Women's Basketball | 2/9/2016 4:14:00 PM

Game 24: USF (14-9, 5-7 WCC) at BYU (20-4, 12-1 WCC)
Thursday, Feb. 11 | 5 p.m. PT | Marriott Center (20,900)
Watch: BYUtv | Listen: USF Audio
Complete game notes (PDF)

#OneTeam

---

The Dons embark on its last true road weekend looking to do what it couldn't finish at home. Despite leading both BYU and San Diego in the fourth quarter at War Memorial at the Sobato Center, the visitors managed victories and USF seeks to even the series records with each of the top two squads in the WCC standings.

By the Numbers (NCAA rank in parentheses)

---

• When the Dons have the ball •
USF Scoring Offense - 71.4 (60) | BYU Scoring Defense - 60.8 (113)
USF Field Goal Pct. - .432 (49) | BYU FG Pct. Defense - .380 (109)
USF 3FG Pct. - .359 (27) | BYU 3FG Pct. Defense - .290 (87)
USF Free Throw Pct. - .741 (33)

• When the Cougars have the ball •
BYU Scoring Offense - 69.2 (91) | USF Scoring Defense - 66.0 (231)
BYU Field Goal Pct. - .419 (79) | USF FG Pct. Defense - .388 (151)
BYU 3FG Pct. - .369 (17) | USF 3FG Pct. Defense - .355 (328)
BYU Free Throw Pct. - .686 (188)

Comparison (USF/BYU):
Scoring Margin: +5.4/+8.5
Rebounds/Game: 38.3/38.8
Assists/Game: 16.1/16.6
Turnovers/Game: 17.5/15.2
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 0.9/1.1
Steals/Game: 8.9/9.5
Blocks/Game: 2.9/2.4

Between the Baselines

---

The collaborative nature of the USF offense has been a focus point on the season, and Dons have coupled solid shooting with 16.1 assists per game, good for 33rd in the nation. The squad ranks in the top three in the league in shooting percentages, coming in nationally at 27th in 3-point field goal percentage (.359), 33rd in free throw percentage (.741) and 49th in field goal percentage (.432). 

The Dons are led by senior Taylor Proctor's 18.40 points on .487 shooting, 8.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 blocks per game. Zhane Dikes adds 14.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.2 steals, and Rachel Howard contributes 11.0 points on .378 shooting from beyond the arc and 2.9 assists a night. 

Know the Foe

---

BYU enters the week on a 12-game winning streak, with wins in 18 of its last 19 games, and a 9-0 record at home. The Cougars are paced by senior guard and back-to-back WCC Player of the Week Lexi Eaton Rydalch. She is averaging 24.7 points per game on .452 shooting to lead a trio of double digit scorers (Makenzi Morrison Pulsipher - 12.5 ppg, Kalani Purcell -11.0 ppg, 12.5 rpg). 

Sitting atop the WCC standings, the Cougars are receiving votes in the latest AP and USAToday polls.

What 2 Watch 4

---

BYU senior All-American Lexi Rydalch remains fourth among active Division I scoring leaders (2,330 points). Rydalch is in the top 10 in multiple active career offensive categories, including games (133/4th), field goals (787/7th), field goal attempts (1,817/4th), free throws (551/2nd) and free throw attempts (728/2nd).

Rydalch became the fourth WCC student-athlete to crack 2,000 career points in the WCC opener at San Diego and recently surpassed Loyola Marymount's Alex Cowling (2008-13; 2,219 points) as the WCC women's basketball all-time leading scorer.  With 2,330 career points, she is 161 shy of passing Hank Gathers (LMU) as the WCC all-time leader regardless of gender. 

Series Snippits

---

The Cougars have the 13-2 edge in the all-time series, with the Dons' wins coming on Feb. 16, 2012 in Provo, a 71-64 victory over then No. 23 BYU, and a 65-56 home victory on Jan. 26, 2013. In addition to the regular season series, the Dons are 0-1 against the Cougars in the post-season, after BYU took the 76-65 win in last year's WCC Championship final.

Last Time Out

---

A cold start on the Hilltop doomed the Dons in a heartbreaking 59-57 loss to the Santa Clara Broncos at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

The Dons led by three points with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter, but didn't score another field goal in the final minutes of the game. The combination of missed shots and four turnovers against an aggressive Broncos defense in the closing minutes of the game proved costly as they couldn't hang on to the slim advantage.

Senior Zhane Dikes led the Dons with a team-high 12 points along with five rebounds and four steals, but missed a three with time running out that would have given USF a lead with just seconds left. Rachel Howard added 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and Anna Seilund finished with eight points, six rebounds and four assists for USF.

A Decade in the Making

---

On a day when USF honored its 1996 Sweet 16 team, the 2015-16 San Francisco women's basketball team made a place for themselves in program history as well. The Dons scored the first bucket of the game and never trailed to earn a big 71-52 win over the Bulldogs on Jan. 30.

The victory was their first win over the 11-time WCC defending champions since a West Coast Conference tournament win on March 2, 2006. The 19-point deficit is also the largest loss of the season for Gonzaga, who lost to Stanford 65-48 on Nov. 15 during non-conference action.

Triple Threat

---

Even with a tepid outing against Santa Clara in its last contest, USF is shooting .359 from long range on the season, good for 27th in the NCAA after a blazing hot weekend from outside. The Dons enjoyed a blazing hot weekend from the outside against its foes from the Pacific Northwest, going 23-of-42 (.548) from distance while picking up a pair of wins.

Individually, Taylor Proctor (.383/6th), Rachel Howard (.378/7th) and Anna Seilund (.376/9th) all rate in the WCC's top 10 in 3-point percentage, and the Dons are one of three squads with multiple women on the list (BYU, Portland).

70 - The Magic Number

---

The Dons are 12-1 on the season when scoring at least 70 points, with the loss coming at the hands of Utah Valley in a 94-88 overtime game on Nov. 23.

NCAA Active Career Leaders

---

Taylor Proctor currently stands as one of 12 women in the NCAA with at least 1,500 points and 800 rebounds. She is joined on the senior-laden list by defending NCAA Player of the Year Breanna Stewart (UConn), Shereesha Richards (Albany), Jillian Alleyne (Oregon), Courtney Williams (South Florida), Nathalie Fontaine (Ball State), Joy Adams (Iona), Erika Livermore (Fairleigh Dickinson), Brittney Martin (Oklahoma State), Talia Walton (Washington) and Ruvanna Campbell (Ill.-Chicago). Michigan State's Aerial Powers is the lone junior in the dozen.

She ranks 38th among active Division I scoring leaders (1,592 points). She also lands in the top-40 among active players in field goals (588/37th) and double-doubles (23/39th). Fellow senior Zhane Dikes rates 15th in NCAA Division I in career free throw attempts (563) and 19th in makes (408).

Playing the Percentages

---

Shooting 43.2 percent from the floor, the Dons have seven women over the .500-mark in true shooting percentage, which takes into account field goals, 3-pointers and free throws. Raushan Gultekin (.588 ts%) and Taylor Proctor (.581 ts%) lead the way, followed by Zhane Dikes (.555 ts%), Claudia Price (.546 ts%), Anna Seilund (.526 ts%) and Rachel Howard (.526 ts%). Albeit a small sample size, in freshman Jaylin Jones' seven games of action, her true shooting percentage comes in at 103.6 percent, as she had her first misses of the season in USF's game against Santa Clara (4-5 fg, 3-4 3fg, 3-4 ft).

Looking Ahead

---

After taking on BYU, the Dons head to San Diego to meet up with the Toreros on Saturday at 2 p.m. In the season's first meeting between the two, San Diego pulled out the overtime victory at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Jan. 7

On the Air

---

Listen to longtime voice of the Dons, George Devine, behind the mic all season long. Devine is in his 20th season as the play-by-play voice of USF women's basketball.

Watch all home games on theW.tv/live, in partnership with Silver Chalice/Campus Insiders. Get in on the action for both home and away contests at usfdons.com/LIVE. Catch all the action, any time, anywhere at theW.tv!

Get Connected

---

Fans can follow the Dons in a variety of ways:
- Via the departmental Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat with the username donsathletics.
- Through the USF women's basketball team-specific Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
- On YouTube at USFDonsAthletics, where fans can view video segments online
- On Comcast SportsNet California in USF Athletics' monthly show, "Behind the Mask"
- With previews, recaps, videos, features and more as seen on USFDons.com