BYU advances to WBIT semifinals as Delaney Gibb sparks decisive 4th-quarter run

BYU guard Delaney Gibb (11) tries to drive to the hoop with Stanford's Nunu Agara during the Cougars' matchup with the Cardinal in the quarterfinal of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah, on Thursday, March 26, 2026. | Brandon Judd, Deseret News A double dose of Delaney Gibb magic came at just the right time for BYU in its Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament quarterfinal matchup Thursday night against Stanford. With the game teetering in the balance, Gibb hit two huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help get things in the Cougars’ favor.

That sequence played a critical role in the 76-61 Cougars win, as BYU used a 17-2 run to put the victory away in front of a raucous Marriott Center crowd. With the win, BYU moves on to the WBIT semifinals next week in Wichita, Kansas, where it will face Big 12 rival Kansas at Charles Koch Arena next Monday. “The buy-in and the urgency and the sense of just competing in front of a great crowd was the difference in the game,” BYU coach Lee Cummard said.

For much of the night, the Cougars led, but Stanford kept finding ways to fight back after BYU would build multi-possession leads in the first three quarters. It looked like the Cougars might pull away in the third quarter, as they grew their lead to as many as eight points, but the Cardinal made it a one-point game going into the final period. Then, 35 seconds into the fourth quarter, Stanford’s Chloe Clardy delivered an and-one right in front of the BYU student section to make it 53-52, and it looked like the back-and-forth battle would continue.

That’s when Gibb stepped up yet again for the Cougars (25-11). On BYU’s next possession, she drilled a stepback 3 to make it 56-52, giving the Cougars some breathing room. After a missed shot by Stanford, Gibb nailed another stepback 3, forcing the Cardinal to call a timeout and sending the BYU crowd, which included AJ Dybantsa and several of the Cougar men’s basketball players, into a frenzied pitch.