BYU crushes Oklahoma in Big 12 Football Championship

There was no rust factor for the BYU Cougars football team on Monday in the Big 12 Football Championship Game.

By virtue of being the No. 2 seed in the tournament, the Cougars had a first-round bye last Saturday and were matched up against the 10th-seeded Oklahoma Sooners on Monday with a trip to the tournament semifinals on the line.

BYU opened its conference championship account early thanks to a Bella Foligno goal in the ninth minute, and then the Cougars went crazy, scoring five goals in the second half to cruise to a dominating 6-0 win.

Foligno led by two goals, and four others netted for BYU in the win.

After an even first half that saw both teams score four shots, the Cougars came out strong in the second half and led 4-0 and 14-8 in shots by the 68th minute.

As if the score wasn’t already secure, BYU added two more goals in the final 10 minutes of the game to seal the deal.

“At halftime, we talked about getting back to what we do as a team,” head coach Jennifer Rockwood said in a news release. “The Sooners did a good job in the first half of keeping us frustrated with their direct play, and in the second half we committed to settling down and letting our chances come to us.

“It was a great second half for us, and we were really proud of the way we played. We had a lot of different scorers tonight, so when they tried to stop a goal or two, we had others ready to put the ball into the back of the net.

Overall, the Cougars outscored the Sooners 17-13, including an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal. Lynette Hernez and Savannah Mason shared the clean sheet, with Hernez playing the first 75 minutes and Mason coming on for the final 15 minutes.

In the semifinals, the Cougars will face the winner of Monday’s late game between No. 3 TCU and No. 6 UCF.