Gibb is the third Cougar freshman to earn conference Freshman of the Year honors joining Debbie Dimond Freeland (WAC, 1991) and Erin Thorn (MWC, 2000). She also joins freshmen Julie Whetten Sullivan (MWC, 2001), Lexi Eaton Rydalch (WCC, 2011) and Shaylee Gonzales (WCC, 2018) as one of six freshmen to win either Freshman or Newcomer of the Year in their respective conferences.

“Delaney has had an all-time season,” said head coach Amber Whiting. “From the very first game, she has shown why she is one of the best freshmen in the country and a massive addition to our BYU women’s basketball family. She is the type of player who brings it night in and night out both in the way she approaches the game and strives to make those around her better. Delaney is the ultimate competitor, and she always finds a way to get the most out of herself. She has big dreams and with her work ethic, she has the opportunity to achieve them.”

With yesterday’s 10th Freshman of the Week award, Gibb became the second player in Big 12 history to earn 10 or more weekly freshman awards, joining Kansas State’s Ayoka Lee who received the honor 12 times in 2019-20.

BYU opened the season with wins over Idaho and Wyoming in which Gibb averaged 19.5 points on 55 percent shooting, going 50 percent from behind the arc. The freshman’s scoring combined with her 5.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and nearly 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio earned her first freshman weekly honor.

The Raymond, Alberta native never looked back as she continued to lead the Cougars in scoring and assists en route to a 9-2 non-conference record, picking up two more Freshman of the Week nods along the way. During the non-conference slate, Gibb scored 14 or more points in nine of 11 contests, had four games of 20 or more and a career-high 26 in a road victory over the Washington State Cougars.

Her production continued like regularly scheduled programming as Big 12 play ensued. Her scoring average climbed to 17.9 points on a 44.8 percent clip while grabbing a team-leading 5.7 boards and dishing 4.2 assists. Gibb tallied 14 games of over 14 points in conference play, culminating with a new career-high of 36 points on 13-of-18 shooting against rival Utah where she cashed in on three offerings from downtown.

On the way, Gibb collected seven of the nine Big 12 Freshman of the Week awards during the conference season. She also turned in a 14-point, seven-rebound, six-assist and three-steal performance in the Cougars’ upset win over the No. 20 Oklahoma State Cowgirls on Feb. 15.

Gibb has cemented her name in BYU women’s basketball history as she sits in the top five in 15 statistical categories in the BYU freshman record book. The now-Freshman of the Year is the all-time leader in points per game at 17.48 and second in total points (507), 3-point field goals per game (2.58) and assists per game (4.17).

The Alberta, Canada product sits in third for made field goals (177), 3-point field goals made (75), 3-point field goal percentage with at least 35 made threes (.401), defensive rebounds per contest (4.35) and minutes per game (33:48). The 10-time Freshman of the Week also ranked fourth in total assists with 121 dimes and fifth in games started (29) and total minutes played with 979:31.

Gibb and the Cougars return to action as they take on the UCF Knights in the first round of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City on Wednesday, March 5. The game will tip at 11 a.m. CT and be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can also tune in to BYU Radio for play-by-play with Jason Shepherd.

BYU head men’s basketball coach Kevin Young named finalist for Joe B. Hall Award

BYU’s Kevin Young was named one of 16 finalists for the Joe B. Hall Award, collegeInsider.com announced in a press release.

The award is presented annually to the top first-time head coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball and named after longtime Kentucky head coach Joe B. Hall.

Entering the final week of the regular season, Young has the Cougars on a six-game win streak and ranked 23rd in the AP Poll. The former associate head coach for the Phoenix Suns is one of six first-year head coaches in program history to win 20 games as the Cougars are 21-8 heading into a Top-25 showdown against No. 10 Iowa State.

BYU ranks first in the Big 12 and fourth in the nation in effective field goal percentage. They also rank first in the league in field goal percentage, having shot 50.0 percent or better 15 times this season, including in four consecutive games.

In wins over No. 23 Kansas, No. 19 Arizona and Arizona State, BYU became the first team this century to score at least 90 points, shoot 50.0 percent or better, have 12 or more assists and fewer than 12 turnovers in three straight games.

Cougar gymnasts sweep Big 12 weekly awards

BYU gymnasts Kylie Eaquinto, Brynlee Andersen and Deb Silva swept the Big 12 weekly awards, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon.

Eaquinto was named Gymnast of the Week, Andersen was named Event Specialist of the Week and Silva was named Newcomer of the Week.

The Cougars are coming off their season-high 196.775 win against ASU in the Marriott Center Friday night. BYU had season-highs on vault (49.175), beam (49.1) and floor (49.325) in the Big 12 showdown, besting its previous team high by 0.875.

Earning her first Big 12 weekly award of the season, Eaquinto competed on three events, securing three scores above 9.825. She notched a 9.825 on vault, 9.850 on bars and a 9.925 on the floor, both a new season and team high.

Andersen competed on both beam and floor, scoring a team-high 9.925 on beam. The three-time Big 12 Event Specialist of the Week has scored a 9.9 or above on the balance beam six times this season. With an NQS of 9.895, Andersen is tied for 14th in the nation on the apparatus.

True freshman Silva has become a staple competitor for the Cougars, finding herself in both vault and floor lineups throughout the season. Earning her first-ever Big 12 honor, Silva scored a new career-high 9.875 on vault. The score gave her the event win during the final home meet at the Marriott Center. Silva is the first Cougar to earn Newcomer of the Week this season.