BYU women’s basketball’s young roster shows glimpse of full potential in win against Omaha

During the second quarter of BYU women’s basketball’s dominant 104-47 win over Omaha Thursday night, there erupted a “you let your whole team down” chant from the BYU student section, which came on a miss from the free throw line by Omaha's leading scorer, Cora Olsen.

This insensitive chant by the young Cougar faithful told the story of just how lopsided BYU's victory was.

It was behind a balanced scoring approach with seven players scoring over 10 points that led BYU to an easy victory. This game was the perfect example of just how deep this team is under first-year head coach Lee Cummard.

Cummard didn’t necessarily think that his game plan was on trying to spread out the scoring load.

“We were probably a little less focused on that, more just about making the right play offensively,” Cummard said. “I think three games in you can see how we want to emphasize [getting] really good shots.”

It was a tough game for the Omaha Mavericks, only having two players score in double figures.

BYU's full court defense definitely gave the Mavericks some problems settling in to their offense. BYU freshman Sydney Benally was the leader in this approach, not giving the Omaha guards any space.

The young BYU guards showed their playmaking abilities tonight, namely Sydney Benally, Olivia Hamlin and Delaney Gibb each finishing with over five assists.

Benally controlled the tempo all night long, playing the most minutes on the team and finding her teammates in advantageous positions.

The two-time New Mexico Gatorade Player of the Year Benally showed just how poised she is, especially for a freshman.

One thing that was clear from this one-sided BYU game is the comraderie and unselfishness of this group.

Redshirt junior Marya Hudgins reiterated this point when talking about how close this team is with each other.

"I really pride myself in just having fun and enjoying it," said Hudgins. "I think just trying to be that person that girls can gravitate toward to have energy is something I really take pride in."

Another freshman that really stood out was Bolanle Yussuf, crashing the glass after almost every Cougar miss.

“I was just trying to get it done, play as we practice,” said Yussuf. “[We] started very slow today, but overall, we [got] it done. [We] tried to play as a team today and I think it’s what [made] us win.”

Photo by BYU Photo

This BYU team has eight players that are either sophomores or freshman, giving fans excitement for what Cummard is building.

The Cougars are on their way to improving on their 2024-2025 campaign in which they went 13-17, finishing as the No. 12 team in the Big 12.

The Cougars tip off their conference play on Dec. 20 against the UCF Knights, followed by what should be a good litmus test for this young BYU team when it faces No. 17 TCU led by star guard Olivia Miles.

There's only so much one can learn from this BYU team playing against its easy nonconference schedule; Cummard will have to get this team to consistently produce like this throughout the season.

One thing is clear: This Cougar team is turning a leaf, rising above the dark cloud that's been the last two BYU women's basketball seasons.