BYU women's hoops picked 3rd by WCC coaches in Whiting's inaugural season

PROVO — How can they possibly replace all that lost talent, and with a new coach?

That seemed to be the consensus among West Coast Conference coaches toward BYU when the league announced the preseason projections Wednesday in Las Vegas.

The Cougars were picked to finish third in the conference by a group of 10 coaches that voted unanimously (as much as voting rules allow) for perennial power Gonzaga to win the league.

The Zags, who return all-WCC guards Kaylynne and Kayleigh Truong and reigning WCC Sixth Woman of the Year Yvonne Ejim, were picked to win the league by collecting all nine available first-place votes possible. Coaches cannot vote for their own team, and Portland received the only other first-place vote.

The Pilots earned 71 points in the coaches poll — picked to finish second behind returning three-time all-WCC first-team selection Alex Fowler and Oregon transfer Lucy Cochrane, one of the best blockers in the nation — a year after being swept by the Cougars in the regular season before pulling back a win in the WCC Tournament title game en route to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

"The game at BYU was maybe a low point," Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier said during WCC women's basketball media day. "We were not very good in that game. Credit to them … but I don't think when we walked on to the floor for the championship game, it was the game we had that day.

"I know that they wanted to avenge that situation."

The Cougars were picked third with 55 points. After the departure of head coach Jeff Judkins to retirement and WCC Player of the Year Shaylee Gonzales to Texas, first-year coach Amber Whiting brings back returning All-American and preseason All-WCC first-team selection Lauren Gustin, a rising junior who averaged 10.7 points and a conference-high 11.5 rebounds per game last year en route to her second-straight All-WCC first-team selection.

That's in addition to senior starters Paisley Harding, Maria Albiero, Tegan Graham and Sara Hamson, opening up a lot of minutes for Whiting to fill with former role players like former East High star Nani Falatea, Kaylee Smiler, Rose Bubakar and 2021 Gatorade Utah Player of the Year Emma Calvert from Fremont looking to take the next step in replacing 86% of the Cougars' offense.

The Cougars will be joined soon enough by four-star point guard Amari Whiting, the former Oregon commit rated No. 31 by ESPN who is currently a senior at nearby Timpview High School. The younger Whiting averaged 26.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists with 5.7 steals per game last year while playing for her mother en route to the Idaho 4A state title with Burley High prior to flipping her commitment.

"We lost a lot of good players, a lot of seniors, a lot of leaders," Gustin said. "But I think it provides others with opportunities step up and become good players.

"We've got a lot of great players coming back. The energy has to step up; all of us have to do more on the offensive end. We know we've all got to step up."

Gustin said the preseason projection wasn't upsetting but "motivating" to the Cougars, to which her first-year head coach agreed.

"It definitely gives us some motivation heading into the year," Whiting said. "I think we will surprise a lot of people with the team we have and I am looking forward to getting started."

BYU opens the season Oct. 27 with an exhibition game against Westminster at the Marriott Center, followed by the regular-season opener Nov. 8 on the road at Colorado State.

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