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There’s little question that the BYU girls’s basketball group boasts top-of-the-line backcourts within the nation.
Senior Paisley Harding and sophomore Shaylee Gonzales have led the Cougars to a 23-2 file, a No. 19 rating in The Related Press Prime 25, and a No. 9 rating within the NCAA’s NET rankings. BYU is projected as a No. 5 seed within the NCAA Match.
The Cougars, who journey to Santa Clara and Pacific this week to complete up the common season, are on the verge of clinching the West Coast Convention regular-season championship.
Gonzales averages a team-high 18.8 factors and a team-high 4.5 assists per recreation. She is taking pictures 52% from the ground and has recorded a team-high 58 steals.
Harding averages 16.9 factors and shoots 47% from the sector and he or she’s had 42 steals.
Coach Jeff Judkins feels blessed to have this pair of dynamic, full guards.
“Paisley is so good shifting with out the ball. Shaylee has the ball extra in her arms. However they’re very near the identical. To me, they’re a nightmare to protect due to that,” he mentioned. “Paisley has most likely the very best pull-up recreation of anyone that I’ve coached. Shaylee has the very best floater. She will float it in there higher than I’ve ever seen. It’s computerized.
“These two have center recreation. Lots of people have jumper or they drive to the basket. Whenever you get that center recreation, you’re onerous to defend as a result of you are able to do so many issues whenever you go to the basket,” he continued. “I preserve telling them that they’re the very best all-around gamers within the convention. They will defend, they will rating, they will go, they will rebound. They do all of it. That’s what makes our group so sturdy.”
Harding and Gonzales are two of the very best in program historical past. Harding has scored 1,824 profession factors, No. 5 all-time in program historical past, whereas Gonzales is No. 10 on the all-time record with 1,476 profession factors.
Assistant coach Melanie Day mentioned Harding and Gonzales possess a minimum of a few qualities that set them aside.
“They’re rivals. They've this fierce competitiveness. They need to win. They are going to do no matter it takes they usually’re keen to place within the work,” she mentioned. “They’ve each put in lots of work outdoors of apply and out of doors of the season. Within the summers, they’re placing within the work with their very own trainers. That’s what separates them. They’re rivals. They need to win. They’re tremendous powerful, too.”
In current weeks, Gonzales and Harding have displayed, as soon as once more, that competitiveness and toughness.
On Feb. 5 at Gonzaga, Harding absorbed a knee to her face, inflicting her to get stitches within the first half. At halftime, the Cougars trailed 35-20. Harding returned and within the second half and he or she helped spearhead a powerful comeback that resulted in a 62-50 victory for BYU.
In fact, Harding has performed with accidents earlier than.
Throughout the NCAA Match final season, the Cougars fell simply wanting reaching the Candy 16 and Harding performed with a damaged hand. BYU nonetheless practically beat Arizona, which ended up dropping within the NCAA championship recreation.
The Cougars can solely marvel how far they'd have gone had Harding been fully wholesome.
On Feb. 12, Gonzales poured in a career-high 35 factors, and had seven steals, whereas main a decisive fourth quarter in BYU’s 84-69 win at Saint Mary’s.
Throughout her profession, Gonzales has overcome accidents as nicely.
In the summertime of 2019, contemporary off a stellar freshman season, Gonzales suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in her proper knee, forcing her to overlook the whole 2019-2020 marketing campaign.
In a manner, Judkins mentioned, enjoying with out Gonzales for that season helped Harding enhance her recreation.
“When Shaylee obtained harm, Paisley appreciated Shaylee when she wasn’t there. She obtained her lots of simple baskets. That 12 months helped Paisley as a result of it helped her be extra aggressive offensively and do extra issues. It made her a greater participant due to that,” Judkins mentioned. “The identical factor occurred with Kim Parker after Lexi Eaton tore her ACL. Kim obtained higher due to that. It’s been so good to have a child like Paisley that’s began for 3 years and now a fourth 12 months. You don’t need to say loads to her. She goes out and does what she must do.”
Actually, Harding and Gonzales complement one another in ways in which make them troublesome to defend.
Gonzales turned in one other excellent season final 12 months, after rehabbing from her knee damage. However she’s been even higher this season.
“Final 12 months, she was most likely 90%. This 12 months, her knee is feeling higher. The large half is psychological. She was nice final 12 months however she was serious about issues,” Judkins mentioned. “That’s regular. It takes a while to get out of that. This 12 months, she’s enjoying extra like herself. She’s shifting higher and I don’t assume she’s as nervous about issues. She’s enjoying extra like herself. She had an excellent 12 months final 12 months. She’s particular.”
After the Cougars fell to Arizona within the NCAA Match, Gonzales sat within the locker room, steaming.
“She was so mad. She wasn’t unhappy. That hadn’t come but. She was so mad and he or she wished to get again on the market,” Day remembered. “She was speaking to me about how she wished to get again on the market. She saved saying, ‘We have to go farther subsequent 12 months.’ There wasn’t time to be unhappy. She wished to get again on the market instantly.”
Throughout his 20-plus years at BYU, Judkins has had the privilege of teaching some wonderful guards.
This season, he has two in that class.
“A coach solely will get one or two generally in his teaching profession,” Judkins mentioned. “I’m actually fortunate to have a few them like that.”