said coach Lee Cummard. They do a lot, they mix up a lot, and they try to get you in certain actions.

The Pilots played a physical offensive game, constantly driving to the paint and earning 12 points from 16 free throws, while BYU made six of their nine free throws in the first half.

The first quarter was a tightly contested, with points very hard to come by for both teams. The Cougars only managed 11 points on 3-14 shooting the first quarter. The Cougars committed five turnovers while only forcing two.

In the second quarter, the offensive struggles continued for the Cougars. The Cougars were able to trim the lead to just one, going on a 7-0 run ending with about two minutes left in the half. However, Portland responded with a 7-0 run of their own, taking a 34-28 lead into halftime after an Olivia Hamblin bucket with just 28 seconds left.

Halftime was exactly what the Cougars needed, as in the third quarter they looked like a brand-new team.

BYU started the turnaround by going on a 13-1 run in the first four minutes of the quarter, taking a seven-point lead. After the Cougars and Pilots traded buckets in the middle of the quarter, BYU widened the gap by going on a 13-0 run to end the quarter. Overall, the Cougars more than doubled their score from the first half in the quarter, scoring 33 points in the third compared to just 28 in the entire first half.

Cummard explained what the team addressed during halftime.

We were really excited to score, so we talked about just settling into our rhythm and playing like we played, he said. And then those two things we talked about, we got to take care of the basketball and cut down on our fouls. Overall, our rhythm was so much better in the third quarter.

One standout player was freshman Forward Prasayus Notoa, who recorded six points, four assists, two rebounds, and a steal, and really swung the momentum of the game in favor of the Cougars. This included assists on three straight plays that widened the lead for BYU.

I would say Prasayus just had a really high basketball IQ, and she understands the game really well, said Cannon. She doesnt get sped up often and she has a really good touch on her passes."

I think she just came in and gave us energy, said Hamblin. Her composure really helped us and gave us a good lift.

The Cougars were also dominant on the offensive glass, collecting 22 offensive rebounds to Portlands 10.

We have a scheme for it, but honestly, its because were missing so many shots right now, said Cummard. Theres a lot more opportunity to go get offensive rebounds when youre clanking outside shots or missing at the rim.

In the fourth quarter, the Cougars saw their lead grow to 20 points after Benally drained a three while being fouled in the corner. After another Benally jumper a minute later, the Cougars offense was mainly supplied at the free throw line.

BYU had six points from the charity stripe and only one made field goal in the last 7:45 of the game. While Portland was able to trim the lead to as low as 8 points with 9 seconds left in the game, it was too little too late, as the Cougars held on for the win.

BYU will have one day to prepare before their next game against Montana on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Marriott Center.