PROVO — Paisley Johnson had herself quite the West Coast Conference Tournament last season, and is hoping for the same type of results this time around.
The BYU women’s basketball team (18-10, 13-5 in conference) begins 2020 WCC Tournament play on Saturday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas as the No. 3 seed, with the opponent yet to be determined as of Friday afternoon. Tipoff will be at 4 p.m. MST with the Cougars taking on the winner of Saint Mary’s versus Pepperdine in the quarterfinal round.
Johnson believes she’s ready for whatever challenge comes her way.
“We just know the type of team we are, and what we can be,” she said.
Johnson, who will soon go by Paisley Harding after her planned marriage to BYU men’s basketball player Connor Harding on May 1, has never lacked confidence and used it to her advantage last March. Feeling spurned by not being named a first-team All-WCC performer, Johnson made certain to let everyone know the oversight through her play.
The then-sophomore went out and dominated the tournament — scoring 20 points in a semifinal win over Pepperdine and then 19 in the championship win over No. 1 seed Gonzaga. Although her offensive numbers passed muster, it was her lockdown defense which really separated her, as she led the Cougars to the title and automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
This time around, Johnson is hoping to bottle that same drive into this year’s postseason play.
“If I could do it back-to-back, that would be great, but more importantly, it would mean we won the tournament,” Johnson said. “I think our team just needs to go in there with a chip on our shoulder as the third seed. ... We’re going to take that opportunity and run with it and leave everything on the court.”
Fortunately for Johnson and her teammates, the Cougars arrive at tournament play in relatively good form.
Following some struggles at the start of the season, the Cougars finished off regular season play winning five of their final six games. Key to the uptick has been the play of Johnson, along with guards Maria Albiero and Brenna Drollinger.
As a senior, Drollinger in particular hopes to finish out strong, hoping to repeat as tournament champions, knowing how much is at stake.
“If we lose just one game, then we could potentially be done for the rest of the season, and for the rest of my career,” Drollinger said. “I feel like to prepare better mentally is what we need to do.”
Key for the Cougars will be to play better offensively, according to Drollinger, while preparing enough beforehand to help compensate for the team not practicing the Sunday before what the players hope is a semifinal game.
“The tournament is a funny thing. It’s whoever is playing the best at that time, and it’s as much mental as it is physical,” said BYU coach Jeff Judkins. “You have to be mentally sharp and ready to go. ... We don’t have a lot of time to prepare ... so you have to be mentally sharp and quick on your feet, and that’s where tournament experience helps.”