PROVO, Utah – So close. Again.

A last look at the basket for the San Francisco women's basketball team didn't result in the desired outcome, and the Dons fell to BYU 65-62 at the Marriott Center.

For the third-straight contest, the Dons drop a one-possession game to one of the top teams in the West Coast Conference. Still looking for their elusive first win in conference action, USF moves to 9-6 on the season while BYU improves to 11-4, and 3-1 in WCC play. USF's four losses in league play come against foes which have at least 10 wins on the season.

"I guess the good news is that we are in this situation. I think in years past we wouldn't be, especially on the road," noted head coach Jennifer Azzi. "There's certainly progress, but now it's time for the team to mature and us be able to finish those games.

"I think there was a point toward the end that BYU could have pulled away from us and they didn't. Our team plays with a lot of heart, our defense has been so much better this season than a year ago. There is much improvement all around. The players are taking ownership and it's three tough ones in a row. We were right there."

USF had four women score points in the contest, each of which recorded double-digit efforts. Taylor Proctor led the way with 20 points on .500 shooting and seven rebounds, including the 500th of her USF career. Taj Winston, a senior from Long Beach, Calif., added 16 points, three steals and two blocks. Winston, a 5-10 guard, now needs two blocks to move to ninth on USF's career list for swatted shots.

"Along with a good game at BYU, Taj had a great game in San Diego," noted Azzi. "Literally, if you change the call she won the game for us. Her defensive effort this season has been tremendous."

Rachel Howard went for 16 points, including a perfect 2-for-2 mark from long distance. Paige Spietz, in her final season for the Dons, recorded a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double. Zhane Dikes led the Dons in assists with six, and freshman Tiara Tucker added four for USF. All-told, USF's 18 assists in the game represents a new season best mark.

"Paige having 10 and 10 is a great night for her," said Azzi. "When Paige scores we're a much better team, and when she rebounds we're a much better team. Rachel is kind of getting into the groove a little bit more and it's good to see her shooting the ball well. Zhane tonight having six assists and no turnovers was in my mind a good night for Z, even without scoring."

USF opened the game in an early deficit and BYU led 9-3 after Morgan Bailey's layup off the pass from Mackenzi Morrison. The Dons would race back to score the next 13 points in the game, in two minutes, 38 seconds. A layup by Proctor was followed by a steal and fast break bucket for Winston. Spietz scored the next basket to knot the contest at nine apiece, but the Dons run wasn't done. Howard drained a three and Proctor sunk her jumper. Then Dikes dished to an open Howard on the inbounds play for the score.

Eight minutes later, BYU regained the lead with the score at 22-20, but the Dons battled back to lead 29-24 with 4:50 remaining in the period after back-to-back baskets for Winston.

At the halftime break USF clung to a 35-33 lead after shooting 55.6 percent in the period while holding the Cougars to 34.4 percent from the floor and just a 3-for-12 effort from 3-point range.

USF gave up the lead to BYU less than two minutes into the second period, but the Dons regrouped to knot the score at 37 apiece and later at 47-all after Howard strung together six straight points for the Dons. Xiojan Harry drained a three with 12:35 remaining to give the Cougars the lead and the Dons scoring from the floor stalled. USF's next basket came with 5:45 to play and the Cougars up four points. The margin grew to nine points with 3:14 on the clock after Bailey converted the three-point play.

USF scored the next seven points in the game to put the score at 62-60 with 41.7 seconds remaining. After a layup from Proctor with 24.9 ticks on the clock the Dons were just one slim point behind. Forced to foul, the Dons needed a three to tie in the game's last possession, but the shot missed the mark and BYU held on to win 65-63.

The Cougars were led by 26 points and 12 rebounds from Bailey, 18 points off the hand of Eaton and eight points and 12 rebounds from Ashley Garfield. USF outshot BYU 42.6 percent to 32.0 percent, but the big difference came from the line. The Cougars were 20-of-32 from the free throw line, whereas the Dons only got to the line 14 times during the game.

The Dons now return to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym, to meet up with Gonzaga. The Bulldogs, who have won at least a share of the WCC regular season title for the last 10 seasons, face off with USF Thursday at 7 p.m.

"Gonzaga is a great team and it will be a big challenge, but  I think playing the top teams early is good," said Azzi. "It's a character builder and it exposes the things that we need to improve on and our team needs to be focused on staying the course and continuing to improve and get better. You can do that during the season – we did it all last season."