USF (8-7, 2-2 WCC) vs. BYU (9-6, 3-1 WCC)
Thursday, Jan. 12 | 7 p.m.
War Memorial at the Sobrato Center | San Francisco, Calif.    
Series Record: 15-3 (BYU)
Last Meeting: Mar. 8, 2016 - WCC Tourn. Finals (USF 70-68)
Video/Audio: TheW.tv (Kevin Danna, Play-by-Play)
Live Stats: USFDons.com (StatBroadcast)
Complete Game Notes [PDF]
 
Opening Tip
USF (8-7, 2-2 WCC) looks to bounce back from a pair of road losses last week when they host the first-place BYU Cougars (9-6, 3-1 WCC) at 7 p.m. on Thursday from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. After starting WCC play 2-0, the Dons dropped road games at Gonzaga (61-46) and Saint Mary's (75-72) this past week, while the Cougars come into the week riding a three-game winning streak after topping Saint Mary's (70-65) and Pacific (68-55). Thursday's matchup will be the only home date for the Dons sandwiched between four road contests.   
 
The Dons At a Glance...

• Suffered a 75-72 loss at Saint Mary's on Saturday afternoon... had a one-point lead with 1:30 to play, but SMC's Megan McKay and Carly Turner combined to hit four free throws over the final 40 seconds - including two as a result of a USF technical foul with 11 seconds to go - that sealed the win for the Gaels... Kalyn Simon led USF with 22 points and four 3-pointers in her return to the lineup after missing the Gonzaga game due to a head injury suffered against Santa Clara... the Dons outshot Saint Mary's 45.6 to 36.8 percent on the day, but were outrebounded 46-34 and outscored in the paint by a 44-22 margin.  
• Saturday's defeat at Saint Mary's was the first loss for the Dons when they shot over 40 percent from the field... their 45.6 percent clip (26-57) was their second-highest field goal percentage in a road game this year behind a season-best 56.7 percent outing at San Diego on Dec. 29.
• The Dons found it difficult to not only score in the paint against Saint Mary's, but to also rebound over the Gaels, who held a 46-34 advantage on the glass on Saturday... USF has held a rebounding advantage in just five of their 15 games so far... they lead the conference in defensive boards (28.4 per game), but rank ninth in offensive rebounding (10.7)... meanwhile, BYU ranks last in the conference on the offensive glass (8.9).
• Nia Alexander has seen her playing time and production on the uptick of late... the freshman is averaging 10.0 points per game over the last five contests and has logged 20+ minutes in five of her last six contests after playing at least 20 minutes just once prior to that... she is also second on the team shooting 50.0 percent (19-38) from the field over that span.
• Junior Anna Seilund has been a veritable Swiss Army knife for the Dons this year... she's been a key asset at the free throw line where she is tied for second in the WCC at 85.0 percent (34-40)... she leads the team and ranks 10th in the WCC in assists (3.9 per game), including a career-high eight at Saint Mary's on Saturday... she's tied for ninth in the conference averaging 1.9 steals per game... established a career high with 22 points against San Jose State on Dec. 6 while averaging a career-best 10.6 points per game, second on the team... also logging the most minutes on the team (33.3 per game).  
• Overall, the Dons are the second-best free throw shooting team in the conference (75.5). 
• Senior Rachel Howard's career-high 30-point outburst against Seattle on Nov. 15 matches San Diego's Maya Hood (vs. UC Santa Barbara, 11/25/16) as the highest point total in the conference so far this year... Howard leads the team and ranks sixth in the WCC in scoring (13.5 ppg)... with 986 career points, Howard is closing in on the 1,000 point mark... she would be the 19th player in USF history to crack the 1,000 point barrier.
• The Dons will be relishing a chance to get back on their home court where they are averaging 75.2 points per game and shooting 42.4 percent, compared to 58.9 points per contest and 33.8 percent shooting on the road.

 
Scouting Report
 
About BYU
The Cougars have won their last three games in a row after falling to Santa Clara 64-63 in their WCC opener... coming off a 70-65 home win over Saint Mary's and a 68-55 victory at Pacific... 6-4 record away from the Marriott Center this year... rank in the middle of the conference in scoring (6th, 65.4), but have boasted a stout defense that ranks second in the WCC, limiting opponents to 62.4 points per game... second in the WCC in three-point percentage (33.5)... junior guard Cassie Broadhead leads the conference at 17.6 points per game... she has tallied 20+ points in each of her last seven games... preseason All-WCC guard Mackenzi Pulsipher averages 12.9 points... fellow preseason All-WCC forward Kalani Purcell leads the conference at 9.6 boards per game while averaging 12.7 points... picked to finish second in the WCC after going 26-7 last year and 16-2 in conference play en route to a second-place finish... earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Missouri, 78-69, in the first round... return three starters from last year's squad... head coach Jeff Judkins is in his 12th year at the helm.       
 
Series History with BYU
BYU leads the all-time series, 15-3... USF won the most recent matchup with a 70-68 upset of the No.1 seeded Cougars in the finals of the WCC Tournament last year... Taylor Proctor led all scorers in that game with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Zhane Dikes tallied 21 points... prior to that, BYU had won seven meetings in a row stretching back to the 2013-14 season... the Dons and Cougars split the season series in 2011-12 and 2012-13... USF's only win in Provo came with a 71-64 victory in 2011-12... they are 1-7 at BYU all-time... BYU won the first meeting in the series, 62-58, in 1979-80... they didn't meet again until 1984-85 and 1986-87, both BYU victories... three nonconference meetings followed in  2002-03, 2005-06 and 2009-10 before the Cougars joined the WCC for the 2011-12 campaign.
 
Last Year's Meetings With BYU
BYU took the first meeting in San Francisco with a 66-57 decision. USF was paced by Taylor Proctor's 14 points and 12 rebounds, her seventh double-double of the season. Kalyn Simon added a career-high 13 points, her first double figure scoring effort. In the first half, the junior from San Jose, Calif., led all scorers with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. Both teams shot over 40 percent from the floor, despite a combined 10-of 36 effort from beyond the arc. The Dons finished with the 39-24 rebounding edge, and USF capitalized on its 14 offensive rebounds with 15 second chance points. Despite the difference in rebounds heavily favoring the Dons, the Cougars capitalized on another defining statistical category. USF committed 18 turnovers, which led to 17 BYU points, while the Cougars were charged with just eight offensive miscues.
 
In the second meeting in Provo, USF led for more than 38 minutes, but was edged 65-62 on a near half court heave by BYU's Lexi Rydalch that connected with 1.5 seconds left. Taylor Proctor led the way for USF with 27 points, including a 10-of-11 effort from the line, seven rebounds and four steals. Along with Proctor's stellar night, USF's Anna Seilund and Claudia Price each finished with 10 points, with Seilund adding a game-high seven assists in the contest. The Dons were up by 14 points with 7:07 to play in the fourth quarter, but BYU closed the gap by scoring 14 unanswered as the Dons committed six turnovers.
 
The final meeting of the year came in the WCC tournament final at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, where USF upset No. 1-seed BYU, 70-68 to claim the conference crown. USF overcame a 15-point deficit after the first quarter to post its largest comeback of the year. The Dons knotted the game at 58 apiece after Anna Seilund scooped up the steal and Proctor nailed the triple with 8:08 to play. BYU held a four-point lead with 1:22 to play. The Dons gained their first lead of the afternoon when Zhane Dikes connected on both of her free throw attempts with 17.2 ticks to play. Proctor led all scorers with 27 points and 10 rebounds, her 11th double-double of the season, and Dikes added 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
 
Last Time Out
A back and forth affair that featured 15 lead changes and 10 ties went the way of Saint Mary's as the Gaels topped USF 75-72 at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels took advantage of a USF technical foul in the final seconds to take the lead and cap off a four-point swing that saw the Dons relinquish a one-point lead with 1:30 to play. Redshirt junior Kalyn Simon led the Dons with 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting - including 4-of-6 from the perimeter - in her return after missing Thursday's matchup at Gonzaga due to injury. Michaela Rakova fouled out in the fourth quarter with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Nia Alexander tallied 12 points and three rebounds off the bench. With SMC holding onto a 56-54 lead to start the fourth quarter, Alexander quickly tied it with a jumper that sparked a 7-0 USF spurt that just as suddenly gave way to a four-minute stretch without a USF field goal until Anna Seilund's three-point play with 3:37 to go, making it 67-63 in favor of USF. The Dons fended off Saint Mary's until the Gaels' Shannon Mauldin stole a USF inbounds with 1:47 on the clock and laid it in to give SMC its first lead since the end of the third quarter at 70-69. But Simon came to the rescue and answered with a three on the other end that gave USF what would amount to its final lead at 72-71 with 1:30 to play. SMC's Megan McKay, who was one of two Gaels who recorded a double-double with 23 points and 16 rebounds, went to the line and made one of two free throws to knot the game at 70-70 with 39 seconds to play. After a missed jumper by Alexander, head coach Molly Goodenbour was whistled for a technical foul with 11 seconds on the clock. Carly Turner hit both of the ensuing free throws to give SMC a 74-72 advantage. Turner knocked down one more free throw before Rachel Howard's last-second three-point attempt was blocked as time expired.

Up Next
The Dons head back out on the road when they travel to Stockton, Calif. to take on Pacific on Saturday afternoon with tip-off slated for 2 p.m.
 

Fan Guide
 
Ticket Information
Individual game tickets for all USF home games this season are available online at USFDons.com or by calling (415) 422-2USF. General admission tickets are available for as low as $10. All USFCA faculty, staff and students with a valid ID, and youth 12 and under enter free.
 
Parking Information
Parking is available for a daily use fee on campus in the Hayes-Healy garage (located along Golden Gate Ave. in between War Memorial at the Sobrato Center and the Hayes Healy dorms) and at the Koret Health and Recreation Center lot (at the corner of Parker Ave. and Turk St.). Street parking is also available around campus, but visitors are reminded to take notice of signs displaying city parking restrictions for each street. Parking is typically available free of charge two hours prior to tip-off until one hour after the conclusion of the game in any campus lot, with the exception of designated green parking spots and the top of Hayes-Healy garage. Refer to the USF Department of Public Safety parking webpage for most current regulations and for instructions how to purchase a daily use permit.