Barber’s defense, Hamlin’s scoring secure BYU victory vs. Idaho State
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- BYU’s Cambri Barber (14) plays defense against Idaho State in a women’s college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
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- BYU’s Olivia Hamlin goes in for a layup against Idaho State in a women’s college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
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- BYU’s Brinley Cannon (24) passes the ball against Idaho State in a women’s college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
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- BYU’s Bola Yussuf (3) looks for a teammate in a women’s college basketball game against Idaho State in the Marriott Center on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
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- BYU’s Marya Hudgins handles the ball in a women’s college basketball game against Idaho State at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
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- BYU’s Sydney Benally goes up for a shot against Idaho State in a women’s college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
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- BYU’s Brinley Cannon looks for a teammate in a women’s college basketball game against Idaho State at the Marriott Center on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025.
BYU women’s basketball took a 65-59 lead against Idaho State with 3:59 to play on Thursday in the Marriott Center, then both teams went scoreless for over three minutes.
Somebody was going to have to make a play to put this one away.
That somebody was sophomore forward Cambri Barber.
Barber’s athletic block against ISU’s Aspen Caldwell — Barber went up high and smothered Caldwell’s shot attempt with both hands — led to a breakaway layup for Laura Rohkohl, whose score with 48 seconds remaining was the clincher in a 68-59 victory.
Barber’s numbers (five points, seven rebounds, four blocks and one steal) were essential in overcoming some long offensive droughts against a competitive team from Idaho State and also critical because she missed the first nine games of the season with an injury.
“She also hit a corner three in the second half that kind of got the energy in the building going, the energy for us,” Cougar head coach Lee Cummard said. “Cambri is one of the best laterally on our team, and in this case, for the block, she came over from the weak side and really shut it down. So it was good. It kind of just sent a message. She’s slowly coming along, and four blocks, that’s got to be a career high for her.”
Freshman Olivia Hamlin used her speed to continually get behind the Bengals defense and scored a career-high 22 points for the Cougars, which are off to a 10-1 record in the preseason, continuing to match the best start in program history.
“I feel like when we start off strong it (the fast break) just brings a lot of energy and our confidence goes way up,” Hamlin said. “I really do (like playing fast). Sometimes a little too fast, but I like it.”
BYU started the game hot, racing to an 18-4 lead on a 3-pointer by Braeden Gunlock with 1:25 to play in the first quarter. But the Bengals put together a 23-9 second quarter, finishing on a 10-0 run to lead 31-27 at halftime.
The Cougars trailed by seven, 40-33, with 7:05 to play in the third but a 7-0 run tied things up at 40 and a Hamlin jumper gave the home team the lead, 42-41. It was 51-48 BYU entering the fourth and Idaho State closed to within two, 57-55, on an Alyse Aby 3-pointer with 7:25 to play.
Barber nailed a 3-pointer off an out-of-bounds play for a 64-56 advantage with 5:40 to go. It was bare-knuckled defensive struggle from there until Barber made her key defensive play.
“We started the game kind of really fast,” Cummard said. “I think we were a little too amped, and kind of just made our legs mush a little bit. I’ve got to do a better job. We played Saturday, had Monday off, and really didn’t get their cardio capacity up in the two days to some level.
Tasia Jordan led Idaho State (6-5) with 22 points and ten rebounds. The Bengals outrebounded BYU 52-32, including 20 offensive rebounds, leading to a 14-3 second-chance points advantage.
Rohkohl and Bola Yussuf scored 10 points each for the Cougars, which forced 25 turnovers and held a 25-9 advantage in points off turnovers. BYU also had a big edge in fast break points 20-7, making up for a poor night from the 3-point line (6 of 25, 24%).
“We started the game kind of really fast,” Cummard said. “I think we were a little too amped, and that just made our legs mush a little bit. We played Saturday, had Monday off, and really didn’t get their cardio capacity up in the two days. I think it took the first half to get us back to our normal level, because we looked slow and stagnant. I think it was a fatigue thing, as far as just our wind wasn’t there where it needed to be in the first half. We looked a lot like us in the second half, sharing it, moving it, guarding it, creating havoc again.”
The Cougars continue non-conference play on Saturday, hosting UTEP at 1 p.m. MT.
