After debacle vs. Saint Mary’s, BYU hoping to continue season

The biggest lead for either team in the second half was five points.

Coming out of the break though the Gaels got it together. “I think that we’re at our best when we’re in attack mode and aggressive”.

“We’re 32-1, this team has been exceptional all year”, Few said.

Saint Mary’s (28-4), which fell to Gonzaga three times this season, must wait until Sunday to see if it earned an at-large berth into the tournament.

Northern Kentucky 59, Milwaukee 53: LaVone Holland scored 20 points and Drew McDonald had 14 points and 12 rebounds to help Northern Kentucky hold off Milwaukee in the Horizon League final in Detroit, putting the school in the NCAA Tournament in its first season of eligibility.

“It’s postseason basketball. They’re playing for their lives”. “When the game got away from us, every single thing they do in practice and work on, they were able to kind of pick us apart”.

“We did not execute the way we wanted to, but they showed what kind of competitors they are in the second half”, Saint Mary’s coach Paul Thomas said.

McKay collected four points as the Gaels made their first six shots and jumped out to a 10-3 lead, locking down BYU’s offense save for one 3-pointer by Pulsipher in the first eight minutes of the game. That’s impressive in itself, but also take into account the Zags have already beaten Saint Mary’s twice this season so their confidence level should be high. After back and forth play, Stockton found Barta and Elle Tinkle for layups for the 14-6 lead midway through the first quarter.

Hermanson, Naar and Rahon combined to go 3-of-18 from the floor and 0-for-4 from three-point range in the first half, but they each hit their first attempt in the second half, including a Hermanson layup that trimmed the Zags’ lead to 46-37 with 13 minutes remaining.

Gonzaga’s lead swelled to 25 before halftime, but the third-seeded Gaels started the third quarter on a 17-2 run to cut the Zags’ lead to 55-49.

Defense is what Bennett is stressing the most to the Gaels.

Broadhead entered the game scoring more than 18 points per game. “We’re a young team but we still have to allow this to sting so it can motivate us for the next game”.

“I can’t fault our effort because guys played hard for awhile”, said rose. The win sends GU to its ninth NCAA Tournament appearance, and second under third-year head coach Lisa Fortier. “We’ll concentrate on our defense and make them take as long as possible to get a shot up”. “In the first half there wasn’t a phase of the game we were good at”.

Gonzaga had four players in double figure scoring led by junior Nigel Williams-Goss (22 points) and center Przemek Karnowski (15 points and 10 rebounds). The redshirt sophomore scored 22 points in the first half.