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PROVO — BYU women's basketball continues to search for its first Big 12 win in program history.
For Houston, that bid was over Wednesday night.
Laila Blair poured in 20 points, and Britney Onyeje added 16 points and six rebounds as Houston upended visiting BYU 79-69 to claim their first Big 12 win in program history at the Fertitta Center in Houston, Texas.
N'Yah Boyd supplied 11 points and six assists for Houston (10-5, 1-3 Big 12), and Utah transfer Peyton McFarland added 9 points and eight rebounds for a Houston team that scored 27 points off 25 turnovers.
"That was the goal: 25 or more," said Houston coach Ronald Hughey, noting the host Cougars' attempts to disrupt Amari Whiting at the point of attack. "We knew they needed to get into their sets … and Little Amber, that's what I call her after her mom, is really good. We had to limit her touches."
Kaylee Smiler led BYU (10-7, 0-4 Big 12) with 15 points including 4-of-5 from 3-point range, and Lauren Gustin tallied her 71st career double double with 14 points and 17 rebounds.
Amari Whiting added 15 points and six assists, and Lauren Davenport supplied 15 points and four rebounds for a BYU team that was outscored 29-19 off the bench.
Another halftime buzzer beater for @amari_whiting off the glass 🤯https://t.co/ouhIfBONaQpic.twitter.com/URGMcQjqke
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) January 11, 2024
But it was the turnovers that BYU couldn't handle, a common thread during their current four-game losing skid. Second-year head coach Amber Whiting's team ranks 238th nationally in turnovers per game, averaging 17.3 per contest.
The host Cougars knew it, and punished them early and often with an uptempo, chaotic style of play, pressuring Amari Whiting to dole out six giveaways and three apiece from four other places, including starters Smiler, Gustin and Kailey Woolston.
"They're 94 feet and the whole 40 minutes," Amber Whiting said of Houston. "They're tough, and when they get one steal, they get another and another. We have to make sure we have to take care of the ball from the very beginning, and we started the game with four-straight. We can't get behind."
Houston used an early 11-0 run to push the pace to a double-digit advantage, 21-12, after the first quarter.
Gustin had 8 points and seven rebounds in the second quarter as the visiting Cougars pulled as close as 1 on Rose Bubakar's layup with 5:39 left in the half. But the hosts went on a 13-2 run to stretch the lead back to double digits before Amari Whiting's half-court buzzer-beater.
BYU had 14 turnovers in the first half, and Woolston was scoreless before the break en route to a 34-25 halftime deficit.
Smiler hit three triples en route to 11 points in the third as BYU pulled within 51-44 on Davenport's jumper to close out the quarter.
The bank is open💸@KamJones02 x #EverythingMatterspic.twitter.com/ijSnMbX4jT
— Houston Women's Basketball (@UHCougarWBB) January 11, 2024
"Smiler has been knocking down shots for us all year and all last year; that's what she does," Whiting said. "She was on fire, and we've got to be able to find her and get her going when's he's scoring like that."
Davenport did it again, pulling BYU within four on a 3-pointer with 4:35 remaining, 59-55.
But Houston immediately responded with a 3-pointer from Kamryn Jones — who also had a career-high eight steals —on the other end as the host Cougars pulled away for good.
BYU returns home Saturday, still searching for its first in-conference win when it hosts Cincinnati at 4 p.m. MST. The Bearcats (9-6, 1-3 Big 12) picked up their first Big 12 win Wednesday 64-63 against UCF.
