Gustin records 15 points and 20 rebounds in 75-63 loss to Oklahoma in Big 12 home opener

PROVO, Utah — BYU women’s basketball fell to the Oklahoma Sooners 75-63 in its Big 12 home opener on Wednesday evening at the Marriott Center.

"The game of basketball is pretty simple, and we need to hit shots," said BYU head coach Amber Whiting. "I don’t see us ever shooting that low of a percentage. We had wide-open looks and we need to knock them down.”

The Cougars recorded their lowest field goal percentage of the 2023-24 season as they went 29 percent from the field in the loss. Lauren Gustin led BYU with her NCAA-leading 13th double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 20 rebounds. Three Cougars scored in double figures, including Kailey Woolston with 14 and Kaylee Smiler with 11.

Oklahoma never trailed during its wire-to-wire victory as the Sooners shot 38.7 percent from the field, 91.7 percent from the charity stripe and were aided by 29 points off the bench. Skylar Vann came off the bench to lead all players with 19 points on a 50 percent clip.

1st Quarter

The Sooners went on a 7-0 run in the first three minutes of the game, capped by a three-pointer from Aubrey Joens, leading to a BYU timeout.

The Cougars were 1-of-17 in the quarter before Gustin scooped and scored off the glass and Lauren Davenport hit a floater to end the quarter down 18-8. BYU's eight first-quarter points matched the lowest points scored in a single quarter since the season opener against Montana State. 

2nd Quarter

Emma Calvert hit the Cougars' first three of the game two minutes into the second quarter, after BYU went 0-8 to start the game. With BYU down 15 points, Calvert knocked down a second triple to trim the OU lead to 12 at 27-15.

BYU gained some momentum with five-straight points courtesy of an Amari Whiting three-point play and Gustin putback, drawing the Cougars within nine. The Sooners countered with back-to-back buckets of their own, with a three-pointer and fastbreak layup both made by Vann.

At halftime, Oklahoma led 40-23.

3rd Quarter

Kailey Woolston, who went 0-for-5 in the opening half, scored eight-straight points including back-to-back triples and two free throws to cut the OU lead to 13 with 7:29 to go in the quarter. Davenport then trimmed Oklahoma’s lead to seven at 46-39 after a left-corner three.

After the Sooners again pushed their lead to 15 with 2.3 seconds remaining in the period, Whiting launched a halfcourt shot from the logo which hit nothing but the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded.

4th Quarter

With six minutes to play, Oklahoma held a 70-55 lead before four-straight BYU points by Gustin. The Cougars scored the final six points of the game, but ultimately fell to the Sooners, 75-63. 

Up Next

The Cougars will return to the Marriott Center to host the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday at 4 p.m. MT with the game broadcast live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Spencer Linton and Kristen Kozlowski on the call. Jason Shepherd will also have the live play-by-play call on BYU Radio 107.9, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio app.