By Scott Bergen, USFDons.com
(San Francisco) – The University of San Francisco women's basketball team hopes to get back on track as they welcome UC Santa Barbara (1-4) to the Hilltop on Sunday. It will be a matinee affair as tip-off between the Dons (2-4) and Gauchos will be at 2:00 p.m. on December 5 at War Memorial Gym.
USF is coming off of a tough loss at Sacramento State (2-6) in which they had their highest scoring night in three years, but couldn't keep the Hornets from swarming the hoop themselves. The Dons lost 106-88.
Donnisha Taylor earned the first double-double of her senior season against Sacramento State, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds. A season-high four other Dons joined Taylor in double-figure scoring, as Rheina Ale had 18, Ashley Boggs had 16, Katy Keating had 14 and Savannah Erskine had 12. Erskine also pitched in with 9 assists.
Despite the high score, the Dons struggled from the field, shooting just 35.7% on 35 of an incredible 98 shots. The Hornets were the more efficient team, earning 106 points on 46.9% shooting (38 of 81); however, the Dons did force 21 turnovers.
Keating, Taylor, Kelly Jo Mullaney and Ale have been an imposing foursome for the Dons this season, scoring 11.5, 10.9, 10.2 and 9.3 points per game, respectively. Mullaney is having a tremendous senior season, shooting .611 from the field to lead the team.
USF has struggled in the first-halves of games this season. They have been outscored by 61 points over the course of their six first-halves. But they have outscored their opponents by a combined total of four in the second-halves, so they are in good shape if that can keep it close because they tend to finish well. That bodes well against a UCSB squad that has struggled to close out games. They started the season with four losses before knocking off Northern Colorado at home last Sunday.
The Gauchos turn the ball over a lot (19.4 turnovers/game) and don't shoot well from long range (.194 3PT %), so if the Dons are able to get a lead and take care of the ball, they should be able to run away from UCSB, who like to slow the pace down.
