Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
STANDING IN THE SPOTLIGHT — The biggest stars on the court aren't always the ones in uniform, and that may have been the case Saturday night at the Marriott Center.
Prior to and during halftime of then-No. 25 BYU's 77-56 win over West Virginia, a pair of powerful pint-sized pop stars brought the house down and stole the show.
The first was Lucy Llewellyn, the 8-year-old vocalist who made a return to BYU to belt a star-spangled rendition of the national anthem that had the capacity crowd of 17,978 on their feet well before the opening tip.
"She brought the house down," BYUtv broadcaster Blaine Fowler said. "Unbelievable."
Here is the full video of Lucy singing the national anthem at the @BYUMBB game.
— Todd Llewellyn (@ToddLlewellyn) March 2, 2025
I am incredibly proud of her. Shout out to the crowd for cheering her on. pic.twitter.com/yheMWHNIWh
Moments later, after BYU played to a sluggish 25-19 halftime advantage, it was Alivia Natter's turn.
The 11-year-old Make-A-Wish honoree was personally escorted to midcourt by BYU mascot Cosmo during the Cougarettes' hip-hop halftime performance to a remix of "2 Step."
After the fuzzy feline delivered Natter — who friends and family call Livi — the pre-teen aspiring dancer crushed her portion of the choreography as she led the 26-time national champion dance squad through the court.
Natter, though, was already a champion well before Saturday.
The 11-year-old from Temecula, California, was diagnosed with stage three Non-Hodgkin's anaplastic large-cell lymphona in February 2024, a disease for which she underwent several rounds of treatment and chemotherapy to eliminate the cancer as quickly as 24 hours from her diagnosis, her family told BYU's student newspaper.
In August of last year, after six rounds of chemo, Natter rang her bell at the local hospital, a symbol that her cancer was in remission. In December, the Make-A-Wish Foundation contacted the family to grant her wish — to dance with the Cougarettes.
With eight days to learn the choreography for her solo, Natter did what she did to her cancer months prior: she crushed it, and delivered a routine worthy of (another) standing ovation in front of the sold-out arena.
Yesterday's Have You Seen This?
Enough cuteness to last all week
Are you having a rough day? Feeling like the world is falling apart? Treat yourself to this video of bushbabies peeking out from a fencepost.
