Box Score Rheina Ale joined elite company Wednesday as the senior posted 23 points as the University of San Francisco women's basketball team dropped a hard fought 84-66 decision to Colorado at the Coors Event Center in Boulder, Colo. In the first half, Ale scored her 1,000th career point.
With 1:26 remaining in the first half, Ale went to the line for two free throws. After missing the first, the native of Carson, Calif. sank the second to become the 19th player in USF (1-7) women's basketball history to score 1,000 or more points. The captain entered Wednesday's game with 990 career points. Ale reached the illustrious mark in 95 career games played.
Her team-high 23 points Wednesday also moved Ale into the all-time scoring ranks with 1,013 to rank 17th in program history. She now holds spots in three all-time USF career categories and is on the verge of moving into the top-10 in two others.
San Francisco played tight against Colorado in the opening minutes but couldn't continue the intensity. The Buffaloes opened a 16-2 run, to go up by 14, 23-9, at 12:05. CU continued to maintain a double-digit lead for a majority of the first half, taking a 46-31 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The Dons came out of the half with a vengeance. After a Colorado basket to open scoring, San Francisco went on a 10-0 run to pull within six, 48-42. CU responded by holding USF scores for nearly five minutes to go up by 18. San Francisco was unable to recover as Colorado helped a lead of 12 or more throughout the remainder of the contest.
The two teams played evenly, though, in the second half. The Buffaloes outscored the Dons by just three points over the final 20 minutes, thanks to a 44.4 shooting percentage from USF. Colorado shot 43.3 percent in the second half, 50.8 percent for the evening.
Mel Khlok joined Ale as a double-digit scorer for the Green and Gold. The junior posted 11 points to mark her seventh game this season with 10 or more points.
Taj Winston added eight points and team-leading seven rebounds for USF.
Chucky Jeffery led Colorado with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
The Dons will return to action Friday as they travel to UC Santa Barbara to take on the Gauchos at 7 p.m.
