PROVO, Utah (AP) — Shaylee Gonzales scored 13 points, dished nine assists and made five steals to spark No. 16 BYU to a 76-44 win over Santa Clara Thursday, the Cougars' seventh straight victory to open the West Coast Conference season.
The Cougars trailed 7-6 with more than six minutes left in the first quarter when Paisley Harding stepped to the line and hit two free throws to put BYU in front. Then after Gonzalez hit a jumper, Paisley knocked down a 3-pointer to help kickstart a 15-2 run to close out the period with a 21-9 lead. BYU led 45-19 at intermission and cruised through the second half.
Tegan Graham hit 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point line and scored 16 points with four assists for BYU (17-1, 7-0). Harding added 11 points. The Cougars shot 29 of 63 from the floor (46%), including 10 of 28 from 3-point range (35.7%), and was 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.
Lindsey VanAllen finished with 10 points and four rebounds to lead Santa Clara (9-7, 3-3).
BYU puts its nine-game win streak on the line Saturday when it plays host to San Francisco. Santa Clara will look to snap its two-game losing streak when it starts back-to-back games with Pacific Saturday.
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