BYU basketball star Delaney Gibb is proving you don't need to make the NCAA Tournament to become a fan favorite in March.
Gibb started her career at BYU by winning Big 12 Freshman of the Year. She followed that up by earning All-Big 12 honors this season. Not only is she already a member of the program's 1,000-point club, she's the first player to lead the Cougars in scoring, assists and steals since 2022.
On Monday, BYU took on Kansas in the semifinals of the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament. Despite losing 81-60 to the Jayhawks back in February, the Cougars avenged that loss with a 70-67 victory and secured a spot in the WBIT final.
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Delaney Gibb opens up about her faith.
Interestingly enough, BYU didn't practice the day before it defeated Kansas. During a recent press conference, Gibb explained why that decision was made.
“When you look at it from a perspective of our team and our culture we’ve built and the faith that we have it’s a day that we get to have a different perspective on life.” said Gibb. “There’s things that are bigger than basketball and Jesus Christ and having faith in Him is something that’s bigger than basketball.”
Gibb's comments ended up generating a lot of buzz on social media. Most of her fans appreciated her transparency.
"This is why I love BYU. Their women’s basketball players won’t practice on Sunday — it’s set apart for worship of Jesus Christ," one person commented. "Win or lose, they’ve already won."
"Well done," a fan wrote on X.
"Be an example to others. Show, not just through words, but through your actions, that you believe in something bigger than yourself or your personal or team ambitions," another fan said.
Gibb is averaging 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. She'd love nothing more than to close out this season with a title.
BYU's final game of the season will be against Columbia on Wednesday.
Tipoff for the WBIT final is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
