Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- BYU freshman Delaney Gibb excels in her debut season, earning multiple honors.
- Her sister Saige, a Utah Valley player, supports Delaney, strengthening their bond.
- Both sisters, from a basketball-loving family, play pivotal roles in their respective teams.
PROVO — BYU guard Delaney Gibb has seemingly been able to do it all in her freshman season for the Cougars' women's basketball team, averaging 16.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.6 steals — and a program-record four conference player of the week honors.
But jumping feet-first into her first season of Division I basketball wasn't always easy for the young Canadian international. Neither were a lot of other things — like learning to speak up for herself.
Fortunately for Gibb, she's had help in both respects — from a crosstown rival and roommate.
Gibb, who played her freshman season at Timpview High before finishing high school in her hometown of Raymond, Alberta, returned to Utah County with a familiar face — her older sister and roommate who jokes that she used to speak for her then-toddler sister while Delaney was learning to talk.
When it comes to basketball, she takes less credit.
"Between each of my siblings, basketball probably gets bigger, too. I played basketball, but probably wasn't as committed to it as my other siblings were. I played a lot of sports growing up," said Saige Gibb, a redshirt-junior guard at Utah Valley who participated in volleyball, rugby and track and field, in addition to basketball.
"The oldest sibling starts playing, so then the younger siblings all start playing," she added. "So I was 10, and then Delaney was 6, and Pippa (her Class of 2029 younger sister who received an offer from BYU while playing with Utah Lady Prospects in May) has been dribbling a ball since she was 2. We're definitely a really big basketball family."
When Delaney committed to BYU, it didn't take long for Saige — who is about three years older than her talented sibling — to figure out where the duo would room together in Utah County, close enough to both campuses.
The sisters are incredibly close, which made it no surprise Delaney was just a few rows up Thursday night at the UCCU Center watching big sis before the Cougars departed Friday to continue Big 12 play at Texas Tech (5 p.m. MST, ESPN+).
Between her older sister and a run with the Canadian junior national team, Delaney Gibb has jumped right into BYU's starting five and emerged as one of the best freshman guards in NCAA Division I.
The two-time Miss Alberta Basketball represented Canada at the U17 and U19 world championships, all while leading Raymond to back-to-back provincial championships in 2022 and 2023 in strong preparation for the rigors of Big 12 play in the city where her high school career began.
"(Raymond) is a really small town in Alberta, Canada, and it was all about just having fun," said Delaney, who was 4A first-team all-state as a freshman at Timpview. "But when I got recognized in Canada and started playing for the youth national teams, I started playing at a higher level, at FIBA worlds and FIBA Americas, matched up against the best girls my age in all the world.
"I played against a lot of the top American girls, as well, with the national team and twice at the Nike Hoop Summit. I feel like I've played against some of the biggest names in the NCAA right now, and I just felt like I could compete with them. But my coaches and teammates have given me a lot of confidence this season, to know I can compete with any team we are up against."
Congratulations to Pippa Gibb on her offer to BYU University! Pippa was one of the strongest guards on the MADE Hoops circuit this past fall, and picked up her first NCAA offer playing with the Utah Lady Prospects during the May live period
— Genesis Basketball (@GenesisBBall) June 1, 2024
Class of 2028 🇨🇦 / 2029 🇺🇸#PippaGibbpic.twitter.com/uIY6AHeJCS
Saige's story is a bit different.
The 5-foot-10 guard was named league MVP as a junior when she helped Raymond to a zone championship and No. 1 seed at the provincial tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the remainder of the season.
With one year left of high school basketball, the Gibbs moved to Utah as Saige finished out her high school career at Timpview. The sisters played sparingly together, though, as Delaney's early-season foot injury recovered only a few games before Saige tore her MCL.
The former four-sport standout went on to Utah Valley, and the Gibbs' parents Alan and Tonya moved the family back to Raymond, Alberta, with regular travels for Delaney on the Canadian national team and high-level competitive club circuit.
Saige, who was born in Indianapolis, started 12 of 30 games as a freshman in 2022-23, but averaged just 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game. Since then, she's primarily come off the bench for the Wolverines, who improved to 10-6 with an 86-75 win Thursday over UT Arlington.
While the duo is hyper-supportive of each other, with basketball consuming most of their shared life outside of school and homework, Delaney cautions that doesn't mean she takes it easy on her older sister. Or vice versa.
"I'm a very competitive person, so you can only imagine how competitive she is," Delaney said of Saige. "But after moving down here, our relationship has grown a lot, being away from family and only having each other. Growing up, though, we had some scrappy pick-up games and one-on-ones.
"I don't think she'd ever admit that I would beat her. But I could hold my own here and there."
Utah Valley (10-6, 2-2 WAC) travels to St. George to face in-state rival Utah Tech at 2 p.m. MST Saturday.
