BYU Women’s Basketball Wins Rice to Begin the Cancun Challenge

In the Cancun Challenge opener at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, BYU defeated Rice 63-51 to exact revenge for their 2023 WNIT defeat at the hands of the Owls.

In Cancun on Thursday night, the Cougars overcame the Owls of Rice with a 19–10 assault in the second quarter. BYU led 31–22 at the half thanks to eight of Delaney Gibb’s 20 points and an assist in the second quarter alone. Five players on the Cougars had five or more rebounds, five had two or more assists, and they helped make 17 of 25 (.680) field goals during the victory.

With 20 points on an effective 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, Gibb led a trio of Cougars who finished in double figures. In the victory, the rookie also pulled down seven rebounds, contributed five assists, stole two baskets, and blocked a shot.

Amari Whiting finished the game with 15 points on 7 of 17 from the field, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one block. Emma Calvert scored 12 points on a 5-of-9 clip, making her the third BYU player to score in double figures. In addition, the senior forward recorded an assist and a rebound.

The Owls were only allowed to shoot 31.1 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three against the Cougars. The Cougars made 9 of 27 triples on their way to the comeback victory, coming off a game where BYU just made three of 24 shots from downtown.

Before the ball was tipped, Rice was given two free throws after being penalised with an administrative technical penalty. The Cougars led 2-0 as Calvert knocked down both, but Rice’s three-pointer scored the first points of regulation.

With 7:52 remaining in the first quarter, BYU took a 6–5 lead after scoring its first points of the game on a 3-pointer by Gibb. On the following possession, the Owls returned that with a three-pointer.

The Cougars were behind 12-5 after 4:45 when Whiting made a basket, but Whiting’s left-handed layup ended the scoring drought and cut the deficit to five points. With 27 seconds remaining in the quarter, Calvert then made a jumper to get within three.

Before Gibb grabbed a rebound with three seconds left, the Cougars held the Owls without a field goal for the last 4:18 of the quarter. The game was tied at 12 going into the second when Gibb dribbled up the left side of the floor and found Marya Hudgins, who made a 27-footer at the buzzer.

Rice put BYU ahead 16–15 with 8:47 left in the half, but Gibb scored five points in a row, including a kick-out triple from Barber after he grabbed an offensive rebound. After a media break, Hudgins immediately pushed the margin to seven points with a step-back three.

Whiting extended the advantage to nine points with 5:46 remaining after rebounding a Rice miss and kicking to Gibb, who found a cutting Lauren Davenport for the layup. Whiting and Calvert made back-to-back layups in transition to increase the Cougar lead to double figures at 11 with 3:23, forcing an Owls timeout.

BYU maintained a 10-point lead in the third quarter thanks to layups from Whiting and Gibb on consecutive possessions. After a Gibb three at 6:09 increased the lead to 12 points, Rice scored five points in a row to cut the Owls to 39-32, within seven points.

Gibb, Whiting, Cannon, and Calvert led BYU to an 8-3 run at the end of the quarter, giving the Cougars a 12-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Whiting quickly took a 14-point lead by hitting Hamson on the roll. With 6:03 remaining in the fourth quarter, a Rice basket, a Gibb three, a Calvert layup, and a Davenport transition score increased the lead to a game-high 16.

After the media break, Whiting made her second three-pointer of the year and then made a clutch layup to give BYU a 17-point lead with 5:13 remaining, 61-44.

In game one of the Cancun Challenge on Thursday night, the Cougars defeated Rice 63-51, despite the Owls scoring the game’s last four points.

BYU will return to action on Friday when they play the No. 22 Iowa Hawkeyes, the two-time national runners-up. The game will be webcast on FloCollege, and the tip is set at 7 p.m. MT. Additionally, fans may listen to Jason Shepherd’s live play-by-play of the game on BYU Radio 107.9FM, BYURadio.org, or the BYU Radio App.