- Delaney Gibb of BYU emphasized her faith and Sabbath observance in a viral interview.
- BYU women's basketball skipped Sunday practice before the WBIT semifinal, honoring Sabbath traditions.
- Coach Lee Cummard praised the team's maturity and faith, highlighting BYU's diverse religious culture.
PROVO — BYU star Delaney Gibb didn't know that she'd be launched as an internet meme when she spoke about the importance of sabbath-day observance at the flagship university of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But after the Cougars' run to the WBIT championship game, the rising junior reaffirmed her commitment to faith and the importance of Sunday worship in a recent interview with Fox News.
"It's super cool being able to play for a university like BYU," Gibb told Fox and Friends First. "I am able to represent something greater than myself — my savior Jesus Christ — and being able to take Sundays off and use it as a day of worship and a day to re-center and re-focus my life on Christ is super special."
After going viral for talking about how the @BYU basketball team doesn't practice on Sundays, @byuwbb star @DelaneyGibb shares what it means to honor her faith in God this morning on @foxandfriends w/ @CarlyShimkus.
"It's super cool being able to play for a university like BYU… pic.twitter.com/qH2qMDGr87— Garrett Tenney (@Garrett_FoxNews) April 7, 2026
What did Delaney Gibb say about Sabbath-day worship?
BYU women's basketball caught attention last week when the team declined to utilize its allotted practice time Sunday in Wichita, Kansas prior to the Cougars' WBIT semifinal against Kansas.
The university has a longstanding policy of not performing, practicing or playing any sport on Sundays.
So first-year coach Lee Cummard's group flew to Wichita after winning three consecutive home games in the 32-team tournament, and while preparing to face Kansas — a Big 12 rival that the Cougars had never defeated previously — they opted out of their provided practice time.
Asked what might be "challenging" about the schedule, Gibb flipped the view from a challenge to an opportunity.
"When you're looking at it from that standpoint, it might seem unfair or just a bit more challenging, but I think when you step back and look at it from a perspective of our team and the culture that we've built and the faith that we have, it's a day that we get to have a different perspective on life," Gibb said. "And there's things that are bigger than basketball — Jesus Christ and having faith in him is something that's bigger than basketball.
"So for us, it's an opportunity to step away from kind of the worldly things and focus on the relationship that we are building with our Lord and Savior. Whether that be whatever you believe in, it's just a day to be able to represent that and just focus on things that might be a little more important than the game that we play and we love."
The response garnered more than 3.7 million views on BYUtv's Sports Nation account on X.
"There are things that are bigger than basketball..."@byuwbb on taking Sunday off in preparation for their semifinal matchup vs. Kansas 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RW1l98oWZF
— BYUtv Sports Nation (@BYUSportsNation) March 30, 2026
The story and video of the exchange captured by BYU's official social media accounts quickly spread around the country, and even went international in the Daily Mail, a British tabloid.
What else did Gibb's teammates, coaches say?
The superstar sophomore from Raymond, Alberta, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, wasn't the only one to talk about her experience with Sabbath day observance on that Sunday.
"Personally, Sabbath day worship is really important to me, as it is for a lot of us," fellow sophomore Brinley Cannon said. "Obviously we're a religious school. I think that there's a lot of pros that come from taking that day a week to focus on, like what Delaney said, things that are bigger than basketball.
"I think for me, personally, it's just a day to rest and reflect and just recenter my life on Jesus Christ and what he's done for me and for all of us. Honestly, I think it really helps to have that day for us to come back Monday, everyone's rejuvenated, everyone's kind of had their break and rested and re-centered and ready to focus."
Gibb had 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists the next day, when freshman Olivia Hamlin tied a career-high with 23 points including four 3-pointers in a 70-67 win over the Jayhawks at Charles Koch Arena on the campus of Wichita State University.
That helped BYU to its first-ever national postseason championship game in program history, where the Cougars lost to Columbia to finish 26-12 in Cummard's first season.
"I think that what you've heard today from these players kind of shows their maturity in who they are as women and what's important to them," Cummard said of Gibb and Cannon. "We're a program of faith. It's not just our faith — there are several faiths represented within our program, and we have that Sabbath day for everybody to kind of reflect and have the day off, have it to themselves to do what they want.
"I've been at BYU for a long time," he added, "and I can't think of maybe two times on the road where we've actually done anything that had anything to do with preparing for a game. So it's something that I really value that I know every Sabbath day or Sunday a week I'm going to be at home with my wife and kids and be able to worship the way that I choose."
