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PROVO — Officially, BYU women's basketball celebrated two graduating seniors — Kaylee Smiler and Lauren Gustin — in Wednesday night's regular-season home finale against fellow Big 12 newcomer Houston.
But Kailey Woolston played like it was her own senior sendoff.
The freshman from Lone Peak who just received her mission call for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Baltimore, Maryland, dropped 16 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists as BYU snapped a three-game losing skid with a 64-54 win over the visiting Cougars in front of an announced crowd of 1,760 fans at the Marriott Center.
Gustin added 19 points and 17 rebounds for BYU (16-14, 6-11 Big 12), her nation-leading 28th double-double. Amari Whiting had 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals; and Smiler finished with 6 points and three steals.
But the motivation behind the underclassmen performance was on the two-player senior class, one who has been at BYU for six years (and will graduate with a master's in biology in April) and the other who broke Tina Gunn Robison's program record for career rebounds.
Woolston had a little extra motivation, too. She'll leave for the Missionary Training Center in May, marking Wednesday her final regular-season home game at BYU for more than 18 months.
.@KaileyWoolston from downtown 🏙️
— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) February 29, 2024
link to watch👉https://t.co/PlUOWg7MTHpic.twitter.com/Glm0Cbbd1a
"I feel like a lot of the stuff leading up (her call) was just putting a lot of pressure and mixed emotions on her," BYU coach Amber Whiting said of Woolston, who shot shot 5-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from 3-point range with a pair of free throws. "I pulled her aside yesterday, and told her, 'I don't care what has happened the past three games, or anything else, just shoot — and stop making me yell at you to shoot the ball.'
"But she got her call, and she was able to open it with her family, and I think that was a relief for her. Now she could focus in, and it changed a bit for her."
Laila Blair had 18 points for Houston (13-15, 4-13 Big 12), including 9-of-9 from the foul line, and Maliyah Johnson added 13 points and three rebounds for the visiting Cougars — who shot just 31% from the field with 21 turnovers.
Woolston scored the first 8 points of the game as BYU erupted to a 13-2 lead en route to an 18-9 advantage after the first quarter.
Woolston finished the first half with 11, and Gustin added 11 points and seven rebounds as Houston trimmed the deficit as low as 4 before BYU pulled back for a 32-25 halftime lead.
With the Salem Hills High graduate who came to BYU via Idaho and Salt Lake Community College working inside and Woolston hitting from the perimeter, the host Cougars were tough to beat for the visitors who took a 79-69 win in the series Jan. 10 at the Fertitta Center.
"That just opens up a can of worms," Houston coach Ronald Hughey said of Woolston. "You have to be able to go out and defend; if you don't, it's shooting practice from her. It stretches the defense, and makes you think on the inside. But the one thing about Gustin is she works down there; she posts and she posts and she posts again.
"I was on the refs because I thought she was really close to a lot of three-second calls — we ended up getting one in the fourth quarter with about four minutes to go. But it's at testament that she really works inside and they really look for her."
BYU made just two of its first eight shots to open the third quarter, but stayed ahead through defense and a well-timed Woolston three until Lauren Davenport capped a 5-0 spurt with a 3-pointer from the right wing to go up 45-35 with 3:49 on the clock.
After fending off a 16-15 third quarter from Houston, BYU opened the final frame on a 10-0 run, capped by Whiting's first triple of the game to go up 57-41 with 7:47 remaining and Houston scarcely threatened again.
After the game, the host Cougars honored their two seniors with pomp and ceremony for Gustin — and a surprise visit from Smiler's entire family, her parents who had only been to one other game, and a group of family and friends from New Zealand who performed a special-edition Haka in the Maori native's honor.
The moment caught Smiler by surprise, with shock written across her face and tears streaming down her cheeks as she watched the postgame display with her mother and older sister.
"We kept it under wraps; the only person that knew was her sister, because she had to orchestrate everything," Whiting said. "Kaylee didn't want any of the limelight or the extra trip, after her family came for Christmas. They're also coming for her graduation. But for me, as a mom, you can't do tonight without your parents. They wanted to come back, we got approval, and the girls did a really good job of keeping it quiet. It was awesome tonight."
