Gustin has 23 point, 16 rebounds, BYU women handle No. 18 Baylor 78-66

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BYU takes down No. 18 Baylor behind Lauren Gustin's 23

BYU beats a ranked opponent for the first time since 2021 in a 12-point win over No. 18 Baylor.

Updated: Feb 8, 2024, 04:18 am

PROVO, Utah -- — Lauren Gustin had 23 points and 16 rebounds, Kailey Woolston had all 14 of her points in the second half and BYU upset No. 18 Baylor 78-66 on Wednesday night.

The Bears, who shot 23% and scored just 21 points in the first half, scored the first basket of the game and tied the game at 7 but never really recovered after the Cougars took a 22-11 lead after the first quarter.

Reserve Emma Calvert had 10 of her 14 points in the second half for the Cougars (13-11, 3-8 Big 12 Conference), shooting 6 of 8. Amari Whiting had 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs scored 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds for Baylor (17-5, 6-5). Yaya Felder added 15 points and Jana Van Gytenbeek had 10.

Baylor shot 46% (16 of 35) in the second half but BYU shot 61.5% (16 of 26) and the Bears never got closer than nine points after halftime, the last time coming in the middle of the third quarter.

In the final minute, Felder had a tooth knocked out and after she went to the locker room everyone on the Baylor bench was on the floor looking for the tooth, which was found. Felder was trying to make a steal and got tangled up, falling face first on the floor.

The Cougars made 8 of 16 shots, three of them from 3-point range, and doubled up Baylor after one quarter. The Bears were just 4 of 18.

Baylor stayed cold in the second quarter, making 3 of 13 for a 7 of 31 half (23%) and BYU led by as many as 16 before going into intermission with a 35-21 lead.

Gustin, the nation's leading rebounder, led the charge with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 10 rebounds, which helped the Cougars to a plus-12 on the boards.

Baylor made 11 of 20 shots in the third quarter but only sliced one point off BYU's lead because the Cougars made 10 of 15 shots, four of them from 3-point range. Littlepage-Bugg was 7 of 8 for the Bears for 15 points in the third but Calvert was 4 of 10, with two 3s for BYU.

Baylor heads home to face No. 22 West Virginia on Saturday. BYU, coming off a 76-69 home loss to Virginia, is at Cincinnati on Saturday.

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