BYU maintains flawless history with win over UVU

BYU remained perfect all time against UVU Tuesday evening at the Marriott Center, downing the Wolverines 76-36 in a game that only got more one-sided as the night wore on.

BYU coach Amber Whiting was pleased with the way her team played together to earn the victory.

“We have a thing that we always say — ‘Sometimes you, sometimes me, but always us,’” she said.

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It was always and only the Cougars Tuesday, as they blasted the Wolverines with ease. BYU never trailed throughout the night, taking UVU’s biggest blows in the initial quarter before pushing its lead to 10 at the half.

The Cougars took complete control after the break, starting the third quarter on a 9-0 run and never looking back.

“We just talked about … making sure that we’re the most physical team,” Whiting said. “I thought the second half (we) did a way better job.”

BYU was led by senior guard Lauren Davenport who scored a career high 20 points, going a scorching 6 of 8 from 3-point range.

“I felt very calm tonight,” Davenport said. “I think I just let the game come to me. I thought that was super important for my game, but I got to appreciate my teammates for getting me the ball, finding me open.”

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Davenport’s torrid night guided the Cougars to a 45.8% outing from behind the arc, with the team ultimately scoring 11 times from deep. However, it was BYU’s defense that helped it run away with the win, as it held the Wolverines to a mere 10 points in the second half and their lowest scoring total of the season.

When asked about the Cougars impressive defensive effort, Davenport said, “It starts with (Whiting) yelling at us in practice about defense. … I think all of us worked together really well. … We just play really good defense.”

The game marked the 10th contest of the year for both schools, putting them about a third of the way through their regular seasons.

“I never want to be playing our best basketball right now,” Whiting said, “but I do want to have a good week … because we have a conference game next week, so that’s important to us.”

Whiting hopes as the season wears on, her team will continue to embrace what she and her staff have been teaching them.

“I harp on these guys all the time about the principles and the defense, the standards that we hold,” she said. “That became really apparent tonight, that we stayed true to what we were doing and … to the game plan.”

Staying true to who they are has helped the Cougars surge to an 8-2 record on the year, while dropping UVU to 6-4 and keeping the Wolverines winless in their last three games.

BYU’s record moves to 12-0 in contests played against UVU.

Tuesday was BYU’s first game back in the Marriott Center since it suffered its first setback of the season – an overtime loss to Northern Colorado two and a half weeks ago.

Since then, the Cougars have gone 2-1, splitting a pair of contests in the Cancún Challenge before traveling to Texas, where they topped UTEP.

Prior to that, BYU began the season 5-0, earning wins over Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado State, Idaho State and McNeese. Now 2-0 in December, BYU will look to keep its perfect month intact when it completes its nonconference schedule in a road meeting with Washington State Friday.

Meanwhile, UVU returns to the floor in a home matchup with Jacksonville State next Monday.