MORAGA, Calif.—A rough New Year’s Eve nailbiter ended in a 54-48 loss for the BYU women’s basketball team, which was narrowly defeated by Saint Mary’s in the Cougars’ West Coast Conference debut Saturday.

The loss was the Cougars’ first in more than a month and ended a 10-game winning streak.

“I’m very disappointed,” BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. “This was a game we should not have lost. We didn’t play like I know we can. We didn’t execute well and gave them too many second-chance opportunities.”

Kristen Riley led the Cougars with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Kim Parker had 10 points and four rebounds and Haley Steed led in assists with five and steals with three.

BYU (11-3, 0-1) shot 32.6 percent from the field and had 20 turnovers. The Gaels (11-4, 2-0) shot 29.4 percent from the field and also had 20 turnovers.

Dani Peterson got into position on the baseline for an easy bucket off a Lexi Eaton assist in the first 30 seconds. Parker followed with another jumper to put BYU ahead 4-0. The Cougars went cold for the next four minutes, giving Saint Mary’s an opportunity to bounce ahead 10-4 before Riley ended the scoreless streak on a layup.

Six Cougar fouls in the first five minutes helped the Gaels maintain the lead until a 9-0 run put BYU back on top. Stephanie Vermunt stole the lead on a corner 3-pointer but Gael Jackie Nared’s trey kicked off a 9-0 run for Saint Mary’s to take the lead.

Peterson closed the gap on a layup with 6:34 on the clock, bringing the Cougars within two. BYU stayed close on Saint Mary’s heels for the rest of the half, keeping within one possession until a 4-0 Gael scoring streak in the last minute of the half sent the Cougars to the locker room with a 30-24 deficit.

Riley led the Cougars with 12 points in the first half after seven free throw opportunities. She also had seven rebounds.

BYU forced 12 turnovers in the first half, scoring 11 points off those turnovers. The Cougars were plagued by fouls and turnovers in the first 20 minutes, with nine fouls and 11 turnovers.

Parker opened the second half with 3-pointer to cut the lead to 30-27. The Cougars held Saint Mary’s to 0-for-17 shooting from the field in the first 13 minutes of the second half, allowing Steed to tie the game at 31-31 on a jump shot. Parker seized the lead at the 12:22 mark on her second 3-pointer of the afternoon.

With 4:46 left on the clock, Riley gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game, 44-35 with her second 3-pointer of the game.

Saint Mary’s then went on a 10-1 run to cut the lead to one, 45-44 with just under two minutes remaining on the clock. Haley Steed would give BYU a three-point cushion, 47-44 on a jumper with 43 seconds left in the contest.

With five seconds left to play, Jasmine Smith stole BYU’s inbound pass and was fouled.  Smith then drained both free throws to give the Gaels the lead at 49-48. Two late technical fouls on BYU and four more free throws by Smith gave Saint Mary’s a 54-48 victory.

With their first WCC contest behind them, the Cougars head to Portland to take on the Pilots Monday at 2 p.m. PST.

Postgame Notes

Team

With the 48-54 road loss to Saint Mary, the Cougars ended their 10-game win streak. Their record stands at 11-3, 0-1. The loss is BYU’s first league loss since joining the West Coast Conference.

The Cougars dished out 12 assists compared to just seven for the Gaels.

BYU pulled down 31 rebounds to Saint Mary’s 43 marking the third time on the year that an opponent has had more rebounds than the Cougars.

Player

Kristen Riley picked up her second double double of the season and the sixth of her career with game highs in points (17) and rebounds (11). The points mark her fourth double-figure outing of the year and the 31^st of her career and tied for season highs.

Haley Steed dished out a team- and game-high five assists in the game vs. Saint Mary’s.

For the third straight time Kim Parker put up double digits in points with 10. It marks the 11^th of the season and the 16^th in her career that she’s put up double digits in points.

Competing in its first year as a West Coast Conference school, BYU takes its 10-game streak on the road to open up the 2012 league season. The Cougars (11-2, 0-0) play at St. Mary’s (9-4, 0-0) on New Year’s Eve at 2 p.m.

The team then travels to Portland (7-7, 0-0) for a matchup against the Portland Pilots on Monday, Jan. 2 in a 2 p.m. tip off. That game can be heard live on BYU Radio.

2011-12 Stats Summary
-- Shooting from field: (.440, 348-791)
-- Shooting from three-point line: (.347, 83-229)
-- Shooting from free-throw line: (.728, 179-246)
-- Average points per game: 73.7
-- Average rebounds per game: 40.6
-- Average assists per game: 20.0
-- Average steals per game: 11.2
-- Average blocks per game: 5.2
-- Average turnovers per game: 16.3

About BYU
--The Cougars leading scorer is sophomore guard Kim Parker who averages 12.5 points per game.
--Haley Steed and Kristen Riley are tied on the glass grabbing 6.1 rebounds a game each.
--Steed leads the way in assists and steals with 86 and 30 respectively.
--Jennifer Hamson tops the list in blocks with 27.
--Hamson has the team’s best field goal percentage (.580, 29-50).
--True freshman Lexi Eaton has the team’s best free throw percentage (.893, 25-28).

Cougs Receiving Votes
With a 11-2 overall record, the BYU women’s basketball is receiving (2) votes in this week’s (12/26/11) Associated Press Poll. They are also receiving one vote in this week’s USA Today ESPN Coaches Poll.

Win Streak
The Cougars have won 10 games in a row, which is the longest current winning streak in the West Coast Conference.
Last season BYU went on a 12-game win streak during the 2011 Mountain West Conference race.
The longest win streak in the program’s history is 15 games played from 12/31/92 to 2/26/93.

SATURDAY OPPONENT
ST. MARY’S
St. Mary’s enters the first week of WCC action with a 9-4, 0-0 record and is scheduled to play at Loyola Marymount on Thursday, Dec. 29 before battling the Cougars on New Year’s Eve. The Gaels have won four straight including big victories over Pac-12 foes Oregon State and Oregon and are 4-2 at home. Senior point guard Jasmine Smith is one of two players putting up double digits in points with 17.5 while grabbing 2.6 rebounds per game. She’s followed by Jackie Nared who averages 12.2 points and ranks second in the rebound category, getting 7.1 boards a contest. Forward Danielle Mauldin tops the team on the glass grabbing 8.2 rebounds per game. St. Mary’s shoots 40 percent from the field and scores 67.9 points per game. Head coach Paul Thomas is in his sixth season with the Gaels women’s basketball program.

Series Breakdown
This will be the first meeting between these two new conference foes.

MONDAY OPPONENT
PORTLAND
The University of Portland has compiled a 7-7, 0-0 record to date winning their last two games with victories over Boise State and CS Northridge and have a 5-3 mark on its home court. They open up WCC action hosting Gonzaga on December 29. The Pilots have two players scoring in double figures with 18.6 points from Natalie Day and 10.9 points from ReZina TecleMariam. Day tops the list in the rebound category grabbing 7.6 boards per game. TechleMariam has the most assists and steals on the team with 71 and 32 respectively. Portland shoots 39 percent from the field and is scoring 62.8 points per game. Head coach Jim Sollars has been at the helm of the women’s basketball program for the past 25 years.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: BYU leads the series 8-4
BYU Record in Provo: 3-2
BYU Record in Portland: 4-2
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 1-0
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 4-0
BYU Record in Overtime Games: n/a

Travel Plans
Team Flight: Delta #1160 departs Salt Lake City on Fri., Dec. 30 at 11:20 a.m., arriving in Oakland at 12:25 p.m.
Team Flight: Alaska/Horizon Air #225 departs Oakland on Sat. Dec. 31 at 8:30 p.m., arriving in Portland at 10:12 p.m.
Team Flight: Delta #0952 departs Portland on Mon. Jan. 2 at 6:30 p.m., arriving in Salt Lake City at 9:15 p.m.
Team Hotel: Walnut Creek Marriott, 2355 N. Main Street, 925-934-2000, 925-934-6374, fax.
Team Hotel: Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, 1401 SW Naito Parkway, 503-226-7600, 503-221-1789, fax.

What’s Next
After the two WCC road games, BYU returns home for their first WCC contest in the Marriott Center hosting LMU on Jan. 5 at 5 p.m. Then it’s back on the road again to northern California for a game at San Francisco on Sat. Jan. 7.