Woolston's 19, Whiting's 'cookies' lead BYU women past UVU for 3-0 start

PROVO — Amari Whiting's job Tuesday night against Utah Valley was to "tap the cookies," while fellow freshman Kailey Woolston just needed to hit her shots.

Both first-year guards executed flawlessly.

Woolston, the former Lone Peak High star, dropped a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Lauren Gustin added 13 points, 21 rebounds and six assists as BYU held past Utah Valley to 28.6% shooting en route to a 59-44 win Tuesday night in the Marriott Center.

It's the first time BYU has had two players each with a double-double since Feb. 23, 2017, a 73-60 win over Portland.

Whiting supplied 13 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Cougars (3-0), who scored 13 points off 11 turnovers, outrebounded the Wolverines 55-27, kept the visitors to 3-of-17 from 3-point range.

Tessa Chaney had 10 points and nine rebounds to lead Utah Valley (1-1), who forced 20 turnovers but scored just 10 points from it.

Instead, the Cougars used a pair of defensive steals themselves to jumpstart their offense. Ally Criddle beat the buzzer to pull the Wolverines within three, 16-13, at the end of the first quarter — and it would be the last bucket she scored.

"Utah Valley came to play tonight," BYU coach Amber Whiting said. "They were physical, they switched up defenses, and they had a really good game plan. But I felt like my women stayed the course, stayed calm, matched their physicality and then some. I was really proud of how they played tonight."

After Liana Kautu'u drained back-to-back buckets to open the second quarter, Whiting picked Criddle's pocket then slid downhill in transition before converting back-to-back buckets in transition.

In other words, the freshman took that personally.

"Coach is a defense-first coach, and I feel like she's just been making us grind defensively," said the younger Whiting, the former four-star point guard who is averaging 13.0 points in her first three games. "I just know my job when I pick up ball is to stop ball; my whole life I've been getting pretty good at tapping little cookies. I looked for it when she crossed over."

Whiting forced back-to-back steals and finished at the rim to stretch the Cougars' lead to 32-19, part of a 13-1 run that turned a 4-point edge into an 13-point lead with 3:05 left in the half en route to a 34-21 halftime lead.

Whiting had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 16 minutes of the first half, and Gustin added 10 points, eight boards and three assists before the break.

BYU never trailed again.

The Cougars held the Wolverines without a 3-pointer until Saige Gibb's triple with 2:03 left in the third quarter. But BYU out-scored the visitors 14-11 in the third, highlighted by a pair of triples from Woolston, and led by as much as 22 points down the stretch to cruise to the win.

"She makes my job easy; sometimes I was a little tired, and I just bring it up the court, drive and kick," said Whiting of Woolston, who shot 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. "She knocks it down every time; I love playing with her. She's a hard worker, and the best shooter around."

BYU opens the North Shore Showcase in Hawaii Saturday to face Wake Forest, while Utah Valley heads to St. Paul, Minnesota, to face St. Thomas Saturday before returning home next Tuesday to host Westminster at the UCCU Center.

The Cougars are back home Saturday, Nov. 25 against Loyola Marymount.

Related topics