Video recap/non-conference wrapupSAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco women's basketball team stepped on the court for the first time after an 11-day hiatus looking rusty from the tip. But as the game against San Francisco State wore on, the Dons wore out the Gators, overpowering the crosstown foe 73-45 on Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, USF extends its winning streak to seven games, and enters West Coast Conference play with a 9-2 record, matching last season's start to the year. Meanwhile, San Francisco State falls to 3-8 on the season and stands at 1-2 in CCAA action.
The Dons were led by senior
Zhane Dikes' first double-double of the season after a 17-point, 10-rebound performance. With 7:30 to play in the one-possession game, she pulled down an offensive rebound and earned a trip to the line. With that crash, Dikes notched her 500th career rebound for the Dons, and joins the exclusive list of 20 women to reach the plateau.
"What's been important for me is getting in the weight room and staying strong and big because I know a lot of guards don't rebound that well," Dikes said after the game. "I knew that if I wanted to set myself apart I really had to start rebounding. Besides
Taylor Proctor, I think I'm the next person on the team that can really get a lot of rebounds.
"I think when we get second-chance opportunities it really helps us on the offensive end, and defensively when I can rebound the ball it gets us a quick transition. I've really been focusing this year on getting as many rebounds as possible."
USF started the day with an uncharacteristically slow start as the Gators jumped on top 7-0 in the opening minutes of the contest. The Dons battled back to take their first lead of the game after
Taylor Proctor's bounce pass to the waiting hands of
Hashima Carothers tied it at 9-all. Then, Proctor went in for the layup with 1:22 to play in the first quarter to give USF the lead, which they never relinquished.
The Dons' defense held the Gators to just two baskets in the second quarter to widen the gap with 11 by the break. During the period, San Francisco state committed nine turnovers and went 2-for-9 from the field, and 3-for-6 from the free throw line.
The Dons capped the quarter with heady play on defense leading to a last-second layup.
Claudia Price took a charge against the driving Lauryn Catching with 6.3 seconds to play. With possession belonging to the Dons, Price inbounded the ball to Dikes, and the speedy guard showed her quickness with the coast-to-coast layup to beat the buzzer.
Icy from the 3-point line in the opening 20 minutes, the Dons went 0-for-8 from three in the first half but managed to have the 28-17 lead due in no small part to 17 points off of 16 San Francisco State turnovers.
USF came out of the locker room with gusto, scoring the first 10 points of the third period to stretch the lead to 39-17 with 6:42 on the clock. Defensively, the Dons held the Gators without a basket from the field for more than 10 1/2 minutes of game action, stretching back to the 6:54 mark in the second period.
With 4:25 to play, freshman
Jaylin Jones swished her first career attempt for the Dons, and USF went on a string of back-to-back-to-back triples as the crowd erupted in celebration. USF shot 67.8 percent from the floor in the second half compared to San Francisco State's 25.8 percent effort to roll to the 73-45 win.
Joining Dikes with a double-digit scoring effort, Proctor finished with 13 points and six assists, and Price added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and five rebounds. Jones went a perfect 3-for-3 from the field, and 2-for-2 from distance to add eight points in the victory.
The Dons finished shooting 50.9 percent on the day, won the battle of the boards 43 to 28 and finished with the 42 to 12 advantage in points in the paint. After being shutout from beyond the arc in the first half, the Dons connected on five of their eight second-half 3-point attempts.
"It was definitely a good win, especially with conference coming up," said Dikes. "I think it was great for everyone to get in, get minutes today, and
Jaylin Jones had a great night. We are really excited for conference play, but we need to learn from some things tonight and build on this for our big game on Monday against Saint Mary's."
USF hosts the Bay Area rival on Monday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center looking to extend the winning streak to eight for the first time since the 1996-97 season. The Dons and the Gaels tip off at 7 p.m. in the conference opener.
"They're one of our rivals, they're just down the road, and every game we play we know every single time we play them it's going to be a dogfight," added Dikes. "We have to come out here like we do day after day, work hard, and just play our game."
