LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Battling until the final minute in their first game of the WCC Tournament, the USF Dons women's basketball team (19-12, 9-9) dropped a close and hard fought game to the BYU Cougars (16-15, 9-9) 66-56 on Saturday afternoon at Orleans Arena. 

The Dons' offense was led by a strong performance from Debora dos Santos who scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds for USF while both Jasmine Gayles and Kennedy Dickie each scored in double figures for USF against the Cougars. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Both teams got off to a slow start offensively to begin the game as USF got their first bucket of the game on a nice turn around basket in the paint from dos Santos. USF continued to feed dos Santos throughout the quarter as she was able to generate quality looks at the basket which gave the Cougars just an 11-10 lead. BYU scored a couple of baskets late in the quarter as they held an 18-12 lead after one quarter. 
• Down a few baskets early in the quarter, the Dons' defense brought a ton of intensity as they battled back with a key 8-2 run led by a three-point hit from Dickie that was followed by baskets from Kia Vaalavirta and dos Santos that forced BYU into a timeout as they held just a 24-22 lead. The Dons took their first lead of the game after Jessica McDowell-White knocked down a key three-point shot as USF held a 27-26 lead at the break. 
• USF was able to score the first points of the second half as dos Santos hit a turn around shot off the glass that brought USF's lead to three points. BYU refused to go away throughout the quarter as they were able to build a four point lead before the Dons ended the quarter on a run of their own. Scoring the last nine points of the period, USF ended the third quarter in style as Loren Christie knocked down a huge corner three that put the Dons up 43-39 heading into the fourth quarter. 
• BYU was able to take control of the game in the fourth quarter as they continued to shoot the ball well in route to their 66-56 win on Saturday. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• dos Santos led the way for USF on Saturday afternoon as she scored 12 points on 6-of-12 from the floor while also grabbing six rebounds and coming away with a steal for her team.
• Gayles provided a good spark for the Dons off the bench totaling 10 points while coming away with three steals and securing a pair of rebounds against the Cougars. 
• Dickie poured in 11 points and grabbed seven boards for USF while also blocking a shot and coming away with a steal on Saturday afternoon. 

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.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our department sponsor – Evergood Sausages - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.