O Canada: Freshman Gibb debuts with 17 to help BYU women hold off Idaho

PROVO — When BYU women's basketball needed a stop in the Cougars' season opener, head coach Amber Whiting put in a pair of freshmen in Brinley Cannon and Delaney Gibb for their defense.

Gibb didn't play like a freshman, though.

The four-star Canadian international poured in 17 points, five assists, two blocks and a steal in her (official) collegiate debut as BYU held off a late comeback bid by Idaho 67-62 Wednesday night in the Marriott Center.

"She was phenomenal, but I see that every day in practice," Whiting said of Gibb, the former ESPN HoopGurlz top 100 guard from Raymond, Alberta. "I kind of expect that from her. I think she gives us a huge lift, and I don't feel like people really knew who she was until they can see her play.

"Everybody talked about who we're replacing and what we're doing, but I knew she was going to step up and step right into those shoes."

But more important to Gibb was her defense, she said, which had to be music to the ears of defensive specialist Whiting.

"When Amari (Whiting) was off, I had to pick up ball, and that always gives me a lot of energy," said Gibb, who shot 4-of-8 from the field and 8-of-10 from the foul line. "That worked well, and also attacking the paint and drawing fouls. It's nice to get into the free-throw line and get those shots."

Kemery Congdon added 12 points for the Cougars (1-0), and Emma Calvert totaled 10 points, seven rebounds and a block before fouling out with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter.

Amari Whiting had 9 points, seven rebounds and five assists for a BYU team that led by as much as 16 before Idaho (0-1) rallied in the second half.

Hope Hassmann scored 23 points to lead the Vandals, and Rosie Schweizer scored 10 for Idaho, which is led by first-year head coach Arthur Moreira. The Vandals returned just two players from last year's roster.

Marya Hudgins connected on two of her first three 3-pointers for 6 points, and Calvert scored 8 points with five rebounds to lead BYU to a 24-15 lead after the first quarter.

The Cougars forced seven turnovers in the first quarter, holding the Vandals to 5-of-14 shooting and used the same pressing defense to hold the visitors to just 1-of-11 shooting in the second.

Gibb had 11 points and three assists in the first half, including a 3-pointer with 4:57 left to stretch the lead to 38-23 off a smooth pass en route to a 42-26 halftime advantage.

BYU shot just 1-of-5 from 3-point range in the third quarter, and Idaho knocked down three treys in outscoring the Cougars' 19-13 after the break to cut the deficit to 55-45 on Sarah Brans' jumper just before the buzzer.

Brans pulled Idaho within 57-55 with a 10-2 run to open the fourth quarter, and Schweizer tied the game at 57-all with 2:24 remaining.

But BYU won the game with defense, a trademark of Whiting's teams as she enters her third season on the bench in Provo. There was the block in transition by Gibb, who prevented an easy bucket. Cannon added a steal-and-flush moments later, then laid down a block of her own that Marya Hudgins spun to Heather Hamson inside with around 90 seconds remaining.

Congdon helped ice the game with a deep three with 31 seconds remaining, and Gibb closed it out with a steal and a pair of free throws with 12 seconds on the clock.

"The last two minutes, when they locked in, those are two freshmen out there making those plays," Whiting said of Barber and Gibb. "And I loved that."

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