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PROVO — For all of the numbers in Amari Whiting's career night Wednesday after spending all of last week on the road with BYU women's basketball, one of them stands out.
It might not be the one you're thinking of, though.
Whiting poured in a career-high 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals to lead BYU to its first win in Big 12 play, a 89-75 victory over Houston.
But more important: just one turnover, after the sophomore point guard had seven of her team's 31 in a 66-53 loss to then-No. 14 West Virginia.
"That's not OK, especially as a point guard. I'm letting my team down when I do that, and taking us out of opportunities and possessions that we could score and possibly win the game," Whiting said after Wednesday's game in front of 1,492 fans at the Marriott Center. "I took it upon myself to be better for my team, and take care of the ball.
"I think all across the board, we're tired of turning it over."
Emma Calvert led BYU (10-5, 1-3 Big 12) with 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Kambree Barber supplied 4 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for the hosts who outrebounded Houston 39-27.
But BYU dramatically shaved its turnover habit to 13 total after also shedding 24 in a 72-63 road loss to Cincinnati.
Kierra Merchant had 23 points and five rebounds on 5-of-7 from 3-point range for Houston (4-11, 0-4 Big 12), which had just nine healthy players and dressed only eight due to injury and illness. Gia Cooke added 16 points, and Laila Blair had 15 points and five assists for the visiting Cougars.
Both teams needed a win, but the way BYU secured its first conference victory was the story of the night.
The hosts got 16 points from leading scorer and four-star freshman Delaney Gibb, who scored 9 points in the fourht quarter to get to double digits on 4-of-12 shooting and just 1-of-5 from 3-point range.
BYU's defense, though, rarely let up. The hosts established themselves with a lead just 26 seconds in with back-to-back 3-pointers from Kemery Congdon and Whiting, shooting 57% from the field in the first half.
"They did the job," BYU coach Amber Whiting said. "I was just proud of them for staying the course and fighting. We're in the Big 12; every team is going to make runs. As they make those runs, we've just got to stand up and punch back."
Lauren Davenport punctuated either side of the halftime break with a 3-pointer to give BYU a 47-35 advantage to start the third quarter. But Houston responded with an 8-0 run in less than 90 seconds, capped by Merchant's 3-pointer to pull the visitors back to within three, 52-49, with 4:37 left in the third.
"They ended up huddling up with themselves (at halftime), and came out playing like they were supposed to play," Houston coach Ronald Hughey said of his team, which shot 43% from the field, including 10-of-22 from the perimeter. "But you have to get stops."
A combination of Brinley Cannon and Barber off the bench kept the visiting Cougars to 5 points the rest of the quarter, and BYU ended the frame on a 6-0 run to take a 64-54 advantage on a pair of free throws by Whiting.
"She just does the little things: gets boards, plays good defense, and fuels our offense," Cannon said of Barber. "She had some second-chance opportunities, and does a great job of filling that role."
Whether by legs, altitude or a bit of both, Houston couldn't keep up. The visitors shot just 5-of-14 from the field in the fourth quarter, including 1-of-4 from 3-point range as BYU put away its first win in Big 12 play.
"They came out and played like they were 0-3 in conference," Hughey added. "They played like a team that could've one those last two games. They played inspired."
BYU will host No. 12 Kansas State on Saturday (4 p.m. MST, ESPN+). Houston travels to No. 22 Utah at 1:30 p.m. MST Saturday.
