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LAS VEGAS — As a team, No. 15 BYU women's basketball steamrolled most of its opponents this season en route to a 25-2 record, including a 15-1 mark through West Coast Conference play, with an average margin of victory of 21.2 points — the third-best in the country.
That was far from the case in Monday's WCC Tournament semifinals.
Shaylee Gonzales didn't care.
The redshirt sophomore poured in 20 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Paisley Harding added 14 points and five rebounds as top-seeded BYU held off Portland 59-52 in Monday's first semifinal at the Orleans Arena.
Tegan Graham added 11 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two blocks for the Cougars (26-2), who got 10 rebounds from Lauren Gustin.
On the same day BYU saw its ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 reach never-before-seen heights — No. 15 is a program record, topping the No. 16 it set earlier this year — the Cougars left a statement: underrate us at your own risk.
"I feel like we prove day in and day out by coming out and fight," said Gonzales, who shot 8 of 17 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line. "We know that rankings don't matter to us; we're going to go into the NCAA Tournament and do some damage.
"We're really excited for that, and to make it to the Final Four."
🔄🔄@byuwbb | UCU #WCChoops Tournament pic.twitter.com/FUdaADl0i9
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) March 7, 2022
The Cougars advanced to Tuesday's WCC Tournament championship, where they will face the winner of No. 2-seeded Gonzaga and San Francisco. They swept both meetings with both teams this season.
Alex Fowler hit a 3-pointer to give Portland its game-high lead of 46-42. But Graham immediately responded with a triple of her own with 5:31 left of a game neither team led by more than six.
Gonzales drove inside for a layup with 3:58 to go, a 47-46 edge, and the Cougars never trailed again, part of a quiet 10-0 run capped by Maria Albiero's 3-pointer with 2:19 remaining.
With the lead cut to two in the final minute, Harding drove inside and went for a game-ending layup. The fifth-year senior was fouled, made both free throws, and gave the Cougars just enough to advance to Tuesday's tournament final.
Maisie Burnham had 17 points for Portland, and Fowler finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and six assists for the Pilots (19-10). Portland's Lizzie Cochrane added 12 points, seven rebounds and eight blocks.
"I thought they really played well tonight," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said of Portland. "They were very physical, very active, and played a matchup zone that we have not seen all year. It was nice to finally figure it out the last quarter of what we could do against it.
"We've got to give Portland a whole lot of credit. But I'm really proud of my team."
The only WCC team to beat BYU in the regular season, the Pilots held the Cougars to 1-of-7 3-point shooting in the first quarter and ended the first frame on a 7-2 spurt to take a 15-13 lead. Harding and Kaylee Smiler each dropped a 3-pointer to spark a 10-0 run in the second, but Portland's press defense kept BYU from exploiting them for more than a 31-30 halftime edge.
A game that Portland won 75-64 back on Feb. 3 was on track to go down to the wire; and indeed, it did. The two teams played to nine ties, 10 lead changes and the Pilots held the lead for 14:58, nearly three minutes more than BYU.
"We definitely wanted to play Portland because they beat us the first time," Gonzales said. "It feels really good to be able to go out there and win that game. We knew they were going to press us hard, and we just had that mentality that we've got to overcome it."
Albiero ended a nearly six-minute run without a field goal with her first of the game for BYU, giving the Cougars a brief 40-38 lead with 1:18 left in the third. But Cochrane immediately equalized on the other end to keep a 40-40 stalemate after three quarters.
That set up a fourth quarter where BYU narrowly took advantage 19-12 to hold on to the win.
"I told these girls at the first of the year, and they really took it to heart: defense wins championships," Judkins said. "There are some nights where the ball doesn't go in and you have to defend and you have to do other things. I thought we did that tonight — really defended; they scored, but we made them work for every single basket.
"That's how this team knows how to win: They do whatever it takes."
Notes — Both Harding and Albiero, fifth-year seniors who returned for one final season with an extra season of eligibility provided by the COVID-19 pandemic, played in a 144th game Monday. That's the most in BYU women's basketball history.
"These seniors came back for this moment," Judkins said. "They came back to win a conference tournament, to go to the NCAA Tournament, and to make some noise.
"I think this team thinks they can do it. And we will."
