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ORLANDO, Fla. — It took about 20 minutes for the BYU women's basketball team to assert its offense Tuesday night at UCF.
The Cougars have waited much longer, though — and now they've figured something out.
Lauren Gustin posted 22 points and and 15 rebounds, and Kailey Woolston scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half to rally BYU to a third straight win 64-60 over UCF at Additional Financial Arena in Orlando, Florida.
Amari Whiting added 11 points and five rebounds for the Cougars (15-11, 5-8 Big 12), and Kaylee Smiler keyed a 33-24 second-half run with a game-high six assists.
"We just started playing more connected, offensive and defensively," said Gustin, the reigning Big 12 player of the week. "I think our defense started fueling our offense, and my girls got the ball out."
Khyala Ngodu led UCF (12-11, 3-10 Big 12) with 17 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the year. Kaitlin Peterson added 14 points and five rebounds for the Knights.
oh she's locked in 🔒 @laurengus10
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) February 14, 2024
link to watch👉https://t.co/0eyhto1u6zpic.twitter.com/UMQDsTqLgo
Whiting had 7 points in the first half, but Ngodu had 9 points and eight rebounds in the first half as UCF scored 11 second-chance points off 10 offensive rebounds en route to a 38-31 halftime lead.
But the Cougars opened the second half on a 7-0 run, then took their first lead of the game on Whiting reverse layup with 6:27 left in the third. Whatever head coach Amber Whiting told BYU's players in the locker room must've worked.
"It was really, really simple," she recalled. "You can't give offensive rebounds; they had 10 at the time. No middle drives. And take care of the ball. I thought in the second half, we did all three things."
Woolston poured in 10 points in the third quarter, and Gustin added 8 points and six rebounds to collect her nation-leading 24th double-double in 26 games as BYU outscored UCF 23-6 in the third, outrebounded the Knights 11-7, and limited the hosts to 2-of-13 shooting en route to a 54-44 lead after three periods.
and just like that we're all tied up @KaileyWoolston 😼
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) February 14, 2024
link to watch👉https://t.co/0eyhto1u6zpic.twitter.com/IsJVvcAvEO
But UCF didn't go away.
Burns cut the deficit to seven, 62-58 with a 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining, and the Knights used a 10-0 run to pull within 62-60 on Ngodu's layup over Gustin with 30 seconds on the clock.
Woolston iced the game with a pair of free throws in the final seconds, and BYU held on for their longest win streak since Dec. 16.
"There was a ref who did our last game and she also reffed our first game in the conference. She was like, what is this team?" Smiler said with a laugh. "I see it as a compliment to myself, to the rest of the girls, our coaches, even our practice players to help us get better every single day."
The Cougars return home Saturday to host Kansas at 4 p.m. MST on ESPN+, with three of the next four games at home.
