WBIT semifinals: Freshmen guide BYU women by Kansas for championship game berth

WICHITA, Kan. — BYU's future was on full display in Monday's WBIT semifinals.

But the Cougars' present isn't over yet.

Freshman Olivia Hamlin scored a career-high 23 points including four 3-pointers, and Sydney Benally added 15 points, three assists and a steal as top-seeded BYU women's basketball collected its first-ever win over Kansas 70-67 at Charles Koch Arena to advance to the championship game of the WBIT.

Delaney Gibb had 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals for BYU, which got 9 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots from senior Lara Rohkohl as the Cougars edged the Jayhawks on the glass, 37-33 in a game that featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes.

Jaliya Davis scored 10 of her team-high 18 points in the first half as the Big 12 freshman of the year who went for 28 points and 12 rebounds in an 81-60 win Feb. 4 in Lawrence led the Jayhawks (22-14) to a 31-28 halftime lead.

S'Mya Nichols had 14 points and six assists for Kansas, and Lilly Meister supplied 12 points and nine rebounds.

But Hamlin was the star of the game, matching the career-high she hit a week ago in the WBIT second round against Missouri and taking control after a slow start.

"I've been around this game a long time. I've never seen somebody fill it up as fast as her," said BYU first-year head coach Lee Cummard, whose team will face Columbia in the WBIT title game Wednesday (5 p.m. MDT, ESPN2). "We've seen it multiple times this season where she sees that thing go through the hoop, and it is on. Like it's just an onslaught."

BYU (26-11) rallied from an 8-point deficit to lead by as many as 9 points with 29 seconds left. But Davis forced a turnover with five seconds left to give the Jayhawks a chance to tie.

That's when Meister's attempt rimmed out and the Cougars secured the rebound to clinch a spot in their first-ever national postseason tournament final in program history.

Hamlin led BYU at the break, scoring 9 of the Cougars' 13 bench points.

Benally drained her second triple of the game to bring the Cougars all the way back, up 41-40 midway through the third. BYU converted 6-of-9 from the field including a pair of 3-pointers by Hamlin en route to a 44-42 advantage before Kansas used a 9-2 run mostly from the foul line to take a 51-46 advantage into the fourth quarter.

But BYU opened the fourth on a 17-5 spurt, including a 9-0 run as Benally pushed the Cougars in front 63-56 with her fourth triple with 3:49 remaining.

"I think when we have the momentum and energy on our side, it just makes us have all this confidence in ourselves," Hamlin said, "and then that's when we start hitting shots, and then we just have fun out there."

And one other thing during that stretch.

"We were getting stops on defense," Benally added, "so we were able to get in our transition offense, and that's what we thrive in."

The Cougars held Kansas scoreless from the field for 5:30 in the fourth quarter, forcing tree of the Jayhawks' 13 turnovers down the stretch to help lead 12 points off turnovers.

Davis scored on two of three-straight possessions for Kansas to pull the Jayhawks, who were playing just a 2.5-hour drive from campus, within 69-65 with 15 seconds left.

WBIT semifinal #1: Columbia 67, Wisconsin 50

Rachel Weiss totaled 21 points, four assists, three rebounds and two blocks as Columbia overwhelmed Wisconsin in the first semifinal Monday afternoon.

The Ivy League Player of the Year shot 7-of-14 from the field with three 3-pointers for the Lions (24-8), who got 12 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals from Mia Broom and 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals from Susie Rafiu in the win.

Weiss had 8 points and two assists in the first half as the Lions jumped out to an 11-4 lead and used a 19-8 second-quarter run to pull ahead, 32-17 at halftime.

Lily Krahn notched a 3-pointer to cap a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter that pulled the Badgers within eight, 52-44. But the Lions responded with a 7-0 spurt, including a 3-pointer by Weiss with 5:11 remaining, to take control for good and move into Wednesday's championship game.

Perri Page added 9 points and eight rebounds for Columbia, which routed St. John's by 48 points in the tournament's first round, beat North Dakota State by 27, and added a 74-68 road win over California in the quarterfinals. The Lions are averaging 78 points per game on 50% shooting, led by Weiss (21 points per game), Page (20.3 ppg) and Broom (17.3 ppg).

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