Box Score
SAN LUIS OBISPSO, Calif. – The last break of the San Francisco Dons women's basketball huddle was "Box out!" On Friday at the Cal Poly Holiday Beach Classic, it took was one final box out off the free throw line for the Dons to defeat UC Davis 69-67 at the Robert A. Mott Gymnasium.
USF's final rebound, pulled down by
Taylor Proctor, sealed the victory and stymied the Aggies' comeback attempt. Â
"When we came out of the huddle, the coaches were like everybody needs to box out, we need to pinch Fipps because she's probably the best rebounder on that team," Proctor explained. "So it was just our job, and everybody had to do their thing. The ball came to my side and I grabbed it. It was a huge board for us."
USF found itself up by three points with 2.5 seconds remaining in regulation when UC Davis' Brianna Salvatore earned a trip to the line. After making her first free throw try to pull within two, Salvatore's second attempt careened off the rim and into the hands of the sophomore from Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Dons held on to secure the victory and move to 2-3 on the season, while UC Davis fell to 1-4 with the loss. USF had four players break the double-digit scoring mark with
Rachel Howard leading the way with a 17-point outing. Howard, a freshman from Berkeley, Calif., finished with the game-winning 3-pointer with 23.3 seconds remaining in the contest.
"We work a lot on penetrate and pitch, and Taj did a perfect job of drawing all the defense in and kicking it out to me," Howard remarked on her only converted 3-pointer on the night. "I knew it was the right shot to take. I was wide open and thankfully we made it."
Also contributing to the offensive effort was Proctor's 12 points and five rebounds, and 11 points and a team-high four assists from
Taj Winston.
Claudia Price, a freshman from Mesquite, Texas, posted 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the Dons, her second-straight double-double outing.
The Aggies jumped out to the early lead with Sydnee Fipps scoring the first six points of the contest for UC Davis off two long-range buckets before the game got locked into a tight contest. A free throw from Celia Marfone with 6:05 to play in the first half gave UC Davis a 20-19 advantage. But the Dons got into the "Black Friday" spirit with charges by Winston,
Jamie Katuna and Howard in a 90 second span, and USF jumped to a 26-20 lead with 2:42 to play in the period.
The Dons and Aggies went on a scoring tear to end the half, and USF found itself up 34-29 at the midpoint break. All but one of UC Davis' first half baskets was from beyond the arc, and their 3-point barrage continued to begin the second half. All told, 15 of the Aggies' 20 baskets on the night were from long distance, and UC Davis' 39 attempts from 3-point range represents a new school record for the Aggies.
UC Davis quickly erased its halftime deficit and jumped out to a five-point lead as Alyson Doherty's layup put the score at 45-40 with 15:09 to play. The Aggies continued to maintain the lead until the 9:34 mark when the Dons went on a 7-0 run. A fast break jumper by
Zhané Dikes was followed by a steal and 3-pointer off the hand of Proctor. USF gathered up the defensive rebound on the next possession and Price converted a putback to give the Dons a four point lead with 7:49 remaining.
Idit Oryon's shot from beyond the arc with 3:32 knotted the game at 62 apiece before the Dons yet again edged out to a four-point margin. With the score at 66-62 with 1:41 to play, Fipps nailed a jumper to slice into the USF lead. Doherty went to the line for the Aggies with 50.6 ticks on the clock and converted both attempts of her 1-and-1 to tie the score one final time before Howard drained her three to give the Dons the lead for good.
"We really needed this," Howard said after the victorious effort. "As a team, we all talked about establishing who we are, and I think this is a big win for us in defining ourselves as a team."
That definition includes an effective offensive unit. For the fifth-straight game, USF had four players break the double-digit scoring mark. The Dons shot 42.9 percent from the field while holding UC Davis to 32.8 percent shooting. USF scored 30 of its 69 points in the paint, and went 11-of-14 from the free throw line to account for more than half of the night's offense. But for Proctor, it all comes down to the D.
"Overall, our defense was really good this game," she said. "It was probably one of our best defensive games this year, and I think that rebounding does win games. We've been preaching it from day one, and tonight is proof that it makes a difference."
The rebounding battle, a vital component in the win, was won by USF 44-38. The gritty defense took charges, battled for loose balls and stopped the long-range UC Davis sharpshooters when it counted.
The Dons meet up with tournament hosts, Cal Poly, tomorrow at 7 p.m., from Robert A. Mott Gymnasium. In last season's matchup with the Mustangs, the Dons warded off a late run by Cal Poly to escape with a 71-67 victory.
"Getting the win over Cal Poly last year, we know a lot of their plays and personnel," Proctor said. "Overall, coming from this last game against UC Davis, it's going to give us a lot of confidence going into the next one. We just have to come out hard like we did tonight."
