Provo • Their stays at BYU have ranged from five years to one, but the three seniors on the Cougars women’s basketball team who will be playing in their final regular-season games Saturday at Gonzaga say they wouldn’t change a thing about their college careers.
Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee, Amanda Wayment and Malia Nawahine were honored Thursday night at the Marriott Center during their final home game, a 73-35 win over Portland. It was a bittersweet moment for coach Jeff Judkins, but one in which he has grown accustomed.
“This is probably one of the hardest nights for a coach because there are so many wonderful memories and so many things you’ve experienced with these seniors for so long, and then to see them leave and move on with their life, it is kinda tough,” he said. “You hope that you have taught them some things that will help them in their lives.”
Devashrayee has been at BYU the longest, having arrived from upstate New York’s Scotia-Glenville High — not far from Jimmer Fredette’s hometown — as an unsung but high-scoring guard in 2013. She redshirted her first season and barely played as a freshman in 2014-15 before getting some significant minutes as a sophomore.
She blossomed into a star as a junior and has had a solid senior season despite being the defensive focus of every opponent.
“Cassie really started from the bottom and gone up,” Judkins said. “She just gradually got better every year through her hard work and knowledge and all the things that she did.”
Devashrayee improved so much that she was the 2017 WCC Player of the Year.
“I have experienced a lot of things since I have been here, a lot of ups and downs, but it is definitely an experience I would do again, and I wouldn’t change for the world,” she said. “This journey has been awesome, with a lot of ups and downs, but I would come to this school every time if I had the choice again.”
Devashrayee said the ending is sad but also exciting.
“Basketball has been a big part of my life,” she said. “I haven’t known anything else. It will be sad, but it is also a reward for everything, something to celebrate and something to be proud of.”
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Brigham Young Cougars forward Amanda Wayment (4) and Brigham Young Cougars forward Malia Nawahine (10) celebrate the win as BYU hosts Utah, NCAA women's basketball in Provo, Saturday December 9, 2017.
Wayment joined the program in 2014 after a standout career at Fremont High, near Ogden, and has roomed with Devashrayee on the road for four seasons.
“Amanda has had to adjust her whole game and play outside and do a different role,” Judkins said. “She has done a great job with that. She just cares about winning. She hasn’t had all the big numbers, but she has been on winning teams and she does a great job.”
Wayment is majoring in exercise and wellness and wants to be a coach.
“I have had a great time these past four years,” she said. “I wouldn’t change anything. I was meant to come here.”
Nawahine picked Utah over BYU out of Springville High. She joined her sister in Salt Lake City but transferred to BYU after graduating from Utah with a degree in psychology and one season of eligibility remaining.
“We were fortunate to have her come back,” Judkins said. “She has been a big part of our team this year. Her leadership, how she plays on the court, her toughness and all that has really paid off.”
Nawahine said her fellow seniors and teammates included her immediately and made her feel like an important part of the team from the start. She was invited to join the captains in the circle before Thursday’s game then scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds.
“There have been a lot of ups and downs, but for sure I would choose to come here again,” she said about her only year at BYU.
BYU SENIORS <br>• Cassie Broadhead Devashrayee, 5-9 guard, Glenville, N.Y. <br>• Amanda Wayment, 6-1 forward, Ogden <br>Malia Nawahine, 5-10 guard, Springville
* Malia Nawahine, 5-10 guard, Springville, Utah
