'She wants the moment:' Gibb's 27 paces BYU women to win over Stanford, into WBIT semifinals

PROVO — The exchange rate between American and Canadian dollars is currently 0.72.

Which means every 3-pointer by Delaney Gibb in Thursday's WBIT quarterfinal was 28% more dangerous.

The sophomore superstar from Raymond, Alberta, erupted for 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists to help BYU women's basketball pull away from second-seeded Stanford 76-61 and clinch a berth in the WBIT semifinals Thursday night at the Marriott Center.

Brinley Cannon added 15 points and four rebounds, and Lara Rohkohl supplied 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Cougars (25-11), who outrebounded the Cardinal 53-36 and scored 38 points in the paint, including 6 points and 10 rebounds from Kambree Barber-Taylor.

That helped open up Gibb, who converted 9-of-21 from the field, 4-of-9 from 3-point range and all five of her free-throw attempts as BYU started fast, dipped shortly after halftime, and used a 26-12 fourth quarter to pull away for good from the second-seeded Cardinal (21-14).

Courtney Ogden scored 26 points with five rebounds and two assists to lead Stanford, and Chloe Cardy added 17 points.

But when the Cardinal cut a double-digit lead as low to as low as 1 point to start the fourth quarter, Gibb rolled up her sleeves and proved she was the best player on the court.

"She wants the moment," said BYU coach Lee Cummard, who set the program's all-time record for wins by a first-year head coach. "She's definitely not afraid of it, especially when she gets it going. She's never going to stop being aggressive … She lives for that moment against a really high-quality program, and she just gave us that little buffer."

The moment hasn't been too big for Gibb, who followed up her Big 12 freshman of the year season with an 18.0-point, 4.8-rebound, 4.6-assist campaign to earn All-Big 12 honors. She's taken plenty of big shots, made more than she's missed, and had another opportunity Thursday night.

Does she live for that moment?

"Yes, she does," BYU teammate Brinley Cannon answered before Gibb could.

"I don't know if I really think about it like that," Gibb added after a laugh. "I just like to play basketball, I'm competitive, and I like to win."

Gibb and freshman Olivia Hamlin, who finished with 12 points, started just 2-of-6 from the field, but one of them was Gibb's first 3-pointer to lift the Cougars to an 19-18 lead after the first quarter. The Cougars were led by Rohkohl (6 points, two rebounds) and Barber-Taylor (4 points, three rebounds) while out-rebounding the Cardinal 12-7 in the first 10 minutes.

But Gibb got going in the second quarter, scoring 5 points with three assists including an and-one play during a 9-0 run to help the Cougars by as much as 36-28 with 1:36 left in the half.

The Cougars held Stanford to 3-of-12 shooting in the second quarter until Ogden scored with five seconds left to pull the Cardinal within 38-32 at halftime. Ogden, the 6-foot-1 junior forward who averages 12.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, had 11 points, four rebounds and two steals on 5-of-7 shooting at the break to lead Stanford.

Ogden added 10 points in the third, including a pair of free throws as Stanford ended the quarter on an 8-2 run to pull within 50-49 with 10 minutes remaining.

Gibb opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers, then added another as part of a 17-2 run to stretch the lead back to a game-high 70-54 with 3:08 remaining.

Just as impressive was the Cougars' defense, which held Stanford to a single field goal in the first 7:18 of the quarter and pulled down 36 defensive rebounds to go with five blocks and a pair of steals.

"That was one of our game plans, to out-rebound them. They were so tall," Rohkohl said. "We were trying to get everything out there, and that helped us go on that run. They weren't going to get a second chance from us."

BYU will head to Charles Koch Arena on the campus of Wichita State to face Big 12 rival Kansas in the WBIT semifinals Monday on ESPNU.

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