PROVO — Hanna Zavecz scored a career-high 32 points to lead Wyoming past BYU 74-63 Thursday evening in the Marriott Center.
"We got outplayed tonight in probably every part of the game," BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. "I think they outhustled us. They wanted it more than us. It was an uphill battle from the start."
Judkins also said that Wyoming did a great job of executing its game plan. He said they were able to use a majority of the shot clock, which took his team out of the fast-paced game it wanted to play.
BYU forward Ambrosia Anderson said that it is hard to guard a player like Zavecz because she is so versatile.
"We haven't faced anyone like her," Anderson said of Zavecz. "She can hit shots from the outside and down low, and she can beat people off the dribble."
Zavecz's career night led three Cowgirls in double-figure scoring in the MWC opener for both teams. Also scoring in double figures for Wyoming were Erin Hicks and Ashley Elliott.
The Cowgirls held the Cougars to a paltry 32.3-percent shooting in the first half while building a 32-26 lead, but BYU opened the second half on a hot streak.
Behind the shooting of Danielle Cheesman and Julie Sullivan, the Cougars pulled within one-point at 39-38 with just over 17 minutes left in the game. But Wyoming was just toying with the Cougars.
Sullivan led a trio of Cougars in double figures, scoring a team-high 16 points, followed by Anderson with 14 and Cheesman with 12.
Following the Cougar run, the Cowgirls reeled off a run of their own to take control of the game. Wyoming put together a 14-5 run to take a 10-point advantage. Both Hicks and Zavecz scored six points in the pivotal stretch, and BYU never challenged the rest of the game.
"I probably should have called a timeout after they hit a couple (ofshots)," Judkins said. "But we probably missed three layups during that stretch, so it's hard as a coach to call a timeout when you're getting the shots you want."
Following the loss, BYU falls to 9-5 on the season (0-1 in the MWC). Next up for the Cougars is a game Saturday at 4 p.m. against Colorado State, which is coming off a 68-50 loss to Utah.