PROVO (Interstat) — Delaney Gibb scored 17 points to lead BYU past Idaho State 67-50 in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game Tuesday at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The Cougars improved to 1-0. The Bengals fell to 0-1. The game was the season opener for both teams.

Idaho State opened with energy and built a 16-11 lead after the first quarter. Olivia Hamlin opened the scoring for BYU with a pullup jump shot, and Delaney Gibb followed with a 3-pointer. Maggie Hutka answered with a 3-pointer and a hook shot to tie the score at 5. Bolanle Yussuf made a layup for BYU, but Clare Valentine hit a 3-point stepback jumper and Aspen Caldwell made a layup to give Idaho State a 10-7 lead. Liza Astakhova and Prasayus Notoa made layups for BYU, and Caldwell answered with another layup. Hutka then made a turnaround jumper and a layup to close the quarter and give the Bengals a 16-11 advantage.

BYU answered in the second quarter. Krystal Arnason made a free throw for Idaho State, but Mariam Traore made consecutive layups and Olivia Hamlin added a layup to tie the score at 17. Traore made another layup to put BYU ahead, and Maeva Gauffrenet made two free throws for Idaho State. Gia Vukona hit a 3-pointer to give the Bengals a 22-19 lead. Hamlin made a layup, Bolanle Yussuf made one free throw, and Brinley Cannon made two free throws to help BYU go ahead. Delaney Gibb added one free throw, and Clare Valentine made two free throws for Idaho State in the final seconds. BYU took a 25-24 lead into halftime.

The decisive stretch came in the third quarter. Clare Valentine opened the period with a 3-pointer to give Idaho State a 27-25 lead. Maggie Hutka made one free throw at 7:29, and after a Kailey Woolston layup, Hutka added a stepback jumper. Delaney Gibb hit a stepback 3 to tie the score at 30. Aspen Caldwell made one free throw to put the Bengals ahead 31-30, but BYU responded with a 9-0 run. Sydney Benally made two 3-pointers, and Kambree Taylor added another 3-pointer to push the Cougars ahead 39-31. Idaho State tried to stay within reach. Clare Valentine made a layup, Mariam Traore answered with a layup, and Kailey Woolston hit a 3-pointer. Sydney Benally made a layup to push the lead to 46-36, and after Krystal Arnason made one free throw, Delaney Gibb hit a turnaround jumper to make it 48-37. The run changed the game, turning a one-point deficit into a double-digit advantage.

BYU kept control in the fourth. Kambree Taylor made a layup at 9:42, Olivia Hamlin hit a 3-pointer at 9:01, and Bolanle Yussuf made a layup at 7:43 to stretch the lead to 55-37. Idaho State did not fold. Bojana Radnjic made a 3-pointer at 7:13, and after Bolanle Yussuf made a pullup close-range jumper, Jazzy Wilkerson hit a 3-pointer at 4:50. Delaney Gibb answered with a 3-pointer at 4:39. Bojana Radnjic made two free throws at 4:15, and Krystal Arnason made a 3-pointer at 3:36 and a layup at 3:06 to cut the deficit to 60-50. The Bengals could not get closer. Delaney Gibb made two free throws at 2:56, Kailey Woolston made two free throws at 1:13, and Delaney Gibb closed the scoring with a 3-pointer at 0:45. BYU’s defense and rebounding helped protect the lead down the stretch.

BYU shot 25 of 74 from the floor, 9 of 38 from 3-point range, and 8 of 10 from the free throw line. Idaho State shot 15 of 46 from the floor, 7 of 18 from 3-point range, and 13 of 22 from the free throw line. BYU held a 21-7 advantage in offensive rebounds and finished with 12 assists to Idaho State’s 6. The Cougars had 3 blocks, while the Bengals had 4. Idaho State committed 17 turnovers, and BYU committed 12. BYU scored 67 points from 70 possessions, an offensive rating of 96.1. Idaho State scored 50 points from 66 possessions, an offensive rating of 75.2. The Cougars also held the Bengals to 15 made field goals and 7 made 3-pointers. Idaho State had 7 offensive rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and 17 turnovers. BYU had 21 offensive rebounds, 12 assists, 3 blocks and 12 turnovers.

Delaney Gibb, a 5-foot-10 guard from Raymond, Canada, and Raymond High School, paced BYU with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and one block in 31 minutes. Mariam Traore, a 6-foot-3 forward from Liahona Preparatory Academy, added eight points, eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Maggie Hutka led Idaho State with 12 points, eight rebounds, one assist and two blocks. Kambree Taylor, a 6-foot guard from Rigby High School, contributed five points, four rebounds and three assists. Clare Valentine scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds for the Bengals. Sydney Benally, a 5-foot-9 guard from Sandia High School, had eight points, three rebounds and two assists. Bolanle Yussuf, a 6-foot-3 forward from Kyoto Seika Gakuen, added seven points and six rebounds. Krystal Arnason scored seven points with three rebounds and two blocks. Brinley Cannon, a 6-foot-1 guard from Shelley High School, finished with two points, seven rebounds and five assists. Aspen Caldwell, a 5-foot-7 guard from Thunder Ridge High School, had five points, five rebounds and three assists.

The Cougars will host Portland in their next game, while the Bengals will host Westminster.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of BYU 64, Idaho State 60. Interstat’s ELO system projected BYU with a 96.1 percent probability to win. BYU was installed as the pregame favorite with a spread of -18.5. The total score of 117 went over the over/under line of 131.5.