There was good drama in the BYU vs. Central Washington University match, and it began with the weather. Helaman Field in Provo, Utah, needed a good shoveling before the teams could take the pitch, and the snow morphed into a wintry mix as the game progressed. After a scoreless 30 minutes and a tight first half, the visitors eventually pulled away for a 26-8 win, Central Washington’s third of the spring.
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But the game was certainly tighter than the teams’ first encounter on Feb. 27. Most notably, the scrum was much more balanced. Early in the game, the Wildcats dominated one scrumdown that was reminiscent of game one and forced the Cougars to retreat at times, but the home side didn’t lose any of their put-ins and was able to stabilize the ball for Christina Miller. The lineout, however, was a different story, and after a good start, BYU struggled to retain its own ball. Abby Nichols was great in the air, and the conditions made longer throw-ins less reliable.
BYU also handled CWU’s physicality better. The visitors still won that battle, with the hard-carrying Haley Abeyta, Keia Mae Sagapolu, Mikayla Roberts, Jherish Moananu and Aly Namosimalua leading the way. But BYU hooker Cierrah Garza more than answered that call; Kat Stowers made slow support pay with poached possession; and Nicole Lyons absorbed the biggest hits in open field with poise. BYU didn’t break in the fourth quarter or allow a flood of points. CWU just did a better job of capitalizing on possession and working some quicker phases to space. BYU’s back three hardly ran with the ball today.
The first half, however, was anyone’s game, and the scoreboard remained dormant for the opening 30 minutes. CWU had two good scoring opportunities early on. The first began with an MJ Pasioles chip kick and Lauren Odette chase-down. The lock raced to BYU’s 5m, but wing Makayla Komer streaked across the pitch for the try-saving tackle into touch. Later, a dropped pass allowed Rachel Strasdas to scoop up possession for a long break, which Sammy Stern tracked down, but that relieved pressure. A Namosimalua line-break put in motion another drive to the try line, but the plucky Stowers drew a not-releasing penalty and the opportunity to kick for distance.
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Stowers was in the right position to recover an errant pass in CWU’s back line, and Kainoa Ah Quin followed with a tactical kick that set up a long series in the Wildcats’ end. Both Ah Quin and Stowers kept the CWU defense on edge with grubbers to the try line, but the visitors did well to stay calm as Strasdas and Morgan Spangler applied that charge-down pressure. Hurried and often short kicks to touch followed, but they did their job in halting the immediate scoring threat.
BYU had its best opportunity to score at the 17-minute mark, when a successful lineout set up forward punches to the line, and then Stowers drew a not-rolling-away penalty. The inside center quick-tapped through the mark, dove across the line, but just knocked on. The kick-and-chases to the try line continued, and they were so successful that it felt like a matter of time before a perfectly timed bounce landed in a Cougar’s arms. But the BYU lineout wasn’t able to take advantage of CWU’s desperate kicks to touch and other sideline mistakes. Play stayed in CWU’s end, but BYU couldn’t convert the territory into points.
Meanwhile, CWU made the gutsy move to run it out of its own five meter. Jherish Moananu powered straight ahead and then flanker Tessa Hann pushed off several defenders on a sideways run toward Namosimalua. The wing took the flat pass to the CWU 40 meter before Lyons halted the break. Philomena Namosimalua connected with Stern to continue the break, and after a quick poach from Miller, Roberts stripped the ball for more go-forward. Abeyta went on back-to-back power runs inside the 22 meter, and then Hann made her own space into the corner for the try. Roberts hit a lovely conversion from a couple of meters off the sideline for the 7-0 lead.
It took a long time for CWU to return to the attacking end; however, once the Wildcats crossed the 50, the points came relatively quickly.
As the half wore down, BYU returned to CWU’s end, and the Cougars earned a penalty from approximately 30 meters out and just off center. Lyons took the opportunity for points, and a true strike yielded three points into the break: 7-3 to CWU.
Return to play was marked by slippery conditions, and everyone was dropping the ball or sending errant passes. One mishandling set up CWU’s next try, as BYU attempted to offload out of the tackle and in traffic. The ball spilled forward for Aly Namosimalua to pick up near her 40 meter. The wing just spun around, slammed into the nearest defender, slipped past the next would-be tackler and then cut across the corner-flagger. Just as Stowers flew in for the pursuit tackle, Namosimalua hit scrumhalf Spencer Boldt in support for the try, 12-3.
Boldt got her side out of trouble with a quick tap and long breakaway. BYU had the opportunity to clear its lines, as a solid scrum allowed Ah Quin to set up for the kick, but two mishandlings saw the flyhalf touch the ball down in the try zone. CWU regrouped with a 5m scrum, which set up forward punches, and then Abeyta worked her body through traffic and found grass for the try. Reserve fullback Kai Brandt-Templeton kicked the extras for the 19-3 lead.
BYU moved some positions around as subs took the pitch. Stowers moved to scrumhalf – her high school position – and Matalasi Morrissette slid from No. 8 to flyhalf, adding another element to BYU’s fun kicking game. From a mid-field scrum, Morrissette booted the ball downfield, and although CWU was able to run it out to its 22, a penalty followed. Stowers quick tapped and deployed forward punches to the line. Garza, through sheer will and leg drive, forced her way across the line for score, 19-8.
There was still the whole fourth quarter to play, but the Wildcats did well to restore the point differential approximately five minutes after the Cougars dotted down. The try began with a BYU attacking lineout in good territory. Nichols got her hands on the ball in the air, disrupting the clean take for BYU. The Cougars did hold onto possession and go to ground, but slow support saw Nichols get over the ball and draw a not-releasing penalty. Brandt-Templeton sent the ball to BYU’s 45 meter for the lineout, and although the subsequent set piece was messy, Kawai Akina held onto the ball as she was driven backward. Pasioles, too, did well to rein in a high pass and connect with No. 8 Zonaye Tupuola hitting the line at pace. Boldt and Pasioles moved the ball quickly from the tackle, and Roberts charged into space and fended two defenders before slipping in front of Lyons. Another quick recycle then put Moananu into a power drive, and the center kept her feet until support arrived. BYU was well positioned to defend the phases inside the 22, but then the connection broke when one player shot off the line, and the pass from Pasioles to Hann aligned with the unexpected gap. The freshman took the skip pass and cut pass the cover defense for her seventh try of the spring. Brandt-Templeton kicked her 20th conversion of the season, 26-8.
Central Washington had a couple more scoring opportunities that went unrealized – not passing to unguarded teammates out wide, turnover at the 5m – and that were also the result of BYU’s unforgiving defense. But no points were scored and Central Washington banked its second DIA / DI Elite, and third overall, win over 2021.
CWU will host also-undefeated Lindenwood University next week, while BYU will contest an intra-squad scrimmage to stay busy on March 20.