Top tandem guards, nation's best shot blocker keys to BYU women's WCC tourney hopes

LAS VEGAS — It’s pretty safe to assume that the winner of the West Coast Conference women’s basketball tournament will be the team with the best guards throughout the week at Orleans Arena.

It might be Gonzaga, the nationally ranked 28-2 side led by Jill Townsend, the WCC Player of the Year who averages 12.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.

It might come down to second-seed San Diego, led by senior Madison Pollock and Jordyn Edwards, who dishes out 3.7 assists per contest.

Put BYU’s Brenna Drollinger and Paisley Johnson right there with the best of them. The Cougars will open the league tournament Saturday in Las Vegas (4 p.m. MT, BYUtv) as the No. 3 seed, having swept each of their possible opponents. They have their sights set on a repeat WCC Tournament title.

If it comes down to guard play, BYU head coach Jeff Judkins likes his chances. "I don’t think there are any two guards better than them in the league; I think we have the best tandem," said Judkins, the Cougars' all-time winningest basketball coach who also praised the Zags and Toreros.

"I think Brenna can be the best player on the floor, hands down, and so can Paisley,” he said. “Both of them want to have a great tournament, and they’ve got to play well for us to win. Last year, not as much, because we had three of them (with injured point guard Shaylee Gonzales). If one didn’t play well, it didn’t hurt us. But these two have to show up."

In Gonzalez’s absence, Johnson has stepped into the primary scoring role, leading the Cougars (18-10, 13-5 WCC) with 15.2 points per game. The junior from Washington ranks 28th all-time with 1,057 career points.

Drollinger follows closely with 12.3 points per game, a top-20 mark in program history with 1,294 career points, and also averages 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Add in Maria Albiero, the Brazilian international with 6.7 points and 3.3 assists per game, and the group-think mentality of BYU’s offense comes into focus.

"I definitely feel, personally, like I’m starting to hit my stride," Johnson said. "It’s starting to feel easier for me to get my opportunities on the offensive side. That’s super exciting for me, and I see that in Brenna and Maria, as well — Maria’s been playing amazingly in the end of the season."

It’s a safe bet to assume guard play will dictate the outcome of the WCC Tournament.

But just in case, the Cougars also have arguably the best shot blocker in the nation in Sara Hamson. The Pleasant Grove product leads the team with 8.0 boards and 4.75 blocks per game, ranking first nationally with 133 blocked shots.

The 6-foot-7 junior who won back-to-back WCC Defensive Player of the Year honors is third in program history with 332 career blocks, just eight behind older sister Jennifer Hamson.

That’s a mark that could fall this week, especially if Judkins can force opponents inside against the nation’s elite post presence.

"I challenged our bigs all week; for us to win, I think they’ve got to come in and play and be better than their bigs,” the coach said. "Sarah will take it upon herself, I think Jasmine (Moody) will do it, and Shalae (Salmon) wants to walk out of here playing her best. If those three can come in and dominate like I think they can, I think it can really help us."

If nothing else, that back line force will only help the guard play.

"For our team, that’s been able to put us on the map," Johnson said. "We’re the second-best defending team in the nation. I know my teammates are all working hard to play for each other."

How to watch, stream: WCC women's basketball tournament

No. 3 BYU (18-10) vs. No. 6 Pepperdine (15-14)

Tipoff: Saturday, March 7 at 4 p.m. MST

TV: BYUtv (Dave McCann, Blaine Fowler)

Streaming: BYUtv.org, WCC Network

Series: BYU leads Pepperdine 21-3, including a 3-0 mark in the WCC tournament.

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