EL PASO, Texas — BYU got the ball inside to Emma Calvert early and often against UTEP, and the strategy paid off big time.

Calvert poured in a career-high 27 points and four Cougars in double figures took down the Miners 81-68 on Thursday night in El Paso.

“I am proud of how we played complimentary basketball tonight,” said head coach Amber Whiting. “I am excited to see how well we shared the ball tonight. Emma had a mismatch inside and did a great job exploiting it which opened up driving lanes and kick-out opportunities that we were able to capitalize on. This was a game where we needed everyone, and everybody stepped up tonight.”

Calvert scored early and often as she exploited the mismatch in the post en route to a career-high 27 points on 13 made field goals, also a career high. The senior went 13-for-18 from the field to best her previous career high of 22, without attempting a three and just one free throw attempt in the game. Calvert also finished with seven rebounds, four offensive boards, three blocks, two steals and an assist.

Delaney Gibb and Kemery Congdon each scored 15 points with Amari Whiting contributing 11 to the cause of a 13-point road win. The Cougars recorded 21 assists on the night (seven from Amari Whiting), outrebounded the Miners 42 to 32 and scored 54 points in the paint to UTEP’s 26.

Gibb was an efficient 6-of-11 from the floor, knocked down three timely triples, grabbed five boards, dished four assists and recorded two steals on the night. Congdon also recorded four assists and three makes from downtown while going 6-of-14 from the field. The fifth-year senior also grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot tonight. Whiting made 5-of-10 offerings from the floor while leading the BYU with seven assists.

The Miners cut the Cougar lead to eight twice in the first five minutes of the fourth, but a three from Congdon and a jumper by Lauren Davenport kept the advantage at 10. After a UTEP three to cut the lead to seven at 65-58 with 5:43 to go, Congdon hit a rim-running Heather Hamson for a layup to retake a nine-point lead.

A nifty up-and-under layup by Congdon pushed the lead to nine, Gibb hit a pull-up triple from the right wing to extend the lead to 12. After a stop on the defensive end, Gibb found Cannon for a fast-break layup to go up 14 with 3:03 to play. After a miss by Congdon, Calvert snatched the offensive board and kicked to an open Gibb for three for a game-high 17-point lead with 2:00 left.

BYU will return to the confines of the Marriott Center on Tuesday, Dec. 10 to face the cross-town rival Utah Valley Wolverines. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT with the game broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can also tune into live play-by-play of the game with Jason Shepherd on BYU Radio 107.9FM/BYURadio.org/BYU Radio App.

UVU volleyball moves on to second round of NIVC

LARAMIE, Wyo. – Utah Valley University defeated Washington State University 3-0 (25-22, 25-13, 25-20) on Thursday night in the first round of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship.

UVU (21-10) hit .379, the second-highest mark this season while holding WSU (16-12) to only .210. Bella Wooden broke the single-season total blocks record with her 192nd of the year, and head coach Sam Atoa reached 500 wins.

Sami Blackett aced the Cougars on the match’s opening serve before the Wolverines used a balanced offensive attack in the opening set and went on to hit .387 in the first set. Avery Shewell led the attack, finishing with five kills and six swings. Blackett, Bella Wooden, and Eliza Hakes all added three.

The Wolverine’s offensive attack was relentless, as they topped the .387 hitting percentage in the second set by hitting .407.

Shewell has now tallied 998 kills in her UVU career and could reach 1,000 on Friday night. She also has the potential to tie or break the single-season aces record of 55.

The Wolverines return to court on Friday at 6 p.m. MT, where they will face Wyoming in the second round, with the match airing on the Mountain West Network. The Cowgirls topped Idaho State 3-1 (25-13, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21) in their first round matchup.