BYU to face San Francisco for spot in WCC semi-final

LAS VEGAS – BYU women's basketball will take on San Francisco at 1 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the 2023 University Credit Union WCC Basketball Tournament at the Orleans Arena. The winner will earn the right to face Gonzaga in the WCC semi-final game on Monday.

BYU (14-15, 9-9) vs. San Francisco (19-11, 9-9)
Saturday, March 4
1 p.m. PT
Orleans Arena
TV/Stream: BYUtv
Live Stats

Follow on Twitter: @byuwbb

SAN FRANCISCO: The Dons come into this game having received a double-bye in the 2023 WCC Tournament, their last game being played on Feb. 25 in which they downed the LMU Lions 61-51. Ioanna Krimili leads San Francisco with 17.3 points per game with Debora dos Santos (12.6) and Jasmine Gayles (10.3) also scoring in double figures for the Dons. USF comes in averaging 69.3 points while giving up 65.6 to opponents. With a win, the Dons look to make their third-straight trip to the WCC Tournament semi-final.

LAST GAME: The Cougars earned a date with the Dons after taking down the Pepperdine Waves 74-59 in their first game of the WCC Tournament. BYU took a 6-4 lead with 8:17 left in the opening quarter and never looked back. The Cougars were led by WCC First Team honorees Lauren Gustin and Nani Falatea who each finished with 23 points to lead all scorers. Gustin notched her 26th double-double of the season with 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 18 rebounds, four on the offensive glass and one assist in the 15-point BYU win. Falatea went 9-for-17 from the floor, knocking down four triples while also dishing out seven assists, and grabbing four rebounds while only committing one turnover on the day. Arielle Mackey Williams was a spark plug for the Cougars with 13 points on a 5-for-8 clip, while recording four assists, four rebounds and three steals.

NATION’S BEST: Forward Lauren Gustin was named one of 10 final candidates for the 2023 Katrina McClain Award, her second-consecutive year with that honor. She leads the nation with 16.5 rebounds per game and 496 total rebounds. She is second in the country with 26 double-doubles in 30 games. The junior from Salem, Utah has posted 20 or more rebounds eight times this year to lead the country. Gustin was also named to the Naismith College Women’s Defensive Player of the Year Award watch list.

MILESTONES AND AWARDS: Lauren Gustin was named WCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and was joined by Nani Falatea on the All-WCC First Team while Amanda Barcello was selected to the WCC All-Freshman Team this week. With six points and four rebounds against the Dons tomorrow, Gustin would become the first player at any level of NCAA basketball to record both 500 points and 500 rebounds this season.