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SAN FRANCISCO – Rachel Howard made her final appearance on the Hilltop one to remember as the senior scored a career-high 37 points in leading the Dons to an 84-78 win over Pepperdine from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Saturday afternoon.
Howard went 10-for-23 from the field and established a new season best by going 6-of-13 from the perimeter as she surpassed her previous high of 30 points. Her total is the third-highest single game total in USF history.
Junior guard
Anna Seilund just missed out on her first career triple double as she registered 17 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, which matched her career best.
Redshirt junior
Kalyn Simon chipped in with 14 points to round out the Dons in double figures.
"Senior Day is always a really emotional day for the kids," head coach
Molly Goodenbour said. "You never know how you're going to start out the game. We started out on fire, which is sometimes scarier than when you start in a hole."
Pepperdine scored first when Allie Green hit a three on the Waves' first possession, but then USF (17-12, 11-7 WCC) responded with a 16-0 run that featured five three-pointers between Seilund and Howard and a free throw from junior
Michaela Rakova.
Just as quickly, the Dons went four minutes without a bucket, but still carried a 24-14 lead at the end of the opening period. Howard scored 14 points and went 4-for-4 from three-point range in the first quarter alone.
"Rachel's playing some of the best basketball probably of her career right now," added Goodenbour. "She's been really assertive, very confident with the ball in her hands. I'm really happy for her. It's great for her to be able to finish this strong."
Howard has averaged 27 points per game over the Dons' four-game winning streak, their longest of the season.
With USF leading by 10 to start the second half, Pepperdine (7-22, 5-13 WCC) opened the third quarter with a quick 9-2 run that brought the Waves within one on Megan House's layup with just over six minutes left in the quarter.
Pepperdine kept the margin close until Yasmine Robinson-Bacote gave Pepperdine its first lead since the first shot of the game when she knocked down a pair of free throws at the 1:30 mark that put the Waves ahead 51-50. USF managed to wrestle back a 54-52 lead heading into the final frame.
The Waves rode the coattails of Robinson-Bacote's 13 points in the fourth quarter that helped Pepperdine get within two with just over six minutes remaining, but a 10-2 run midway through the final quarter helped the Dons swing the momentum back in their favor for good, punctuated by
Nia Alexander's jumper that put USF up 10 with four minutes left.
The Dons didn't hit a field goal over the final three minutes, but took advantage of the foul game by sinking all 10 free throws down the stretch to close it out.
USF lost senior
Claudia Price early in the third quarter after she collided with a Pepperdine player chasing down a rebound in the paint.
"Claudia's been a really good leader, great communicator with her teammates as well," Goodenbour said. "Unfortunately, she wasn't able to finish this game but we're confident she'll be back and able to finish out her senior year the way that she wants to."
Fellow senior
Hashima Carothers finished with seven rebounds in her 23 minutes of action on Senior Day.
"Shima brings some energy on defense and does a great job rebounding," added Goodenbour. "We need those players to play like seniors and for the most part they have this latter part of the year."
Robinson-Bacote led the Waves with 29 points, while Green scored 22 and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Barbara Sitanggan added 10 as the other Wave in double figures.
USF now shifts its attention to the West Coast Conference Championships that begin next week at The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Dons will be the No. 4 seed and are slated to matchup with Loyola Marymount (14-15, 9-9 WCC), who claimed the No. 5 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker over No. 6 seed Santa Clara (14-15, 9-9 WCC). USF and LMU will tip-off at 8 p.m. on Thursday evening from The Orleans.
"The kids have really embraced how we've been playing the last part of this year," Goodenbour said. "I think we're in a pretty good place right now and we're all excited about going to the tournament, so we'll see what happens."
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