ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shaylee Gonzales scored 20 points, including two free throws with three seconds left, and West Virginia made just one of two from the line with .4 seconds remaining, giving BYU a 58-57 win over the No. 22 Mountaineers in the championship game of the St. Pete Showcase on Saturday.
After Esmery Martinez of West Virginia tied the game with a lay-up with 57 seconds to play, the Mountaineers (4-1) had a chance to take the lead after a BYU turnover, but KK Deans missed on a driving lay-up attempt.
Gonzales was going for the game winner when Martinez fouled her. She made both for a 58-56 lead and WVU head coach Mike Carey called a timeout to have the ball automatically advanced to midcourt.
On the final possession, WVU forward Kari Niblack was going for the tie as time ran out, but BYU guard Tegan Graham fouled her.
Niblack made the first free throw, BYU called a timeout and Niblack missed the second shot. Martinez grabbed the rebound but couldn’t get off a winning attempt.
Paisley Harding added 13 points for BYU (7-0), which beat No. 17 Florida State in the tourney opener. Graham scored 11.
BYU finished 9 of 11 from the line and was 23 of 28 in knocking off consecutive ranked opponents.
The Cougars were without head coach Jeff Judkins, who did not make the trip after testing positive for COVID-19. The rest of the travel party was tested and given approval to compete with assistant coach Lee Cumard assuming the head coaching position.
Martinez scored 18 points for the Mountaineers and Deans had 17.
West Virginia led 21-11 after one quarter and pushed the lead to 13 in the second. The Mountaineers led 37-29 at the half but took a 45-44 lead after three quarters.
Both teams committed 23 turnovers.
Deans was selected to the all-tournament team, after averaging 14.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.
West Virginia will travel to No. 20 Kentucky at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
