BYU Women’s Basketball Finds Replacement For Canceled South Carolina Game

PROVO, Utah – The first BYU women’s basketball non-conference schedule of the Amber Whiting era is out.

One game, in particular, was noticeably absent from the schedule. That was the original season-opener against the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks.

Coming soon… pic.twitter.com/GF7VjEGpBo

— BYU Women's Hoops (@byuwbb) September 15, 2022

On September 2, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley announced that the home-and-home series with BYU was canceled due to the alleged racial slurs hurled during a volleyball match toward a Duke player. BYU has since completed its investigation, announcing they found no corroborating evidence into the allegation.

Staley remained committed to upholding the cancelation, despite BYU’s investigation. “I continue to stand by my position. After my personal research, I made a decision for the well-being of my team. I regret that my university, my athletics director Ray Tanner and others got drawn into the criticism of a choice that I made.”

BYU will open the 2022-23 season at Colorado State

That move by South Carolina left BYU to find another game. BYU will now tip off the 2022-23 season at Colorado State in Moby Arena on November 8. It will be the first regular season game of Amber Whiting’s head coaching tenure at BYU.

#BYU women's basketball finds replacement for South Carolina game.

The Amber Whiting era will begin at Colorado State on November 8.#BYUWBB @kslsports

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) September 15, 2022

Whiting replaces Jeff Judkins, who became the winningest coach in BYU basketball history (men’s or women’s) during his 21 years as coach. BYU hired Whiting from Burley High School in Idaho, where she won a state championship last season.

Whiting inherits a BYU women’s basketball program that earned a six-seed in the NCAA Tournament and was a consistent Top 25 team a season ago. But there will be a lot of new faces leading the way for the Cougars after they lost star guards Paisley Harding to graduation and Shaylee Gonzales, who transferred to Texas.

BYU brings back All-American candidate forward Lauren Gustin and rising sophomore Emma Calvert in the post.

Other notable games on the non-conference schedule include a home game against the Oklahoma Sooners in the Marriott Center on November 15. The Cougars will also play in the North Shore Showcase on the campus of BYU-Hawaii against Washington State on November 18 and Troy on November 19.

BYU rounds out the non-conference schedule with a pair of in-state games against Utah State in Logan on December 6, then a home game against Utah on December 10. WCC play opens up December 17 against Gonzaga in Spokane.

BYU Women’s Basketball 2022-23 Schedule

Oct. 27: Westminster (Exhibition)

Nov. 8: at Colorado State

Nov. 12: Montana State

Nov. 15: Oklahoma

Nov. 18: vs. Washington State (Lai’e, Hawaii)

Nov. 19: vs. Troy (Lai’e, Hawaii)

Nov. 23: Carroll College

Nov. 26: Ball State

Dec. 1: at Boise State

Dec. 6: at Utah State

Dec. 10: Utah

Dec. 17: at Gonzaga

Dec. 19: at Portland

Dec. 29: Pacific

Dec. 31: Saint Mary’s

Jan. 7: San Diego

Jan. 12: at LMU

Jan. 14: at Pepperdine

Jan. 19: San Francisco

Jan. 21: Santa Clara

Jan. 26: at Saint Mary’s

Jan. 28: at Pacific

Feb. 4: at San Diego

Feb. 9: Pepperdine

Feb. 11: LMU

Feb. 16: at Santa Clara

Feb. 18: at San Francisco

Feb. 23: Portland

Feb. 25: Gonzaga

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for KSLsports.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.

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