Game 8: USF (5-2, 0-0 WCC) vs. UC Riverside (4-3, 0-0 Big West)Friday, Dec. 4 | 6 p.m. | War Memorial at The Sobrato Center (4,268)
Series Record: USF leads, 2-1
Watch/Stats/Social:
WCC Game Center |
TicketsComplete game notes (PDF)#OneTeam
The Dons return home to take on UC Riverside, looking to extend its winning streak to four, after taking victories over North Dakota, Sacramento State and Nevada in its last three outings.
The game is part of USF's Faculty and Staff Appreciation Week. USF employees and one guest can enter the game for free with an ID.
By the Numbers
• When the Dons have the ball •USF Scoring Offense - 76.3 (50) | UC Riverside Scoring Defense - 69.0 (247)
USF Field Goal Pct. -.479 (13) | UC Riverside FG Pct. Defense - .390 (185)
USF 3FG Pct. - .347 (72) | UC Riverside 3FG Pct. Defense - .288 (121)
USF Free Throw Pct. - .726 (74)
• When the Highlanders have the ball •UC Riverside Scoring Offense - 73.7 (73) | USF Scoring Defense - 65.9 (214)
UC Riverside Field Goal Pct. - .426 (88) | USF FG Pct. Defense - .383 (165)
UC Riverside 3FG Pct. - .391 (20) | USF 3FG Pct. Defense - .383 (329)
UC Riverside Free Throw Pct - .724 (76)
NCAA rank in parenthesesComparison (USF/UCR)Scoring Margin:
+10.4/+4.7
Rebounds/Game:
39.6/36.7
Assists/Game:
18.1/18.9
Turnovers/Game:
18.7/15.3
Assist/Turnover Ratio:
1.0/1.2
Steals/Game:
9.0/9.0
Blocks/Game:
2.7/3.0
Between the Baselines
The Dons are led by senior
Taylor Proctor's 23.3 points on .560 shooting and 10.1 rebounds per game. Proctor's point tally currently rates 11th in the NCAA, and with three double-doubles on the year she stands tied for 26th, nationally.
Rachel Howard averages 14.6 points, hitting 43.2 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc, and 3.4 assists.
Zhane Dikes adds 12.4 points and a team-high 2.0 steals per night.
As a team, USF is leading the WCC in assists per game with Howard and Dikes landing in the league top 10, and the Dons rate 23rd in the country. USF's .479 shooting percentage stands in 13th nationally, and second in the league.
As a conference the WCC leads the nation in free throw percentage, connecting on 71.22 percent of its attempts from the line.
Know the Foe
UC Riverside enters the game with a 4-3 mark on the season, with each of its three losses coming on the road - at Cal, at Oregon State and at Oregon State.
The Highlanders have a trio of double-digit scorers with UNLV transfer Regane Verin's 17.7 points on .468 shooting,7.9 rebounds and 2.8 steals a game leading the team. Brittany Crain adds 16.0 points per night and Annelise Ito contiributes 13.6 points for the offense, as the trio makes up 64.1 percent of the UC Riverside points and 54.1 percent of the team's rebounds.
What 2 Watch 4
The Dons and Highlanders are two of the top assist-getting teams in the nation. Currently, the Dons come in at 23rd in the NCAA Division I rankings, helping on 18.1 plays per game. UC Riverside is up to 14th in the standings, averaging 18.9 assists per game.
Series Snippits
The Dons lead the all-time series against UC Riverside, 2-1. The last meeting between the two came on Nov. 22, 2014, a 66-53 home win for the Highlanders.
Taylor Proctor paced the Dons on the day, with 13 points and 13 rebounds, her second double-double of the season.
Taj Winston finished with 12 points and a team-high three assists, and
Zhane Dikes added 12 points to bolster USF's scoring.
The other two iterations in the series went the way of the Dons, a 79-60 neutral site victory during the 1977-78 season, and a 105-51 win at War Memorial on Nov. 19, 2000. The 105-point output for the Dons stands as a program record for most points in a game.
Last Time Out
The San Francisco women's basketball team used a second-half surge to outlast Nevada, 70-62, Tuesday night at the Lawlor Events Center.
The Dons offense came to life in the second half, as USF shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes of play, spurred by a string of 12 points off the hand of
Taylor Proctor to close out the third quarter. Heading into the final 10 minutes of action, USF was up 51-48, and midway through the fourth the Dons extended the lead to six.
Rachel Howard's jumper with 60 seconds to play kept the Dons up by six, and
Zhane Dikes swished a pair from the line with 30.6 to play to cap the night's scoring with USF earning the 70-62 victory.
Proctor finished the night with team highs of 21 points and nine rebounds, with 16 points in the second half. Howard added 19 points in the win on an 8-for-12 shooting effort from the floor, and
Raushan Gultekin finished with a game-best five assists in the win.
On the Offensive
Under the tutelage of one of the best point guards to play the game, the Dons have improved their offensive output and team mentality of sharing the ball and assisting the shooter.
In the year previous to Azzi's arrival on the Hilltop, the Dons shot .338 from the field, .308 from 3-point range and averaged 9.8 assists per game.
Currently, the Dons are connecting on 47.9 percent of their attempts, and hitting threes at a rate of 34.7 percent. USF is leading the WCC in assists per game with 18.1.
Records Watch
Taylor Proctor made an historic rise in the record books at Utah Valley, scoring 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the first quarter of the night. On the 17th point off a triple from the junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., she pulled even with Teri Hunt ('84-87) for 10th place in career points. Three minutes later, Proctor earned her spot as an all-time top-10 scorer at USF, and has since moved to eighth.
By the end of the evening, her career tally stood at 1,277, and Proctor's 39-point effort stands as a new career high. In fact, her tally stands tied for the second-best single-game performance in school history, even with USF Hall of Famer Mary Hile-Nepfel's mark against Pepperdine in 1979, and three points shy of Teri Hunt's 42 points against San Diego on Jan. 31, 1987.
Also a member of the 500-Rebound Club, Proctor stands in sixth all-time with 721 boards, and needs 15 to secure her place in the top five.
NCAA Active Career Leaders
Taylor Proctor currently ranks T-37 among active Division I scoring leaders (1,342 points). She also ranks in the top-40 among active players in field goals (500/35th) and double-doubles (19/35th). Fellow senior
Zhane Dikes rates 19th in NCAA Division I in career free throw attempts (452) and 24th in makes (328).
On the Air
Listen to longtime voice of the Dons,
George Devine, behind the mic all season long. Devine is in his 20th season as the play-by-play voice of USF women's basketball.
Watch all home games on theW.tv/live, in partnership with Silver Chalice/Campus Insiders. Get in on the action for both home and away contests at usfdons.com/LIVE. Catch all the action, any time, anywhere at theW.tv!
Jumping Ahead
The squad travels down Hwy 101 to meet up with San Jose State Sunday at 2 p.m., before heading to Long Beach State for a Monday night contest at the Pyramid.
Get Connected
Fans can follow the Dons in a variety of ways:
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- On
YouTube at USFDonsAthletics, where fans can view video segments online
- On Comcast SportsNet California in USF Athletics' monthly show, "Behind the Mask"
- With previews, recaps, videos, features and more as seen on
USFDons.com
