SAN FRANCISCO—A solid 76-67 win against San Francisco put the BYU women’s basketball team’s league record at 3-1 as the team continued to blow through the first round of West Coast Conference play.

"I'm very happy with the win," BYU head coach Jeff Judkins said. "Our starting five did a great job today. Jen (Hamson) came in and gave us a big lift, especially with her inside precense. Haley (Steed) had an outstanding game and Riley continues to play her best games right now."

Kristen Riley, who ranks second in league play for points-per-game, put up 19 points for the Cougars (14-3, 3-1) with five rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Haley Steed had 13 points, shooting 5-for-6  from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, and five assists. True freshman Lexi Eaton scored 11 points, shooting 50 percent from the field and 100 percent from the free throw line.

Hamson led on the boards with seven, followed by Dani Peterson with six.

As a team, the Cougars shot 52.6 percent from the field and 45 percent from behind the 3-point line. BYU grabbed 41 rebounds, with 33 of those coming while on defense.

After struggling to get points on the board and allowing a 6-0 Don run, Riley put in a jumper and trey to cut the deficit to 8-5 after three minutes of play. True to her performances in previous conference contests this season, Riley hit double-figures in scoring before the halfway mark of the first half after tipping in the ball to tie the game at 16-16.

Hamson took the Cougars into their first lead of the game on a free throw and increased that lead with a layup off a Steed assist. The layup capped off a 7-0 scoring streak for BYU. The Cougars let USF (3-14, 1-3) back within one, but Riley and Eaton teamed up to push BYU ahead 24-18.

BYU took advantage of Hamson’s height in the first half, dishing the ball to the paint for Hamson to lay in. Hamson also proved tough on the boards, pulling down six before halftime.

With 4:22 left on the clock, Kim Parker pulled up for a 3-pointer to help maintain the lead and Steed sent the Cougars into the locker room with a score of 38-32 on a deep jump shot.

Riley ended the half with 13 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the field, and Hamson had eight.

Steed started the second half with the same intensity as she ended the first, draining a 3-pointer for a 41-32 BYU lead. Riley increased the lead to 11 on a layup for the Cougars’ first double-digit lead of the game.

The Dons couldn’t control Steed, who continued her dominance from 3-point land with her second trey of the half at 16:11. Eaton followed suit with her own 3-pointer to take the score to 51-38.

At the 12-minute mark, Riley tied her season high of 19 points as she spurred BYU to a 15-point lead. Eaton and fellow true freshman Xojian Harry hit back-to-back threes followed by a Stephanie Vermunt jumper and three to increase that lead to 66-44.

A Stephanie Rovetti layup gave the Cougars their largest lead of the game at 71-46 and Ashley Garfield pushed the team past its season average for points in a game with her own layup.

BYU allowed the Dons to come back at the end, but the last-minute effort wasn’t enough to overtake the Cougars. The game ended with a 76-67 BYU victory.

The victory against San Francisco marked the end of an eight-day, four-game stretch for the Cougars which included three road matchups. BYU has a five-day break and will meet Pepperdine at the Marriott Center Thursday at 7 p.m.

Postgame Notes

Team

In the game at San Francisco, the Cougars outrebounded the Dons 41-33 marking the 10^th time on the season that BYU has recorded more boards than its opponents.

The Cougars once again dished out more assists than their opponents. Against San Francisco they had eight more, 14-6.

Player

For the fifth-straight time senior Kristen Riley recorded double figures in points with 19 to lead the Cougars. They mark the seventh double digit-outing of the year and the 34^th overall for her.  Riley also picked up season- and career-bests in blocks with four. The blocks were also team and game highs.

Haley Steed dished out five assists for team and game highs. She also finished the game with 13 total points for her seventh double-figure game of the year and the 35^th of her career.

In WCC action, true freshman Lexi Eaton has had three-straight games putting up double digits in points. At San Francisco, she had 11 points marking her 11^th career double-figure contest.

After securing an 80-47 victory hosting LMU in its first ever WCC game Thursday night, the BYU women’s basketball team (13-3, 2-1) takes to the road one more time. The Cougars go back to northern California for a matchup against the University of San Francisco (3-13, 1-2) on Sat., Jan. 7 in a 2 p.m. PT tip off.

2011-12 Stats Summary
- Shooting from field: (.437, 423-967)
- Shooting from three-point line: (.355, 109-307)
- Shooting from free-throw line: (.734, 210-286)
- Average points per game: 72.8
- Average rebounds per game: 40.4
- Average assists per game: 19.2
- Average steals per game: 10.1
- Average blocks per game: 5.6
- Average turnovers per game: 16.3

About BYU
-The Cougars leading scorer is sophomore guard Kim Parker who averages 11.7 points per game.
-Kristen Riley is at the top of the leaderboard in rebounds averaging 6.4 per game.
-Haley Steed leads the way in assists and steals with 104 and 36 respectively.
-Jennifer Hamson tops the list in blocks with 32.
-Dani Peterson has the team’s best field goal percentage (.566, 47-83).
-True freshman Lexi Eaton has the team’s best free throw percentage (.875, 28-32).
-Stephanie Vermunt is the squad’s best scorer from behind the arc, shooting (.579, 22-38).

Record Watching
- Haley Steed has recorded 426 assists as of 01/06/12, placing her in eighth place all-time. She needs six to tie for seventh place with former assistant coach and standout Stacy Jensen’s 432.
- Steed has a total of 183 steals to date and needs 46 to tie for seventh place with Karina Zapata’s career high 229.
- Steed has made 156 3-pointers as of 01/06/12 putting her in sixth place overall. She needs 15 to tie for fifth place with Thais Kidd's career best 171.
- Kristen Riley has 65 blocks as of 01/06/12 and needs five to tie for sixth place all-time with former teammate Mindy Bonham’s 70.
- Riley has grabbed 577 rebounds as of 1/6/12 and needs 25 to tie for 10th place all-time with Cathy Nixon's 602.
- As of 01/06/12, 6-7 sophomore center Jennifer Hamson has tallied 77 blocks and needs two to tie for fifth place with Cathy Nixon’s 79 total.

SATURDAY WCC OPPONENT
SAN FRANCISCO
The University of San Francisco has compiled a (3-13, 1-2) record with a conference win over LMU last week. This week they traveled to Saint Mary’s where they lost 64-42. For the Dons, 5-8 senior guard Rheina Ale leads the offensive presence averaging 14.1 points per game while grabbing 4.4 rebounds. Ale also has the most assists and steals on the team with 41 and 20 respectively. Whitney Daniels, a 6-2 junior forward, is at the top of the leaderboard in the rebound category grabbing 6.6 boards per contest. San Francisco is shooting 37 percent from the field, 31 percent from behind the arc and 67 percent at the foul line. They are scoring 62.4 points per game. Head coach Jennifer Azzi is in her second season at the helm of the women’s basketball program at USF.

Series Breakdown
Overall Series Record: BYU leads the series 6-0
BYU Record in Provo: 3-0
BYU Record in San Francisco: 2-0
BYU Record in Neutral Sites: 1-0
BYU Record under coach Judkins: 3-0
BYU Record in Overtime Games: n/a
Longest BYU Win Streak: 6 (1980-2009)
Longest USF Win Streak: n/a
Largest BYU Margin of Victory: 38, 119-81 in 1984
Largest USF Margin of Victory: n/a

Last Meeting
These two new WCC teams met last during the 2009-10 season when the Dons participated in the Hukilau Invitational on the BYU-H campus. In the game played on 12/4/09, sophomore Kristen Riley led the Cougars with 15 points, scoring 13 of those in the first half. Freshman Alexis Kaufusi contributed 12 points while Haley Hall chipped in eight points and dished out a team best four assists to the winning effort.  BYU led by 21, 41-20 at the break eventually getting the 72-60 victory.

Team’s Travel Plans
Team Flight: Delta #4588 departs Salt Lake City on Fri., Jan. 6 at 3:05 p.m., arrives in San Francisco at 4:19 p.m.
Team Flight: United #6418 departs San Francisco on Sat., Jan. 7 at 7 p.m., arrives in Salt Lake City at 9:42 p.m.
Team Hotel: Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf, 1250 Columbus Avenue, 415-775-7555, 415-474-2099, fax.

What’s Next
After the road game at San Francisco, BYU returns home for its next WCC contest. The Cougars host Pepperdine on Thurs., Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. That game is set to air live worldwide on BYUtv. The team heads back to California once again, this time to battle WCC foe San Diego on Sat. Jan. 14 in a 2 p.m. tip.