How a sophomore with 'a lot of minutes in BYU blue' has carried Cougars to 9-1 start

PROVO — She may not be the leading scorer or top rebounder, but if there's a "glue girl" for BYU women's basketball during the Cougars' 9-1 start, it's Brinley Cannon.

The 6-foot-1 sophomore wing from Shelley, Idaho, has been rooted as a Russet potato in the lineup, averaging 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game through different lineups while first-year head coach Lee Cummard navigates key injuries to start the season.

With a starting five that includes teenage freshmen Sydney Benally and Olivia Hamlin, Cannon's 40 games of experience that include 14 starts dating back to four games as a freshman has been a boon.

"She's the type that will put a lot of pressure on herself, and she feels like she has to step up. She's handled it well," Cummard said of the former two-time Idaho 4A player of the year. "But I think as we get people back, she won't have to do that as much. She also had as good of a summer and a fall as anybody; we expected some of that from her.

"She's only a sophomore," he added, "but she's played a lot of minutes in BYU blue — and she carries herself that way."

Following an offseason where the Cougars lost just two players to the transfer portal amid a coaching change, BYU's guard line was hit when top returning scorer Delaney Gibb was forced to the bench with a lower-leg injury before the Nov. 19 game at Montana.

Gibb, the former Big 12 freshman of the year who averaged 16.3 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals in the first four games of her sophomore campaign, is getting closer to returning as BYU approaches the final week of nonconference play beginning Thursday against Idaho State (7 p.m. MST, ESPN+) and Saturday against UTEP (2 p.m. MST, ESPN+).

But the group is getting healthy, most notably with the debut of previously injured Kambree Barber in last weekend's 87-53 at Portland. The sophomore from Rigby, Idaho emerged off the bench to play 12 minutes with 2 points and four rebounds against the Pilots, igniting the emotions of a team following her recovery every step of the way.

"I've personally missed playing with her a lot, and the energy that she brings," Cannon said of her fellow Gem State native. "I'm excited to have her continue to work her way back and have her on the court."

Barber is another addition for a shorthanded BYU squad, a significant one capable of going for 15 points and 12 rebounds as she did with her first career double-double a year ago against Arizona State that earned Big 12 freshman of the week honors.

"It's been really cool to see the team come together and jell together," teammate Arielle Mackey-Williams said. "We have a lot of talent, but we've tried to really focus on embracing our roles and coming together to emphasize the 'we' before the 'me.'

"I feel like we're all bought into what our coaches want for us … and everyone has been able to celebrate everyone else's success."

Then there's Cannon, whose worth to the team belies a 9-1 start that ties for the fourth-best in program history. Each of the Cougars' previous 9-1 starts finished in the NCAA Tournament, including a Sweet 16 berth in 2013-14.

There's still a lot of basketball left to be played from now until March Madness, including in a Big 12 led by four teams in the Associated Press Top 25 and two more receiving votes.

But BYU's play without its top scorer while relying on the likes of Hamlin (12.1 points per game) and Marya Hudgins (12.2 points per game) to lead the way can give confidence to a square ESPN currently projects as the first team out of the way-too-early 68-team bracket.

Perhaps no better confidence can be found than Cannon, the Cougars' often-unsung hero coming off a 19-point outing on 8-of-12 shooting with three 3-pointers for a BYU team that scored 54 second-half points in the Rose City.

"Honestly, I've learned that I can make an impact on the game in many different ways, and that doesn't always have to be scoring big every game or just playing good defense," Cannon said. "I'm working on just being a positive presence, helping our team stay together and accomplish what we know.

"I've learned that there's a lot more I can add that isn't necessarily on the stat sheet, to help our team stay together and weather the ups and downs that come with basketball."

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