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PROVO — The BYU women’s basketball team used its superior size against visiting San Francisco well with nine blocks, including three from 6-foot-7 freshman Sara Hamson.
But the biggest block came from one of the smallest players on the court.
With the Cougars clinging to a four-point lead and just 44 seconds remaining, 5-foot-9 guard Brenna Chase sprinted downcourt and swatted an easy breakaway layup away from USF’s Shannon Powell.
The swat by Chase, one of two on the night, helped the Cougars hold on for a 70-66 victory Thursday night in a West Coast Conference opener in the Marriott Center.
“That was a huge play,” said BYU star Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee, who had 16 points in the win. “If she hadn't made that play, it would’ve been a two-point game and been completely different.
“It was probably the play of the game. All the momentum would have swung their way. But (Chase) recovered, she hustled, and it was a huge play for us.”
Malia Nawahine poured in a career-high 23 points, including four 3-pointers, with seven rebounds, and Devashrayee became the 28th player in school history with 1,000 career points with her 16-point, seven-rebound, four-assist effort for the Cougars (7-7, 2-1 WCC).
“I’m just happy we won; we needed that win to go 2-1 in conference play,” Devashrayee said. “A lot of great players have gotten that milestone, and it’s a privilege to be in that group. But a lot of it is due to my teammates and my coaches.”
Hamson, who earned her first start of the season, finished with eight points, nine rebounds and three clutch blocks, including stuffing Powell’s jumper with 1:27 that turned into Devashrayee’s 3-pointer moments later to give the Cougars a 65-61 lead with 1:19 remaining.
“That’s my job: to help out on the drive,” Hamson said. “I’m grateful that Cassie finished the conversion, too. But that’s just what I do.”
BYU shot just 38 percent from the field, and the Dons out-rebounded the hosts 49-40. But the Cougars posted nine blocks, and held the Dons to just 32 percent shooting in the win.
“Defense is always important for our team,” Hamson said. “I feel like it helps rally our offense.”
Michaela Rakova had 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead USF (6-8, 1-2 WCC), and Kalyn Simon scored 19 for the Dons. Teammate Anna Seilun — the Dons’ leading scorer who averaged 14.8 points per game — supplied 16 points and seven assists in the loss.
Hamson scored just 15 seconds into the first start of her BYU career, then pulled down a rebound on the other end to initiate a play that ended in Nawahine’s first 3-pointer for a 5-0 start.
“I thought Malia played a great game tonight, especially in the first half,” BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. “She really gave us a big spark.”
But the Dons used an 8-2 run to go ahead 17-14 on Seilund’s triple with 3:49 left in the first quarter before Chase hit back-to-back threes for a 24-20 lead after 10 minutes.
In an off-shooting night, Nawahine kept the Cougars in the game early. The graduate transfer from Utah had 18 points at halftime as BYU clung to a 36-33 edge at the break.
“I felt that I was open, and my teammates found me when I was open. That was the biggest thing,” said Nawahine, who tied a collegiate career high with her most points scored in a BYU uniform. “Thankfully, it went in.”
USF tied the game with a 4-0 run out of the break, but Hamson hit a pair of free throws and Devashrayee struck from deep with 7:12 left in the third quarter to put BYU back up 41-36. Nawahine knocked down a three with 5:18 left in the third to put BYU up 46-39.
But San Francisco ended the quarter on an 8-4 run, capped by Shannon Powell’s layup at the buzzer, to pull within three, 50-47, ahead of the final period.
Seilund pulled the Dons ahead, 53-52, with a close-range jumper off the glass with 7:41 remaining. Shalae Salmon ended a three-minute scoring drought for the Cougars to pull the home team within one, 55-54 with 6:37 left, and Paisley Johnson gave the lead back to BYU moments later from the free-throw line, 56-55.
When the Dons tried to come back, BYU locked down defensively — anchored by the tallest player on the roster (Hamson) and the second-shortest player (Chase).
“Brenna’s a lot more athletic than people think,” Judkins said of Chase, who had nine points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks. “Those are plays that win games — you make a mistake, and then go down on defense and make a great play. I give Brenna a lot of credit.”
Hamson’s block with 90 seconds left spurred Devashrayee’s transition 3-pointer to put the Cougars up 65-61 with 1:19 left, and the Cougars held on for good thanks in part to an 18-of-29 effort from the free-throw line.
“I’m just glad tonight that we played good enough to win,” Judkins said. “San Francisco is a really scrappy team; they did a really good job of spreading us out and making my bigs have to go outside. We haven’t had to guard that for a long time.”
