1 / 6

BYU players (from left) Heather Hamson, Sara Hamson, Paisley Harding and Maria Albiero celebrate the Cougars' 77-54 win against Loyola Marymount in the Marriott Center on Thursday, Feb, 17, 2022. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

2 / 6

BYU's Paisley Harding (13) is fouled by a Loyola Marymount player in a WCC women's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

3 / 6

BYU's Paisley Harding (13) prepares to drive to the basket against Loyola Marymount at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Feb, 17, 2022. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

4 / 6

BYU's Shaylee Gonzales (middle) shoots a reverse layup against Loyola Marymount in the Marriott Center on Thursday, Feb, 17, 2022. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

5 / 6

School children react to a play while watching the BYU-Loyola Marymount women's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

6 / 6

BYU players (from left) Paisley Harding, Lauren Gustin, Maria Albiero, Shaylee Gonzales and Sara Hamson walk onto the floor after a time out during a WCC women's basketball game against Loyola Marymount at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

❮ ❯

The current roster on BYU women’s basketball team does a lot of things well, including winning games at home in the Marriott Center.

Thursday afternoon’s 77-54 blowout of Loyola Marymount was the Cougars’ 29th straight home win and their 22nd consecutive West Coast Conference home victory.

“We talk about it every time the game starts that we don’t lose a home game,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “If you want to have a good team, you don’t lose a home game.”

The last time the Cougars tasted defeat in the Marriott Center was on Jan. 4, 2020 against Portland. Since then, BYU has run off seven straight wins to end the 2019-20 season, won all nine home contests in 2020-21 and posted a 13-0 record at home this season.

“We put a huge emphasis on always winning our home games,” BYU senior Sara Hamson said. We have in written in big bold letters in our locker room. We have such a good home court advantage with the energy the Marriott Center has and the elevation for sure. We practice here all the time and we shoot here so we’re used to it. We’re used to home, right, it’s comfortable. We expect to take advantage of that and just run girls to the ground and shoot lights out.”

The Cougars average margin of victory for the 13 home games is 29 points and they have won seven WCC home games by an average of 34 points.

BYU led LMU 15-12 after one quarter and kicked into high gear in the second, utilizing an 11-2 run to get out to a 35-18 lead after back-to-back buckets by Hamson. The Cougars led 35-24 at half.

The Lions got to the free throw line early in the third quarter and cut the deficit to seven, 43-36, before BYU took off again. This time it was a 13-2 blitz, with Shaylee Gonzales scoring five points. As the quarter wound down, Nani Falatea lofted an alley-oop pass to Hamson, who beat the buzzer to give the home team a 56-38 advantage.

BYU led 63-41 early in the fourth and Judkins cleared his bench as the Cougars cruised to another home victory.

Gonzales led the 20th-ranked Cougars with 19 points and Paisley Harding added 18. BYU struggled with its 3-point shooting (4 of 17) but held a healthy 40-26 rebound advantage and posted 24 assists, with ten players getting at least one. The Cougars (12-1 WCC, 22-2 overall) caused 23 turnovers and outscored the visitors on points off turnovers 28-6.

BYU will honor three seniors – Hamson, Harding and Maria Albiero – as well as graduate student Tegan Graham in their final regular-season home game on Saturday against Gonzaga, a team very capable of ending BYU’s long winning streak in the Marriott Center.

“It’ll be really special,” Judkins said. “It would make my day to be able to do that because it’s undefeated. But this is one game and the league. We beat Gonzaga and it helps us get our NET better and is a win-win situation. It’s a great day for the seniors to know that.”

Newsletter