Watch the video highlights
SAN FRANCISCO – The USF women's basketball team overcame a slow start to improve to 2-0 in West Coast Conference play with a 77-68 overtime win over Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
Junior
Michaela Rakova filled up the stat sheet with her second double-double in a row, registering 21 points and 13 rebounds.
Rachel Howard and
Anna Seilund each added 16 points and four assists apiece.
"I think we pulled together and did what we were supposed to," said Rakova, who was 10-of-17 from the field. "I wouldn't have been able to do that without my teammates. They push me in practice; I'm really glad I have them.
"It's the start of the season. We need to stay together and play like this every time."
Santa Clara (6-7, 1-1 WCC) came out of the gates hot, connecting on 4-of-7 three-pointers en route to a 22-10 first quarter lead. Meanwhile, USF got out to a slow start on their end, shooting just 18.8 percent (3-16) in the opening period.
The second quarter proved a reversal of fortunes as USF (8-5, 2-0 WCC) took advantage of a four-minute scoreless drought by the Broncos to cut into Santa Clara's lead early in the second quarter, going on a 6-0 run that brought them within seven before Kyla Martin's three-pointer at 4:02 ended the Broncos' drought. A jumper by Howard and back-to-back jumpers by Rakova helped USF trim the deficit to four points with 2:57 in the half. Howard scored 10 of her 16 points in the second quarter to help lead the Dons close the first half trailing just 34-29.
USF continued to rally back in the third quarter as Rakova's three – her first of the season - tied it at 34-34 with 8:58 in third quarter.
Alicia Roufosse stepped up and knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Dons their first lead of the game at 36-34 shortly after. With both teams wrangling for momentum, Howard hit two free throws with 1:40 remaining that allowed the Dons to take a 46-44 lead into the final period.
The Dons held the lead for the majority of the fourth quarter, building up a game-high nine-point advantage after a Rakova jumper with just over three minutes left. But Santa Clara's Emily Wolph, who came into the game tied for second in the WCC for most three-pointers made, helped dissolve that lead by hitting two of her game-high six triples in the final two minutes, including one with 1:02 on the clock that brought Santa Clara within two. Lori Parkinson went to the line for the Broncos with 13.7 seconds left and sunk both to make it 64-64 and force overtime.
From there, USF took control, outscoring Santa Clara 13-4 in the overtime period. After Morgan McGwire's layup for the Broncos 30 seconds into overtime, the Dons went on a 7-0 run capped off by
Anna Seilund's jumper that helped USF move out to a 71-66 lead with 2:58 remaining.
Claudia Price stole the ball from Wolph driving in the lane, helping setup Seilund's two free throws with 32.1 seconds that iced the Dons' first overtime victory of the year.
This is the first time USF has opened conference play 2-0 since the 2007-08 season when the Dons topped San Diego and Portland to start the WCC slate.
USF turns its attention to a pair of road contests next week when they travel to Gonzaga for a 6 p.m. on Thursday, followed by a 1 p.m. tilt at Saint Mary's on Saturday afternoon.
Watch the full game archive:
