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LAS VEGAS – Last-second heroics and late-game free throws in the overtime period propelled the San Francisco women's basketball team to the quarterfinal comeback victory on Thursday night at the Orleans Arena. The No. 6 seeded Dons earned the 84-80 overtime victory over San Diego, the No. 3 seed in the West Coast Conference Championships.
USF now matches its win total from a year ago, reaching back-to-back 19-win seasons for the first time since 1996-97. The Toreros end their run at the WCC tournament with a 23-7 mark. In three games against San Diego this season, two went to overtime and the third was decided by five points in regulation.
"It just was incredible the way that our team played to take us to the overtime," noted USF head coach
Jennifer Azzi. "They played and fought so hard. This was a players' game. Rachel and Taylor just played their hearts out. Taylor had that look in her eye, and so did Rachel in the second half that we were not going to let this thing slip away, and they got stops when they needed to. I'm impressed with the heart and fight of this team. It's not about the stat sheet."
For the last-second heroics, senior
Taylor Proctor banked in a 3-point shot with 0.7 seconds to play in regulation to tie the game at 73 apiece. The three was the punctuation mark on a contest which saw the Dons down by 12 points early in the third quarter.
After Malina Hood made a pair of free throws with 7:43 to play in the third period, San Diego enjoyed the 40-28 lead, expanding quickly on the eight point margin seen at the midway break. The Dons began to whittle away at the Toreros lead, getting it to a single-digit affair after
Raushan Gultekin passed to Proctor in the paint. The basket sliced the San Diego lead to 46-37 with 5:12 to play in the third, and on the ensuing possession,
Rachel Howard scooped up the steal and made one of two from the line. But after a layup for Hood at the end of the period, the Dons still found themselves in a nine-point deficit.
USF cut it to five after
Kalyn Simon's triple with 7:29 to play, and after successful trips to the line for Proctor and
Hashima Carothers, it was a one-point game. San Diego continued to maintain the tenuous advantage throughout, but the Dons went basket-for-basket to stay at the ready for the victory. After Proctor's three sent the contest to overtime, the momentum was on USF's side.
USF nabbed the lead with 2:39 remaining in the extra period, seeing its first lead on the scoreboard since there was 5.9 seconds remaining in the first. All 11 points for USF in the final five minutes of the night came from the free throw line, where Howard, Proctor and
Zhane Dikes helped ice the 84-80 victory, advancing the team to the semifinal round for the second straight season.
The Dons shot 50 percent from the floor for the night, including an 8-of-12 effort from distance. Despite Maya and Malina Hood combining for 55 points and 18 rebounds, and the Toreros holding a 41-27 advantage on the glass and a 20-point different in the paint, the Dons' strong finish was enough to advance the team to the semifinals.
Howard finished the game with a team-high 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, and a 5-of-6 effort from three. Proctor added 24 points – all of which came in the second half of the action – and seven rebounds in the win.
"She never gets down when she's not scoring," noted Azzi of her senior forward. "She understands that her asset is just being out there on the floor because she does draw so much attention. We have other weapons, and if other people can get going that helps open it up for her."
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Next up, the Dons take on the winner of tomorrow's quarterfinal matchup between Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount. Tip off for USF's semifinal game on Monday is slated for 2 p.m. The contest will be televised on BYUtv, and streamed on TheW.tv.
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