BYU senior guard Paisley Harding dived for a loose ball late in the second quarter and, in the fracas, caught the business end of a teammate’s knee to her face. She stayed down for a while as play continued, and eventually was attended to by a trainer. She held a towel to her face, trying to stop the blood.
Harding left the game at that point. The Cougars trailed by 15 at halftime and looked as though they would fall victim to yet another blowout at the hands of the Gonzaga Bulldogs on the road.
But Harding returned in the second half, with four stitches, and so did the No. 16 BYU team that was projected to win the West Coast Conference championship this year. The Cougars completed a 62-50 comeback win over the Bulldogs on Saturday, putting them back atop the WCC with a 9-1 record.
Harding was tested for a concussion at halftime but ultimately cleared, coach Jeff Judkins told The Salt Lake Tribune. Harding didn’t start the third quarter and didn’t even warm up, but entered later and gave the team a spark.
“Paisley is that way,” Judkins said. “She’s been that way her whole career at BYU.”
Harding had 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Shaylee Gonzales had only 11 points, but all of them came in the clutch moments of the fourth quarter. Gonzales also added eight assists and seven rebounds.
Judkins said he challenged Gonzales at halftime after a “horrible” first half.
“I challenged her to be herself, come out and do what she needs to do to help this team win,” Judkins said. “I can’t be more happy for her maturity as a player to do that.”
Senior center Sara Hamson came off the bench and blocked five shots and collected five rebounds. She also added six points and played a season-high 28 minutes. Hamson’s minutes have been down this season, and Judkins said it’s difficult finding playing time for her because most teams in the league play small and like to shoot from the perimeter.
But against Gonzaga, foul trouble from Tegan Graham and the size of the Bulldogs meant Hamson got to show off that wingspan of hers.
“The way Sara was playing tonight, I would’ve left her in no matter what,” Judkins said.
Saturday’s win came just two days after suffering an upset to the Portland Pilots for BYU’s first conference loss of the season.
