CINCINNATI, Ohio — BYU women's basketball fell to the Cincinnati Bearcats 72-63 at Fifth Third Arena on New Year’s Day after scoring just six points in the final quarter.
After leading 57-46 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bearcats held the Cougars scoreless for the first 8:26 while going on a 23-point run. BYU hit two late threes but the deficit was too much to overcome.
“That was a super frustrating way to drop that game,” said head coach Amber Whiting. “Having a lead like we did and not finishing the job is tough. We need to do a better job of locking it down defensively and sticking to our principles.”
BYU had three players finish in double figures with Delaney Gibb and Amari Whiting leading the pack with 14 points apiece. Gibb scored all of her points in the first half while Whiting scored eight in the third quarter to give the Cougars an 11-point lead going into the fourth. Emma Calvert scored 12 points on the night with 10 coming in the third quarter.
The Cougars turned it over 24 times in the loss leading to 19 Cincinnati points. The Bearcats scored 27 points from the foul line on 37 attempts while BYU went to the charity stripe just 13 times, making 11. The visiting Cougar squad outshot the Bearcats from the field 41.5 percent to 36.4 and from behind the arc 33.3 percent to 27.8 percent on the night, yet fell 72-63.
First Quarter
The Cougars got on the board as Gibb found a cutting Calvert for a wide-open layup. Calvert picked up two quick fouls and was replaced by Kendra Gillispie just 2:44 into the opening quarter.
After five-straight points from Cincinnati, Brinley Cannon pushed in transition and found Kambree Barber on a back cut for an open layup to draw within three at 7-4.
The Bearcats scored seven points during a 2:26 BYU scoring drought which was snapped by a Cannon layup. Gibb finished the quarter with a personal five-point burst to pull BYU within one after the first with UC leading 12-11.
BYU turned the ball over eight times in the first quarter leading to Cincinnati attempting five more shots than the Cougars in the opening frame.
Second Quarter
On the Cougars’ second possession of the second frame, Whiting secured an offensive board and found Gibb for a kick-out triple to knot the game at 14. After a 1-for-2 trip at the line by Gillispie, Whiting scooped and scored for two plus the foul to give BYU an 18-16 lead with 7:25 to go in the half.
After a layup by Kemery Congdon, Calvert hit Gibb for a kick-out triple, her third of the game, to retake a two-point lead at 23-21. Barber then hit Whiting in the right corner for her first three of the night to extend the lead to four with 2:02 to play in the half.
After a Bearcats triple, Congdon found Barber cutting to the rim who scored off the glass to retake a three-point advantage with 1:04 to go. Gibb finished the quarter by hitting her fourth three of the night, assisted by Congdon to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room.
Third Quarter
After sitting much of the first half due to foul trouble, Calvert asserted herself early in the third, scoring four consecutive points to open the third period for the Cougars. BYU went 4:10 without a made field goal but knocked down seven free throws during that span from Whiting and Gillispie to maintain a 46-38 lead with 5:05 to go in the third.
With 4:44 to go in the quarter, Gillispie scored the first bucket for the Cougars since the 8:54 mark to take an eight-point advantage. After the media timeout, Gibb dumped it in to Calvert for a score off the glass followed by a Whiting triple, her second of the game. BYU went into the fourth quarter with a 57-46 lead.
Fourth Quarter
The Bearcats scored 23-consecutive points while holding BYU scoreless over the first 8:26 of the fourth quarter to go from 11 down to up 12 with less than a minute left. Congdon and Davenport each hit threes in the waiting second, but the deficit was too much to overcome as the Cougars fell 72-63.
Up Next
BYU now heads to Morgantown, West Virginia to take on the 18th-ranked Mountaineers on Saturday, Jan. 4. Tip is set for 4 p.m. MT with the game streamed on ESPN+ and broadcast live on BYU Radio, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio app with Jason Shepherd on the call.