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BYU Cougars\u00a0 ||\u00a0 1-0, 0-0\u00a0 ||\u00a0 Big 12 Conference<\/p>\n
WHAT’S AT STAKE\u00a0 || \u00a0With a win, BYU would move to 2-0 on the young season, the first back-to-back victories since taking down Arizona State and UCF on Feb. 1 and 5, 2025. A win on Saturday would also mark the fourth-consecutive win over San Jose State. <\/p>\n
STELLAR SYDNEY\u00a0 || \u00a0Despite it being her first collegiate game, Sydney Benally<\/a> showed maturity well beyond her years on Wednesday as BYU took down Coastal Carolina. The true freshman led the Cougars with 11 assists to go along with eight points, six steals and two boards. Benally\u2019s 11 assists marked the first time a Cougar player has recorded 10 assists in a game since two-time WCC Player of the Year Shaylee Gonzales<\/a> on Feb. 10, 2022.<\/p>\n LUCKY NUMBER 7\u00a0 || \u00a0Benally\u2019s fellow freshman and backcourt mate, Olivia Hamlin<\/a>, was no slouch in her Marriott Center debut. Hamlin was an efficient 5-for-8 from the floor for 13 points, one of five Cougars to finish in double figures. The Snow Canyon H.S. grad also recorded five steals, three assists and three rebounds on Wednesday.<\/p>\n CANNON’S CAREER NIGHT\u00a0 || \u00a0Brinley Cannon<\/a> notched six career highs in the opening game of the 2025-26 season. The sophomore led the Cougars in scoring with a career-high 16 points on a 50-percent clip and made three triples, both career firsts for Cannon. The Shelley, Idaho native matched her career high in made field goals (5) and set new career marks for field goals (10) and three-point attempts (7).<\/p>\n SHARING THE ROCK\u00a0 || \u00a0Coach Cummard has been emphatic that his team will share the love, make the extra pass and make the right play. That came through in the manner of 27 assists on 30 made field goals against the Chanticleers. Five Cougars recorded multiple assists, with Benally leading the charge with 11 assists, five from Gibb, three from Hamlin and Arielle Mackey-Williams<\/a> and two from Braeden Gunlock<\/a>.<\/p>\n BACK FOR MORE\u00a0 || \u00a0Although the Cougars parted ways with former head coach Amber Whiting<\/a> following the 2025-26 season, BYU returns seven of nine players from the 2024-25 roster, excluding those who exhausted their eligibility or chose to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Guard Amari Whiting<\/a>, who transferred to Oklahoma State, was one of two players to transfer out of the program, and the only one who transferred to another Power-4 program. <\/p>\n