2nd Round Basketball NCAA Women’s Championship games: AZ beats BYU

#2, BYU Guard Shaylee Gonzales. Photo: BYU

SAN ANTONIO, Texas. — Underdog BYU Women’s Basketball 11th-ranked Cougars played 3rd-ranked Arizona Wildcats and was eliminated with a final score of Arizona 52, BYU 46.

Two men’s teams and one other women’s team were eliminated after round one, making the Cougars the last team standing representing Utah. Lead by BYU Head Coach Jeff Judkins for the last 20 years, the star of the show was BYU sophomore guard #2, Shaylee Gonzales, who is from Arizona.

BYU hung on closely as it was 11 BYU to 12 AZ at the end of first quarter, then 25 BYU to 23 AZ at the half; after the 3rd quarter the score was tied at 37.

In the Mercado Region, statistically, within the tournament bracketing, Arizona gets its ticket punched to the Sweet 16. 

Five BYU athletes are from Utah. Paisley Harding led one of the biggest first round upsets as a charismatic Cougar guard. The #13 senior from Washington had 28 points in last round’s game and a hard spill to the floor early in the game, but recovered.

This was BYU’s 2nd appearance in the round of 34 in three years, this one with limited in-person spectatorship. 

The winner Arizona advances to play Texas A&M or Iowa State on ESPN this weekend.