Box Score
(San Jose, Calif.) - Behind a 23-point effort from Rheina Ale, the University of San Francisco women's basketball team recorded an 88-77 win at San Jose State Sunday afternoon. The win was the first of the 2011-12 season for the Dons (1-1).
Ale fell two points shy of her career-high for scoring, but registered a personal best with nine assists. She also added eight rebounds – all defensive – as she paced a group of four Dons with 10-plus points.
San Jose State jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, but thanks to 3-point basket from Katy Keatings, San Franciso went up 9-7 at 15:46 in the first half. The Dons would hold a pretty firm hold onto the lead, for the remainder of the game, only relinquishing it once.
The Dons closed the half with a 55-41 advantage. The 14-point difference was the highest of the opening 20 minutes.
After the break, San Jose State gave USF a run for its' money, pulling within five points with 9:50 remaining. The Dons then opened an 11-3 run extending their lead to 79-65. During the run, freshman Taj Winston posted six points to reignite the squad.
The game was full of miscues from both teams, as the Dons and Spartans combined for 58 turnovers.
San Francisco shot at a 49.1 clip in the contest, marking the highest field goal percentage in a game for the Dons since they hit 52.4 percent of their shots last November against Rhode Island.
Joining Ale with double-digit scoring efforts for the Green and Gold were Keating, Winston, and Mel Khlok. Winston posted 16 points of the bench with seven rebounds. Keating added 14 – all in the first half – thanks to four baskets from beyond the arc. Khlok added 13.
Whitney Daniels led the Dons defense with nine rebounds, a block and a steal.
San Jose State was led with 18 point efforts from Brittany Johnson and Sara Plavijanin.
San Francisco will return to action Wednesday, as they host Cal Poly at War Memorial Gym. Tip is slated for 6 p.m. The contest will be the first game of a doubleheader with the USF men's team. The men will host San Jose State at War Memorial Gym at 8 p.m.
