Sydney Benally’s record-setting night carries BYU to blowout win over Alabama A&M in WBIT first round

Brigham Young guard Sydney Benally looks to pass the ball during the first half of an NCAA basketball game against Washington State, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah. | Tyler Tate The BYU men’s basketball team could have used Sydney Benally in its NCAA Tournament first-round matchup against Texas Thursday night.

Lee Cummard’s squad was happy she was in Provo and not Portland, though. Benally tied her career high with 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and set the BYU freshman record for assists in a season in leading the Cougars to a 72-47 win over Alabama A&M at the Marriott Center in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament. “I think we came in as a team, just we wanted to prove that we deserve to continue playing in this postseason,” Benally said in a postgame interview on BYU Radio.

“We just have that mentality to just keep playing hard and keep playing for each other. ” With the win, the Cougars (23-11) will host a second-round WBIT game against Missouri next Monday. The Tigers beat Seton Hall Thursday to advance.

BYU, which was the first team on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble, didn’t let the disappointment of missing the NCAAs impact how it started its WBIT opener. Even though the Cougars hadn’t played for two weeks since a Big 12 tournament quarterfinal loss to TCU, they got out to a 12-4 lead against Alabama A&M and were up 20-13 after one period. Cummard, BYU’s first-year coach, said he was worried about the psychological aspect of it, having just missed the NCAAs, but his team “was focused” from the jump.