BYU women outscore No. 20 Oklahoma State 21-13 in 4th for first top-25 win in a year

PROVO — Eleven years to the date since BYU women's basketball's last win over the No. 20-ranked team in the country — then Gonzaga — the Cougars celebrated Valentine's Day weekend by stealing another.

Emma Calvert poured in 19 points and seven rebounds, and Delaney Gibb added 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals as the Cougars stunned No. 20 Oklahoma State 68-64 Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Center.

Amari Whiting supplied 9 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals for BYU (13-12, 4-10 Big 12), which outrebounded the Cowgirls 39-28 to snap a two-game losing skid for their first win over an Associated Press Top 25 opponent since a 78-66 win over then-No. 18 Baylor last Feb. 7, when Whiting nearly had a triple double with 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.

This time, the upset belonged to Calvert and a BYU team that assisted on 14 of 24 made field goals and outscored the Cowgirls 21-13 in the final frame for their biggest win of the year.

"This is one of the top conferences in the country. Every single team we play can shoot, can rebound, can run; every team is good," Calvert told KSL.com after the game. "There isn't one game off. But I think our record doesn't show how good we actually are as a team. We just kind of came out tonight and played four quarters together.

"We've had so many games right there, and we've been fighting so hard. Tonight it just all came together. And we'll see if we can keep rolling with that."

Tenin Magassa had 13 points and seven rebounds to lead Oklahoma State, and Anna Gret Asi supplied 13 points and three assists for the Cowgirls (19-5, 9-4 Big 12).

Oklahoma state leading scorer Stailee Heard, who averages 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, was limited to just 5 points and five rebounds on 1-of-6 shooting.

"We've been going through it lately, and that's when wins like these become super sweet. Right then," said BYU coach Amber Whiting, whose team had just two wins in the last nine outings. "Those are the memories that we'll always remember."

The top-tier Cowgirls jumped out to a 9-0 start, but BYU bigs Calvert and Kendra Gillespie combined for 9 points and four rebounds in the first quarter and the Cougars outrebounded OSU 11-6 to pull within 19-13 at the break.

But the Cougars took themselves out of the game.

After committing 11 turnovers in the first 14 minutes of the game, Amari Whiting converted a steal into points on the other end help BYU tie the game at 21-21 with 6:05 left in the half. The Cougars held the Cowgirls scoreless for more than 3 minutes, regained the lead through bench players like Montana transfer Maggie Huard.

But Whiting had 7 points, three rebounds and two assists in the first half, including a buzzer-beater at the rim from Delaney Gibb to tie the game at 31-31 at halftime.

Gibb finished the half with 5 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal for the Cougars, who also got 9 points and three boards from Emma Calvert while shooting 52% from the field.

Defensively, the Cougars held Heard scoreless from the field in the first half with just 2 points and three steals. The Cowgirls scored 14 points off BYU's 16 first-half turnovers — but also shot just 32.4% from the field.

Heard made her first field goal with 44 seconds left in the third quarter to help OSU gain momentum. Huard then nailed a stepback 3-pointer at the horn to lift the Cowgirls to a 51-47 edge after three quarters — despite shooting 38% from the field and 1-of-15 from the perimeter.

The visitors stiff-armed a BYU comeback bid, but the Cougars kept them at arms' length. Whiting tied the game at 58-all with 4:26 remaining, then set up Calvert at the rim for a 2-point lead a minute later.

The Cowgirls never led again, being held scoreless for more than 2 minutes down the stretch as Kambree Barber gave BYU a 64-60 lead in the final minute off a putback basket on Whiting's missed free-throw attempt to help the Cougars hold on for the top-20 upset win for a second consecutive season.

"I wanted this so bad. I wanted the win, and to win for my teammates," said Barber, who finished with 5 points, five rebounds and a block down the stretch. "I was going to get that board, if she missed. Mentally, I prepared myself, and then just had to do it."

Oklahoma State heads to Utah next Tuesday, Feb. 18 in a game between two of the six teams within two games of first place in the Big 12. BYU hits the road again next Wednesday, Feb. 19 to face Arizona. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MST on ESPN+.

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