SAN FRANCISCO – The same formula that helped the Dons defeat Gonzaga on Thursday night held true on Saturday afternoon as the USF women's basketball team connected for a season-high 15 three-pointers en route to an 83-71 win over Portland from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
The Dons (15-12, 9-7 WCC) shot a season-best 15-for-24 (62.5 percent) from the perimeter, including 5-of-7 in the fourth quarter to help them pull away.
Junior
Michaela Rakova and senior
Rachel Howard each poured in 19 points and hit three triples on the day, while junior
Anna Seilund scored 16 and matched her career high with a game-best eight assists. Redshirt junior
Kalyn Simon was locked in from deep, going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc as she tallied 15 points in the win.
"It was a big week for us beating Gonzaga and we needed to make sure we prepared well for today's game," Rakova said, "but it's good finishing out the week strong. I had nothing to lose after the first half where I didn't play that well, so I said 'I'm just going to play'."
Rakova had just two points in the first half, but the Dons led 32-31 heading into the intermission. Howard, meanwhile, scored 13 of her 19 points in the first half, going 3-of-4 from three-point range over the first two quarters.
USF started to create some separation in the third quarter when they shot 56 percent from the field and outscored Portland (6-21, 4-12 WCC) 24-14. The Dons hit four shots in a row midway through the third quarter that helped them string together an 11-2 spurt capped off by a pair of Seilund free throws that put USF ahead 53-43 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter.
Howard's jumper to start the fourth quarter helped set the tone as USF eventually put the game out of reach by extending a game-high 19 point lead with another free throw from Seilund with 2:25 remaining.
"I was a little worried coming off a big win over Gonzaga how we were going to respond," Goodenbour said. "The first half I felt like we were a little sluggish and not doing some things that I felt would lend themselves to making us an efficient team. I thought they did a much better job in the second half of being able to find one another in our motion offense and making appropriate cuts and drives and dishes, which is why we were able to shoot so well."
"We're good shooters when we can set ourselves up and step into the shot, which were the types of shots we were taking in the second half, whereas the first half, we were trying to shoot off the dribble, create our own shots and going too fast."
Portland got 20 points from Kaylie Van Loo, while Jojuan Carrington added 14 and Holly Blades pitched in with. Julie Spencer grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and narrowly missed out on a double-double, tallying nine points.
The Dons close out the regular season with a pair of home dates next week, starting with a 7 p.m. contest against Loyola Marymount on Thursday. The Dons will then honor their four seniors on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Pepperdine in the regular season finale.
Individual game tickets for all USF home games this season are available online at USFDons.com or by calling (415) 422-2USF. General admission tickets are available for as low as $10. All USFCA faculty, staff and students with a valid ID, and youth 12 and under enter free.
Parking for USF home games is typically available free of charge two hours prior to tip-off until one hour after the conclusion of the game in any campus lot, with the exception of designated green parking spots and the top of Hayes-Healy garage.
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