Cincinnati handed BYU just their third home loss of the season Tuesday night at the Marriott Center, topping the Cougars 76-67 in a game that was closer than the final score indicated.
The Bearcats shot-making in the final moments of the game did BYU in, the visitors outscoring the Provo school 14-2 to close out the game.
“We talked a lot to our team about how well BYU plays at home,” Cincinnati coach Katrina Merriweather said after her team’s win. “I’m really proud of our players. I thought we weathered some runs and some storms there where we weren’t playing great. And just to see them pull this win out, when road wins have been really hard for us to come by, was really good.”
Cincinnati entered Provo having lost four of its last five games and with only one Big 12 road win to its name. BYU hadn’t had much better success of late, having lost three of its last four contests and sliding into 11th place in the conference.
“There’s a clear recipe out there against us right now,” BYU coach Lee Cummard said. “Drive us, rebound against us, and try to speed (us) up and force turnovers. And that kind of just leads to a good recipe for the other team and not so much for us and that’s what happened today.”
The Cougars gave up 20 offensive rebounds on the night, despite their best efforts to make that a focus coming into the contest.
“Rebounding was number one on our game plan … as we came into this game,” Cummard said. “To give up 20 offensive rebounds, we got to just own it. Credit to them.”
Turnovers, too, have been a common denominator in the Cougars’ struggles, giving up the ball 19 times in each of its last three losses.
“It’s a thing that’s really kind of hindered us most of the season that we have to improve on,” Cummard said. “We just got to grow from it.”
The Bearcats, on the other hand, showed few signs of struggle at the beginning of the game, scoring 26 of their 29 first-quarter points in the initial 6:26 and putting BYU in a deficit of 11. The Cougars responded, scoring 10 points in less than two minutes to cut the score to four by the quarter’s end.
Both teams cooled off a bit in the second quarter, both scoring just 11 points in the period after their initial offensive outburst.
The Cougars tied the game by the end of the third, going into the final 10 minutes knotted at 51. BYU took a 62-65 lead on a made 3-pointer from sophomore guard Delaney Gibb with 4:07 left in the game before Cincinnati slammed the door shut, outscoring the Cougars by 12 down the stretch.
The Bearcats’ run was ignited by a made three to tie the score from senior guard Mya Perry, who finished the night with a game-high 32 points.
“No surprise that Mya Perry showed up big time for us,” Merriweather said. “We’ve seen her do some incredible things. She’s a big-time shot maker. … I think she’s one of the best offensive guards in the country.”
BYU learned that the hard way. Cincinnati, meanwhile, couldn’t have enjoyed their trip to Provo much more.
“We’re staying in a great place,” Merriweather said. “The kids are looking at mountains. I mean … they probably felt like they were on a little bit of a vacation. … So sometimes things just roll your way and I feel like that played a big part into what happened tonight.”
BYU will try to get things rolling back its way in a road matchup against Utah Saturday. The Cougars and the Utes met in Provo earlier this year, with the home squad earning a 12-point win.
Saturday’s contest will begin at 2 p.m.
