SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Following a three-week absence from games, the USF Dons women's basketball team (6-7, 0-1) returned home to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center for their conference opener against the No. 18 BYU Cougars (11-1, 1-0) Thursday night with the visiting Cougars emerging victorious by a 76-64 final score.

After their first two WCC scheduled games were postponed due to COVID-19 concerns, USF fought hard against a tough opponent putting forth a strong effort all the way to the final buzzer sounded. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Playing without two of their normal starters, the Dons put forth great effort in the early portions of the game to stay close with the Cougars trailing only by four points after the first quarter.
• BYU built their lead in the second quarter as they led by double digits heading into the halftime break.
• USF never gave up late in the game as they won the final 10 minutes of play by a score of 23-15.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Jasmine Gayles was an offensive force off the bench as she notched a season-high 22 points on 7-for-11 shooting while collecting six rebounds and dishing two assists.
• Jessica McDowell-White played the entire forty minutes and collected a new season-high with 10 assists to go along with six rebounds and three points for USF.
• Kennedy Dickie had another strong outing in a reserve role as she scored 14 points, while making 3-of-6 three point attempts and grabbing eight rebounds.
• Making her first collegiate start, Claudia Langarita scored 15 points, grabbed two rebounds and dished out three assists while playing a season-high 29 minutes of action. 

UP NEXT:
The Dons will now head back out on the road for a matchup with the San Diego Toreros (8-4) Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Jenny Craig Pavillion. Saturday's contest will be the first conference game for USD as they have been under a COVID-19 related pause. 

TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE:
Single-game tickets for West Coast Conference basketball games are currently on sale at www.usfdons.com/tickets. 

Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at www.usfdons.com/shop.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF women's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsWBB on Twitter, @USFDonsWBB on Instagram and @USFDonsWBB on Facebook.