Kaylynne Truong leads Gonzaga women to 67-58 win over Brigham Young in WCC opener

No matter the records, it just had to be like this.

The BYU women’s last scheduled visit to the Kennel on Saturday had a little of everything – fierce defense, clutch plays and a lot of personal fouls.

Most important for Gonzaga, their West Coast Conference opener ended in a 67-58 win and a feeling that health-wise, the worst is over.

In beating their major rival with only nine players, the Zags overcame a poor shooting night, foul trouble for Yvonne Ejim and one the toughest forwards in the game in BYU’s Lauren Gustin.

“There will never be a game between GU and BYU that’s not tight and tough,” GU coach Lisa Fortier said after a game that was a single-digit affair from start to finish.

Earlier in the week, Fortier was asked about a possible letdown against a BYU team that’s in the middle of a major rebuild and came into the Kennel at 4-6.

“They’re better than their record shows,” Fortier said.

Sure enough, BYU outplayed the 22nd-ranked Zags in the first half and hung around the home team made some remarkable plays down the stretch.

Some of the biggest plays didn’t come from the usual suspects.

With barely 5 minutes left and GU (10-2) clinging to a one-point lead, backup forward Destiny Burton won an offensive rebound and scored on the putback.

Barely a minute later, Kaylynne Truong scored the last of her game-high 24 points on a long 3-pointer.

But the biggest – and the one that might mean the most going forward – came with 2:15 left and GU up 62-56.

Brynna Maxwell launched a 3-pointer from the right side, but the ball caromed down off the backboard. At that point, Gustin had already collected 13 boards, and she was waiting.

So was GU redshirt freshman Calli Stokes, who outfought Gustin for the ball, then went up for the putback that all but decided the game.

“My shot wasn’t falling today,” said Stokes, who was 2 for 8 for four points. “But coach talked about offensive rebounding and giving ourselves another chance.”

Plays like that also gave the Zags – coaches and players – a boost of confidence as conference play continues Monday night against San Diego.

Not that Fortier enjoyed being down to seven players at one point this year – “our hand was forced,” she said – but she’s already seeing the long-term benefits from the plays made by Burton and Stokes.

“The players have more confidence and then the coaches have more confidence in the players,” said Fortier, who added that reserve forward Maud Huijbens may return as soon as Monday.

No one looked more confident Saturday than Truong. With her sister Kayleigh sidelined indefinitely with a foot injury, she set the tone as GU gradually took control.

With Gonzaga trailing 32-29 at halftime, Truong had the best scoring quarter put in by any GU player in recent memory.

In those 10 minutes, she went 4 for 4 from the field, half of them from long range, and made three foul shots to finish with 13 points. By the end of the quarter, GU had a 50-47 lead and the momentum.

Truong also had four assists, three steals and four boards in 37½ minutes on the floor.

“She’s doing a lot,” Fortier said. “She does it with grace and ease, and you can see her reading the defense.

“Our team feels really confident.”

GU won despite shooting 41% (23 for 56) from the floor and 6 for 18 from long range. To help matters, they had a season-low seven turnovers.

Maxwell was GU’s only other double-digit scorer, with 13. She came into the game at No. 3 in 3-point shooting at 55.3%, but will see that drop slightly as she went 2 for 5.

Ejim was held to nine points as she battled foul trouble and eventually fouled out. But her team-high seven boards helped offset Gustin. Two BYU players fouled out, and the teams combined for 35 fouls.