Women's Basketball | 3/8/2016 8:54:00 AM

Game 32: No. 1 BYU (26-5) vs. No. 6 USF (20-11)
Tuesday, March 8 | 1 p.m. | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas (7,471)
Watch: ESPNU (Roxy Bernstein - play-by-play; Chiney Ogwumike - analyst)
Listen: Sirius/XM Radio - S145 and X201 | USF Audio
USF Postseason Media Guide | Complete game notes (PDF)

Today's Events

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In San Francisco - Join fellow USF fans on campus at the UC First Floor to cheer the women to the WCC tournament title!
In Las Vegas - The Dons will host a pregame tailgate Tuesday at 11 a.m., two hours prior to the tipoff. The event, free and open to the public, takes place outside the main entrace of the Orleans Arena.

#OneTeam • Follow the #DonsInVegas

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The San Francisco Dons advanced to the WCC semifinals for the second straight season after knocking off No. 3 San Diego 84-80 in an overtime contest on Thursday. Senior Taylor Proctor banked in a 3-point shot with 0.7 seconds to play in regulation, and the Dons outscored the Toreros 11-7 in the bonus period to earn the victory. 

Rachel Howard finished the game with a team-high 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, and a 5-of-6 effort from three. Proctor added 24 points – all of which came in the second half of the action – and seven rebounds in the win.

Again showing a flair for the dramatic, the Dons took down No. 2 Saint Mary's 67-65 propelled by late-game heroics. This time a defensive stop on a Gaels inbounds play with 10.4 seconds to play and the Dons up by a point helped seal the deal and advance the squad to the second straight finals matchup against BYU.

USF was paced by 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for senior Taylor Proctor on the day, her 26th career double-double and the 10th of the season. A beast in the second half in USF's two games at the tournament, 15 of her points came in the fourth quarter against Saint Mary's. 

By the Numbers (NCAA rank in parentheses)

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• When the Dons have the ball •
USF Scoring Offense - 72.1 (45) | BYU Scoring Defense - 61.3 (119)
USF Field Goal Pct. - .431 (47) | BYU FG Pct. Defense - .382 (104)
USF 3FG Pct. - .366 (19) | BYU 3FG Pct. Defense - .298 (99)
USF Free Throw Pct. - .750 (31)

• When the Cougars have the ball •
BYU Scoring Offense - 69.7 (77) | USF Scoring Defense - 66.9 (236)
BYU Field Goal Pct. - .425 (65) | USF FG Pct. Defense - .391 (156)
BYU 3FG Pct. - .373 (13) | USF 3FG Pct. Defense - .345 (319)
BYU Free Throw Pct. - .699 (164)


Comparison (USF/BYU):
Scoring Margin: +5.2/+8.4
Rebounds/Game: 37.9/38.0
Assists/Game: 15.4/16.5
Turnovers/Game: 17.2/15.2
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 0.9/1.1
Steals/Game: 8.6/9.5
Blocks/Game: 3.0/2.3

Dons in the WCC Championships

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USF sports a 20-19 all-time record in the WCC Championships, and the Dons are riding a string of four consecutive seasons with victories in the WCC tournament. 

Last year, the Dons also advanced all the way to the championship round, upending the No. 3 Pacific Tigers and No. 2 San Diego before falling to eventual champion BYU. Rewarded for their efforts, the Dons earned a berth in the WNIT, their first time in a postseason tournament since 2001-02.

Since the post-season tournament found a home in Las Vegas in 2009, USF holds a 6-7 record at the Orleans Arena.

All-Time Versus

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The last meeting in the WCC tournament with BYU came just one year ago. The Cougars won the championship after defeating the Dons 76-65.

School - Record (Last)    
BYU - 0-1 (2015; L 65-76)
Gonzaga - 2-2 (2014; L 68-81)
Loyola Marymount - 4-4 (2014; W 63-62)
Pacific - 1-0 (2015; W 74-64)
Pepperdine - 3-2 (2013; W 80-48)
Portland - 4-0 (1997; W 65-59 OT)
Saint Mary's - 3-1 (2016; W 67-65)
San Diego - 3-2 (2016; W 84-80, OT)
Santa Clara - 0-7 (2012; L 58-62)
OVERALL - 20-19

Sowing Seeds

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The Dons have recorded back-to-back seasons as the No. 6 seed. In last year's tournament USF posted a 2-1 record en route to the WCC Finals.

Seed     Record (Years)        
No. 1 ... 3-0 (1995)
No. 2  ... 7-1 (1992, '96, '97)
No. 3  ... 0-0
No. 4  ... 1-2 (2002, '03)
No. 5  ... 1-1 (2001)
No. 6  ... 2-4 (1998, 2000, '05, '15)
No. 7  ... 2-6 (2004, '06, '07,'08, '09, '10)
No. 8  ... 2-5 (1999, 2011, '12, '13, '14)
No. 9  ... 0-0
No. 10 ... 0-0

WCC History

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The Dons earned three-straight titles in the 90s, defeating Portland for the crown in 1995, '96 and '97. USF was the first two-time tournament winner and is only matched by Gonzaga for consecutive championship titles (2009, '10, '11).

The Dons have earned five post-season tournament bids, advancing to the 1995 NCAA First Round, 1996 NCAA Sweet Sixteen, 1997 NCAA First Round and the 2002 and 2015 WNIT First Round. This season, USF is hoping to be rewarded for another banner year with the first back-to-back postseason bids since the '90s.

A Season of Success                  

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The Dons have been on a steady upward trajectory during the Azzi Era, rising from taking over a program with five total wins and one WCC victory in 2009-10, to finishing with the most WCC wins in well over a decade.

The last time the Dons:
Won 20 games in a season - 1996-97
Posted back-to-back winning seasons - 1996-97
Averaged 70 points per game - 1994-95
Averaged 15 assists a game - 2000-01
Won nine WCC games - 2001-02
Started the season 9-2 - 2014-15
Had a seven-game winning streak - 1996-97
Had a 30-point game performance - 2011-12
Had two 30-point games in a season - 2007-08

USF in the Rankings

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The Dons find themselves sitting pretty in both the West Coast Conference and NCAA rankings as a team and individually. 

The Dons are in the top three in the WCC in scoring offense (72.1 ppg/2nd), field goal percentage (.431/2nd), 3-point field goal percentage (.366/3rd) and free throw percentage (.750/2nd). USF is also near the tops in the league in assists (15.4 apg/2nd) on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, the Dons are second in defensive rebounds (26.2) and third in defensive rebound percentage (.697) in the WCC. 

Nationally, USF rates 11th in free throws made (474), 19th in 3-point field goal percentage, 31st in free throw percentage, 45th in assists per game, and 47th in field goal percentage.

Individually, All-WCC First Team selection Taylor Proctor dots the conference and NCAA lists in a plethora of categories, including points per game (18.3 ppg - 4th WCC/56th NCAA), rebounding (8.4 rpg - 5th WCC), field goal percentage (.483 - 5th WCC), assists per game (3.4 - 7th WCC) and blocks per game (1.1 - 3rd WCC). Also of note, Rachel Howard enters the finals shooting 41.1 percent from 3-point range, good for third in the league and 23rd in the NCAA, and Zhane Dikes' 136 made free throws rates third in the conference and 32nd in the country.

On the Offensive

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Under the tutelage of one of the best point guards to play the game, the Dons have improved their offensive output and team mentality of sharing the ball and assisting the shooter. 

In the year previous to Azzi's arrival on the Hilltop, the Dons shot .338 from the field, .308 from 3-point range and averaged 9.8 assists per game. Currently, the Dons are connecting on 43.1 percent of their attempts, and hitting threes at a rate of 36.6 percent, and USF is second the WCC in assists per game with 15.4.

70 - The Magic Number

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The Dons are 16-1 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

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Taylor Proctor currently stands as one of 16 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), Jillian Alleyne (Oregon), Nathalie Fontaine (Ball State), Joy Adams (Iona), Erika Livermore (Fairleigh Dickinson), Brittney Martin (Oklahoma State), Talia Walton (Washington), Ruvanna Campbell (Ill.-Chicago), Kerry Kinek (Lehigh) and Katie Healy (St. Bonaventure). Michigan State's Aerial Powers, Nia Coffey of Northwestern and Nina Davis (Baylor) are the three juniors to join the list.

She ranks 36th among active Division I scoring leaders (1,745 points). She also lands in the top-50 among active players in field goals (634/38th) and double-doubles (26/38th). Fellow senior Zhane Dikes rates 16th in NCAA Division I in career free throw attempts (605) and 20th in makes (436).

On the Air

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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

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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