No. 19 BYU women beat Santa Clara, clinch share of WCC title

Posted February 25, 2022 6:00 am

The Associated Press

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Paisley Harding scored 28 points, and No. 19 BYU clinched a least a share of the West Coast Conference title with a 103-66 rout of Santa Clara on Thursday night.

BYU (24-2, 14-1 West Coast Conference) secured the top seed into the conference tournament and wins the regular-season championship outright if it beats Pacific on Saturday. The Cougars last regular-season title was in 2015-16.

Harding was 11 of 14 from the floor and is 25 points shy of a career 2,000 points. Shaylee Gonzales had 17 points and nine rebounds for BYU, which shot 60% (40 of 67) overall that included 11 made 3-pointers. Lauren Gustin and Emma Calvert added 13 points apiece.

It was highest scoring output for the Cougars since their 104-53 win against Pepperdine on Feb. 10 and third time this season surpassing 100.

Lara Edmanson scored 20 points to lead Santa Clara (14-13, 8-8). Lindsey VanAllen had 14 points and Lana Hollingsworth 12.

BYU pulled away with a 29-11 second quarter and led 53-30 at the break. Tegan Graham's 3-pointer sparked a 17-7 run, stretching the Cougars' lead to 75-41 with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter.

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More AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

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