BYU women’s basketball coach Jeff Judkins specifically set up a difficult preseason schedule to test a team he believes could be one of his best.

The 20th-ranked Cougars didn’t let him down, finishing off a five-game stretch against teams from Power Five conferences with a 71-53 victory against Washington State on Saturday at the Marriott Center.

“When it came down to the end, we made plays,” BYU coach Jeff Judkins said. “That was the difference. I think the girls have realized when you’re playing Power Five schools, it’s much more physical. It’s made us better offensively and defensively. We’ve realized we’ve got to be stronger.”

BYU was 4-1 in those five games, beating No. 17 Florida State, No. 22 West Virginia, Utah and Washington State. The only loss was a 99-91 overtime decision at Oklahoma on Dec. 10.

“All of them are big schools,” BYU senior Paisley Harding said. “They’re tough and aggressive. Everyone is crashing the boards. They’re bigger and stronger and that’s great. Those are the type of games we want to play. Those games are preparing us for the games at the end of the season.”

Against Washington State, the blue Cougars dominated in almost every category but one.

The red Cougars made just three 2-point field goals in the entire game, but also got hot from beyond the 3-point arc and cut a 15-point first half deficit to one early in the fourth quarter.

“Yeah, they were amazing from 3-point line today, but our defense really kept us in it,” Harding said. “We took away some of their stuff and they took away some of our stuff. But in the end, we had so many different people on the court scoring it. It wasn’t just one or two people. That’s what’s so great about our team.”

BYU led 47-40 entering the fourth quarter but consecutive 3-ball by Johanna Teder and Charlisse Legler-Walker cut that deficit to one, 47-46, with 9:03 to play in the game.

The blue Cougars responded with a quick 10-0 blitz. Sara Hamson scored twice inside and Maria Albeiro found Tegan Graham and Paisley Harding for 3-point makes, giving the home team a 57-46 lead at the 5:45 mark. Washington State, which had made 12 of 21 (57%) from the 3-point line to get close, missed its next seven triples as BYU put the game away.

Harding led the blue Cougars with 20 points and five rebounds. Graham finished with 15 points and five assists and Shaylee Gonzales added 13 points and six boards. Hamson was 5 of 6 from the field and contributed 10 points and a pair of blocks off the bench. Lauren Gustin had 13 rebounds and led BYU to a 50-35 advantage in the boards.

“I’m just happy with this team,” Judkins said. “It’s important for them to win and they want to get better. I haven’t had too many teams say, when I call an end to practice, ‘Coach, why are we ending practice?’ They don’t want to stop. That’s the kind of attitude they have and it shows on the court.”

Washington State finished 13 of 31 (42%) from the 3-point line but made just 3 of 29 (10%) on shots inside the arc. Legler-Walker made 6 of 10 from distance and led the red Cougars with 21 points. Ula Matuga added a double-double — 12 points, 10 rebounds — for WSU.

BYU (9-1) travels to Bozeman next Tuesday to play Montana State and opens West Coast Conference play Dec. 30 at home against San Diego.

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