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BYU players prepare to take the floor before the WCC game against Saint Mary's at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

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BYU senior center Sara Hamson celebrates making a tip-in during the WCC game against Saint Mary's at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

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BYU sophomore guard Shaylee Gonzales drives to the basket during the WCC game against Saint Mary's at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

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BYU sophomore forward Lauren Gustin goes up for a shot during the WCC game against Saint Mary's at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. (Jaren Wilkey, BYU Photo)

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BYU's Paisley Harding (13) takes a shot against San Diego during a West Coast Conference women's basketball game at the Marriott Center on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. (BYU Courtesy Photo)

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BYU players celebrate a good play during the WCC game against Santa Clara at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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BYU freshman Emma Calvert goes up for a layup during the WCC game against Santa Clara at the Marriott Center in Provo on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2022. (Courtesy BYU Photo)

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Since the No. 16-ranked BYU women’s basketball team lost on the road in overtime at No. 18-ranked Oklahoma on Dec. 10, 2021, the Cougars have played 10 games.

When you examine the scores of those contests, you can see an obvious pattern of dominance:

• BYU 71, Washington State 53 (Dec. 18)
• BYU 89, Montana State, 67 (Dec. 21)
• BYU 76, San Francisco 64 (Jan. 6)
• BYU 94, Pacific 68 (Jan. 8)
• BYU 78, Saint Mary’s 36 (Jan. 13)
• BYU 77, Loyola Marymount 37 (Jan. 15)
• BYU 74, San Diego 63 (Jan. 22)
• BYU 70, San Diego 48 (Jan. 24)
• BYU 76, Santa Clara 44 (Jan. 27)
• BYU 99, San Francisco 58 (Jan. 29)

Yes, all 10 games have been double-digit victories for the Cougars, with only three — vs. Washington State, at San Francisco and at San Diego — being decided by less than 20 points.

BYU’s average margin of victory over that stretch? A whopping 26.6 points per game.

But in some ways that is a double-edged sword for the Cougars because, yes, they are taking care of business — but there is some uncertainty about exactly how well BYU will handle adversity when the game is close at the end.

“It is a little bit of a scary thought,” Cougar head coach Jeff Judkins said last week. “But these players believe in themselves and they believe in each other. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

BYU graduate forward Teagan Graham pointed out that the margin of victory shows that the Cougars are doing what they are supposed to do.

“We haven’t had the competition that we wanted in league play yet but we’ve definitely had teams play really good games against us,” Graham said. “We’ve had to adjust. But we also don’t overlook anyone, which is why you keep seeing these double-digit wins. As much respect as we have for ourselves, we also respect our opponent. That’s why we execute what we execute.”

Judkins credited his athletes for recognizing that they can contribute in many ways, which has helped BYU be so dominant.

“This team has bought in that you don’t always have to shoot it well to play a great game,” Judkins said. “They do other things to be successful, whether that is on the defensive end or passing or rebounding or whatever it is. This team has bought into that.”

He explained that he pushes the team hard in practice and forces them to battle to keep them from getting stagnant. Graham said that intensity translates to what happens in games.

“I think it all starts in practice,” Graham said. “I think we are really competitive in practice with each other and we have a super-deep bench. We love to compete and I think that’s why we win, why we are good.”

At the end of the day, however, they both know the Cougars need to keep proving to themselves that they are ready emerge victorious from a game that is competitive to the end.

“I’d like to see us be pushed and we will be,” Judkins said. “There will be some games where we will have to play well at the end. I’m hoping there won’t be a lot of those.”

He said he is confident because he has experienced players who have already proven themselves in crunch time.

“I do know, since I’ve coached them for a long time, that Paisley Harding is a money player and so is Shaylee Gonzales,” Judkins said. “They’ve been there, they’ve done it, they understand it. It’s that way for a lot of of our players but for those two especially because they have had to make plays with the game on the line. We usually do a pretty good job of executing offensively or defensively when it comes down to the end of a quarter. Hopefully when the game comes down to the end, we’ll be able to execute.”

Graham recalled some of the good games early in the season and said she is looking forward to more thrillers down the line.

“I think our coaches did a great job with our pre-conference schedule where we did get those tests, but you play sports to compete, right?” Graham said. “You play for those close games. I think our team loves those games. At the same time, you want to win big if you are the better team. We are going to keep doing what we are doing and compete just as hard.”

The next team to attempt to challenge BYU will be Portland, which hosts the Cougars on Thursday at 6 p.m. MT.