Can BYU keep its postseason run going in second-round WBIT matchup with Missouri?
· Yahoo Sports
BYU stands alone in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.
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The Cougars are the only No. 1 seed remaining.
Fellow No. 1 seeds Utah and Texas A&M lost in the WBIT’s opening round last Thursday, and on Sunday, another No. 1, North Dakota State, also went down.
All three lost by double-digits.
Can BYU survive the second round?
The Cougars are playing one day later then the rest of the second-round action, due to the school’s no-Sunday policy. On Monday night, they’ll host Missouri (7 p.m. MDT, ESPN+) at the Marriott Center in the single-elimination tournament.
Including the Big 12 tournament, BYU is 3-1 in postseason action, including a 72-47 win over Alabama A&M in the WBIT’s first round.
The Cougars (23-11) have won six of their past seven games and are playing arguably their best ball of the season. While it didn’t land BYU a spot in the NCAA Tournament, it earned them a top seed in the WBIT.
In last week’s win, freshman point guard Sydney Benally scored 18 points, hit four 3-pointers and set single-season program records for freshman assists (139) and freshman games started (34).
Monday’s matchup allows BYU the rare opportunity to host an SEC opponent. No. 4 seeded Missouri (17-16) is coming off a 67-57 win over Seton Hall to advance.
When asked during an ESPN+ postgame interview last Thursday the key to face Missouri, Benally said, “Just continue trusting in our coaches and our teammates and have confidence in ourselves — just drive to keep playing in the postseason."
The Tigers went 4-12 in conference play, and prior to the win over Seton Hall, Missouri had lost seven straight — though that came in the SEC, which placed 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament, second only to the Big Ten’s 12.
Missouri is led by two junior guards, Grace Slaughter and Shannon Dowell.
Slaughter leads the Tigers in scoring (18.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.8) while shooting 45.5% from the floor, and she was named All-SEC second team. Dowell adds 15.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
“Not too often we get SEC team to come here on our court, so really looking forward to it,” BYU coach Lee Cummard said on BYU Radio following the win over Alabama A&M. “(They’re) very talented, move the ball, share it, shoot the three better than we do. It’s going to be a good match for us.
“... They really execute what they want to do offensively and are sound defensively.”
With Sunday’s other results, the BYU women are now the only Utah Division I basketball team still playing — Utah State lost to Arizona in the NCAA men’s tournament, while Southern Utah fell to Pepperdine in the WNIT.
If BYU wins Monday, it will host a third-round game against the ACC’s Stanford on Thursday in the WBIT’s third round. The Cardinal beat Quinnipiac in their second-round contest Sunday afternoon.
After the third round, the WBIT heads to Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas, for the semifinals and championship. The semifinals take place March 30, and the title game on April 1.
For a BYU team filled with youthful talent in leaders like Delaney Gibb, Benally, Oliva Hamlin and Brinley Cannon, the longer a run the Cougars can have, the better to build momentum going into next season.
Plus, it will be BYU’s second test against an SEC foe — in November, the Cougars lost to then-No. 17 Vanderbilt in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam. The Commodores, who beat BYU by 13, earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
“They’re battle tested. To go on the road in the SEC is no small feat,” Cummard said of Monday’s opponent. “... We got our hands full, but I’m hoping Monday night, family night here in the Marriott Center, all Cougar nation wants to show, come out and show support for this group ‘cause it’s been a fun year so far.”