PROVO — Hustle, hustle, and more hustle. That was how BYU was able to defeat San Jose State 70-51 on Saturday. The Cougars were able to outwork the Spartans in many facets of the game as they overcame a poor shooting performance by relying on their defense and second chance opportunities to give them the edge in the win.
This game was a reunion of sorts as San Jose State head coach Jonas Chatterton made his return to the Marriott Center after he spent eight seasons as an assistant coach under BYU head coach Jeff Judkins. Chatterton is in his first year as the Spartans head coach, his first head coaching job of his career.
Lee Cummard also spent three seasons as an assistant under Judkins, and both coaches’ former mentor was in attendance to witness two of his former assistants face off against one another on Saturday.
The Cougars set the tone for how they were going to play early with players crashing the offensive glass and stingy defense allowing BYU to take a quick double-digit lead. San Jose State fought back and closed out the quarter strong, trailing by just two points despite seven turnovers.
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In the second quarter, the Cougars had seized momentum and took a 10-point lead into halftime. BYU took control of the game with their second and third quarter performance, outscoring the Spartans 36-16 as they took advantage of San Jose State turnovers.
Despite a poor shooting performance, turnovers and second chance opportunities led to offense for the Cougars as they totaled 16 points off turnovers and 19 second chance points.
“I loved our aggressiveness defensively,” Cummard said. “We’re causing problems, you know, with some of the pressure just making them a little bit more uncomfortable.”
BYU dominated on the glass as they outrebounded the Spartans 54-45 while also pulling down 21 offensive rebounds.
“We talk a lot about just doing our role,” Brinley Cannon said. “Coach emphasizes that a lot, and so we have rebounding responsibilities and just knowing what our job is and if we’re supposed to rebound or if not, get back.”
Lara Rohkohl raises up for a shot near the basket against San Jose State. (Photo: BYU Photo)
Lara Rohkohl led the Cougars in rebounding once again as she recorded her second consecutive 10-rebound game that included five offensive rebounds.
“It kind of reminds me of Lauren Gustin,” Cummard said. “She just goes every time and has a drive to just go and get the basketball. She’s highly athletic, she’s long, and it allows her to go and rebound out of her area. I thought she did a great job again tonight.”
The Spartans didn’t go away easily as they took advantage of a sloppier second half performance from the BYU offense after the Cougars turned it over 13 times compared to just four turnovers in the first half.
After a 15-4 run from San Jose State, the deficit was cut to 11 but Delaney Gibb put the dagger in the Spartans’ comeback chances with her fifth three-point make to help BYU close the game with eight straight points and seal the 70-51 victory.
Gibb struggled from the field early but her three-point shot was much better in Saturday’s game as she shot 5-of-11 from deep.. Gibb led all scorers with 21 points and showed off her all-around game with six rebounds and six assists.
The Cougars shot 32.9% from the field but kept finding ways to outwork San Jose State to help give them the edge in Saturday’s contest and improve to 2-0 on the season while spoiling Chatterton’s return to Provo.
BYU will be back in action next Thursday when they host Omaha in the Marriott Center as Cummard and the Cougars look to improve to 3-0.
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