WICHITA, Kan. – Olivia Hamlin and Sydney Benally mixed for 38 factors as BYU rallied past Kansas 70-67 Monday afternoon at Charles Koch Arena to punch its ticket to the WBIT Championship sport.
In a sport that BYU trailed by 5 with 10 minutes to go, the Cougars flipped the script within the fourth, outscoring Kansas 24-16 to flip the 5-level deficit into a 3-level win. BYU managed the glass, outrebounding the Jayhawks 37-33, and created separation with a 13-2 run down the stretch.
Hamlin led all scorers with 23 factors, flattening 4 3-pointers whereas capturing 8-of-12 from the sphere. The freshman sparked BYU’s fourth-quarter surge, scoring in transition and from deep to assist shift momentum. Hamlin additionally completed with an help, a block and a rebound.
With the win, the Cougars have now received 4 postseason video games in the identical season for the primary time in program historical past and can play for his or her first postseason event championship on Wednesday.
Benally added 15 factors with 4 made triples, delivering key pictures late, together with back-to-back threes that pushed BYU’s lead to 63-56 with 3:49 remaining.
Delaney Gibb completed with 12 factors, seven rebounds and 6 assists, facilitating the offense down the stretch and scoring a key basket to lengthen the lead within the remaining minute.
Lara Rohkohl anchored the paint with 9 factors, a sport-excessive 14 rebounds and 6 blocks within the win. Bolanle Yussuf added six factors, two rebounds and two steals off the bench within the win.
First Quarter
Kansas opened on an 8-0 run earlier than Gibb obtained BYU on the board with a driving floater. Early blocks from Rohkohl and Hamlin helped BYU settle in defensively as Kansas led 8-2 on the 4:48 media timeout.
The Cougars answered with a 9-0 run behind back-to-back buckets from Yussuf and a 3-pointer from Benally to take an 11-10 lead. Kansas responded on the line, however Gibb knocked down a step-again 3 to put BYU again in entrance. The groups traded baskets late, with Rohkohl changing on the line earlier than Kansas evened the rating at 15-15 heading into the second quarter, marking the primary time this season BYU entered the second tied.
Second Quarter
BYU and Kansas traded baskets early within the quarter, with a pull-up jumper opening the scoring for the Cougars. Rohkohl supplied a spark inside with an offensive putback and a end on the block, off a feed from Gibb, to hold BYU inside one possession.
The Cougars stayed inside hanging distance behind free throws and a 3-pointer earlier than Benally tied the sport at 28 with a pull-up jumper with 2:01 remaining within the half. Kansas answered with a late push, utilizing an and-one and a jumper to take a 31-28 lead into halftime.
Third Quarter
BYU opened the half with a bucket off a turnover, as Gibb discovered Rohkohl to minimize into the deficit. The Cougars briefly took the lead behind a jumper from Cannon and a nook 3 from Hamlin, however Kansas answered every time because the groups traded baskets all through the quarter.
Hamlin knocked down one other 3 to tie the sport at 38, marking her fifteenth sport with three or extra made triples, and Benally later gave BYU a 41-40 lead with a nook 3 off a cross from Gibb. After a again-and-forth stretch, BYU led 44-42 on the 4:20 media timeout.
The Jayhawks closed the quarter on a powerful run on the free throw line to take a 51-46 lead into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
Gibb opened the quarter with a driving end and added two free throws to pull BYU inside one earlier than Olivia Hamlin took over. Hamlin went coast-to-coast to give the Cougars the lead and adopted with a 3-pointer off a turnover to push BYU forward 54-51.
After Kansas briefly regained momentum, Hamlin knocked down one other 3 to put BYU again in entrance, and Gibb discovered Benally for back-to-back triples to lengthen the lead to 63-56 with 3:49 remaining.
BYU used a 13-2 run to create separation, capped by a layup from Gibb to make it 67-58 with underneath a minute left. The Cougars held off a late Kansas push on the line, sealing a 70-67 win to advance.
Up Next
The 26-11 BYU Cougars will tackle the 4-seed Columbia within the WBIT Championship sport on Wednesday at 5 p.m. MT. The sport can be broadcast on ESPN2, with Krista Blunk and Tabitha Turner on the decision. Jason Shepherd could have radio play-by-play on BYU Radio 107.9, byuradio.org and the BYU Radio App.
