USF women stun BYU in WCC tournament final
USF women stun BYU in WCC tournament final
LAS VEGAS — USF didn’t lead until there were less than 20 seconds left in Tuesday’s WCC women’s tournament final against BYU.
Sixth-seeded USF, which was down by 15 late in the first quarter, stunned the Cougars 70-68 at the Orleans Arena to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
On the ensuing possession, Kristine Nielson missed from long range and tournament MVP Taylor Proctor grabbed the rebound.
BYU had a chance to tie or win it but Dikes stole the ball from Kalani Purcell, and the Dons went in pure celebration mode.
BYU scored on the game’s first possession and the Dons trailed from that point until Proctor dropped home a three-pointer to make it a 58-58 game early in the fourth quarter.
Proctor converted a tough drive and was fouled, but she couldn’t convert the three-point play.
With that trey, she became the conference’s career leading scorer for women and men.
On Monday against Santa Clara, the 5-foot-10 senior guard tied former the mark of former Loyola Marymount forward Hank Gathers at 2,490.
BYU’s Cassie Broadhead connected on a three-pointer just before the buzzer and the period ended with the Cougars up 58-54.