On Wednesday afternoon, BYU earned its first-ever Big 12 Tournament win in a matchup against the Houston Cougars. It defeated Houston 76-66.
BYU’s points were spread out, with four players scoring in double-digits.
Freshman Olivia Hamlin led the Cougars with 16 points. Delaney Gibb and Lara Rohkohl followed closely behind with 15 apiece. Freshman Sydney Benally attributed 14 points to the mix.
A late surge for BYU made it possible for it to beat Houston. It shot 47% from field goal and 27% from three. BYU left the door open for Houston with its 22 turnovers, but Houston didn't seal the stops, going 31% from the field.
The first quarter started off with a 3 from BYU’s Gibb to give her the first points, credit to an offensive rebound from Rohkohl. Houston’s Jade Jones matched the BYU energy with a 3 of her own.
Both teams entered into a scoring drought early on in the first. BYU recorded 10 turnovers in the first quarter, which gave Houston a lot of chances at the basket. Houston had six of its 10 points off of BYU’s turnovers in this first quarter.
The second quarter started with a turnover by BYU, but Houston couldn't seem to make BYU pay for its lost possessions with its shots not falling. In the first half, Houston shot 30% from the field.
Both teams started to get into their groove halfway through the second quarter. Houston had its first second quarter points at minute 5:43. It was followed by a layup from BYU’s Kambree Barber.
Houston had a block on Gibb which gave it an opportunity to double up on points, but this was compromised by a turnover.
Both teams knocked down two free throws. Houston’s free throws were followed by a Gibb three which seemed to put BYU on a run but that was shortly silenced by a two pointer from Houston’s Amirag Abdur-Rahim.
For the rest of the second quarter, the two Cougars swapped offensive points to make it hard for any team to get on a run. Houston’s Jordynn Ross hit a jumper to make it a tie game going into halftime.
BYU came out in the second half with a different kind of intensity. It started with a five-point gain from BYU which was stopped with a three point opportunity at the free throw line for Houston.
BYU ran a full court extended two-three defense in the second half which seemed to knock Houston off balance. This made it possible for BYU’s offense to go on two 6-0 runs in the third quarter to give them a much needed surge late in the game.
BYU outscored Houston in the third 27-15. Rohkohl was a huge part of BYU’s third quarter domination, as she had 8 of her 15 total points in the third. BYU also came into the second half with greater ball protection. It had only two total turnovers in the third quarter, a stark contrast from the first.
But the game wasn’t over yet. The fourth quarter treated the Houston Cougars well as they were really starting to make their offense work against BYU.
BYU also fell into foul trouble, with three of its key players sitting at four fouls. This gave the Houston Cougars the chance to make up their third quarter chaos on the free throw line.
They caught BYU early in the fourth making it a three point game. Houston’s TK Pitts was on a run. She had 9 of her 14 points in the last ten minutes. But an open opportunity for Benally at 3 kept BYU ahead.
Houston was playing aggressive and forcing BYU to turnovers again in this last quarter. Its aggressiveness cost them in the fourth, as Abdur-Rahim was called for a flagrant foul. Gibb knocked down two free throws and Hamlin hit a floater to make it a four-point gain off the flagrant.
That last run off the flagrant foul sealed the first ever Big 12 Tournament win for BYU and coach Lee Cummard since joining the conference in 2023. T
BYU will face in-state rival Utah on Thursday, at 12:30 p.m. in the second round of the tournament.