FRESNO, Calif. – Playing in its first postseason game in almost two decades, the San Francisco women's basketball team nearly picked up the road win before wilting late at Fresno State. The Bulldogs came back in the final minutes to take the 79-73 victory in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament Thursday night at the Save Mart Center.
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The Dons cap one of their most successful seasons since the turn of the century with a final record of 19-14, their first postseason berth since the 2001-02 campaign and just the fifth postseason appearance in program history. Fresno State now improves to 23-9 and will advance to play the winner of Saint Mary's/Hawaii in the second round of the WNIT.

"I'm very, very proud of our team for the season that we've had and I think this is the first WNIT since 2001-02, most wins in 18 years," noted head coach Jennifer Azzi after the loss. "I could go on and on about how much progress we've made, but again it's always tough ending your season with a loss."

USF led for a large chunk of the tightly-contested game, holding the advantage as late as 38 minutes into the contest. But inopportune misses from field, coupled with turnovers and uncharacteristic miscues from the free throw line proved to be a deadly combination in the closing minutes of the action.

For Fresno State, the Bulldogs capitalized with 22 points of USF's 20 turnovers and finished shooting 25-of-35 from the free throw line. In the final 2:13, the Bulldogs went 15-of-17 from the stripe, with those points accounting for all of the home team's offense down the stretch.

We talked at the beginning of the game about taking care of the ball and turnovers killed us," said Azzi. "Free throws are not something that we've struggled with this season, but sometimes the ball just doesn't go in. It's an area that we've taken a lot of pride in, and I wish those shots had gone in. I think it would have made a big difference in addition to the turnovers."

USF senior Taj Winston scored a game-high 21 points in her final collegiate contest, leading a foursome to reach double-digit scoring. Freshman Michaela Rakova added 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting and six rebounds. Fellow European freshman Anna Seilund closed the night with 11 points and a game-high five assists, while junior Taylor Proctor contributed 12 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

For Winston, the reality of the moment cut to the core.

"It's hard. It's just really hard knowing that this is my last game. This is what I live for," she said. "Ever since I was in high school, all I wanted to do was just play basketball. I'm going to miss the team, the coaches – it's just really hard. I'm just blessed to be able to play here, and just to play with a good group of girls. I'm proud of my teammates, and the program and how far we've come."

Her will to win nearly propelled the Dons to the victory, and in the second half her back-to-back baskets gave the Dons a 54-49 advantage with 11:01 to play. After driving for the layup in the previous possession, her jumper from the free throw line as the shot clock was winding down gave USF the five point lead. Two minutes later, she completed the three-point play to put the Dons ahead 60-54.

But the Bulldogs would rally back and made the margin one point after Alex Furr drained a 3-pointer with 4:27 remaining. That would prove to be the last made basket from the floor for Fresno State as the free throw barrage began as the Bulldogs overtook the Dons.
 
A trio of senior close their time for the Green and Gold. Paige Spietz, who transferred to USF from Missouri, compiled 520 points on .435 shooting, 343 rebounds and a .794 career free throw percentage. Her 85.0 effort from the line this year stands as 34th in the NCAA for the Brimfield, Ill., native.

Aundrea Gordon, a guard from McKinney, Texas, leaves the Hilltop with 576 points, including 87 3-pointers, which stands in the USF annals in 12th all-time. She also added 230 rebounds and 172 assists, inserting herself into the starting lineup for the final 17 games of the season.

Winston finds herself in the USF record books in multiple categories. Earlier this season, the guard from Long Beach, Calif., became the 19th woman in USF history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau, and she now stands in 11th all-time after closing her four-year career with 1,205 points. She rates 6th in steals with 198 and ninth in blocks with 77. Winston crashed the glass for 611 total rebounds, 14th in program history.

Rakova took time to reflect on the impact that all three seniors had on her in just one brief season playing with the trio.

"I'm really happy that I had an opportunity to play with the seniors, and I think I've learned a lot from Paige, from Taj and also from AG," she said. "I'm really sad that they're leaving and that I didn't have the opportunity to play with them more. Just one year is a really small amount of time.

"I just love them for what they do. They're amazing."