Video highlightsSAN FRANCISCO – On a day when USF honored its 1996 Sweet 16 team, the 2015-16 San Francisco women's basketball team made a place for themselves in program history as well. The Dons scored the first bucket of the game and never trailed to earn a big 71-52 win over the Bulldogs at War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center on Saturday afternoon.
The victory was their first win over the 11-time WCC defending champions since a West Coast Conference tournament win on March 2, 2006. The 19-point deficit is also the largest loss of the season for Gonzaga, who lost to Stanford 65-48 on Nov. 15 during non-conference action. USF now stands at 14-8 (4-6 WCC) on the season, while the perennial league favorites drop to 14-9 (6-5 WCC).
"It's the first time they've beaten Gonzaga since '06, which was one of my last games I coached at USF," noted USF legend of the Hilltop, Mary Hile-Nepfel. "It was really nice to see USF come out so strong and set a tone early and be able to sustain that. It was a good atmosphere and I think sometimes the crowd can come help pick you up and sustain the momentum. Sometimes it just takes that one win to turn things around and start the team believing even more of what they're capable of doing. They all played well. They all came in and did what they needed to do and had fun doing it, and it was a great game to watch."
Perhaps fitting for a day on which USF made history, it was the seniors who led the way.
Zhane Dikes got the Dons going early and finished with a game-high 20 points off a combination of strong drives to the rim and hot shooting from beyond the arc. But
Taylor Proctor might have been the standout player of the game doing just about everything for the Dons with 16 points, and game-highs of 9 rebounds and 6 assists to perfectly complement Dikes' scoring aggression.
Proctor's assists reflected the Dons' outstanding ball movement throughout the game as they finished with 15 assists on 20 made field goals. When Gonzaga doubled Proctor in the low post, she was able to patiently kick the ball out to 3-point shooters; when Proctor was able to get the ball in the high post or off the drive, she was able to break down the defense for easy buckets. With the ball hopping around the court and players hitting on 55 percent of their threes, the Dons managed to keep the bigger Bulldogs on their heels to establish an early lead that they never relinquished.
"Our team feeds off of Z and Taylor, and when they're playing as hard and as locked in as they were tonight we're a much better team," noted head coach
Jennifer Azzi after the victory. "I think more than anything, our team has really come together in the last couple weeks. They're playing together, they're playing hard, and it's exciting to see them start to experience the success of all their hard work. But at the same time I told them don't make this that big of a deal. There's a lot of the season left and we're excited about the rest of the season."
In the first half, the Dons shot an impressive 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc that helped them build a comfortable 42-22 lead after Dikes hit a driving floater in the lane to close the first half.
Anna Seilund led the way in the first half, scoring 10 of her 13 points on the strength of 3-for-3 shooting.
However, the real story throughout the game might have been the Dons' defense, which held the Bulldogs to just 28.1 percent shooting from the field in the game. Gonzaga's starting backcourt of Emma Stach and Georgia Stirton were held without either an assist or point in the first half and Stach committed four turnovers in the first 20 minutes. In the second half, Shelby Cheslek – Gonzaga's leading rebounder and one of the WCC's most efficient scorers – was held without a point.
Jill Barta led Gonzaga's scoring efforts with 15 points, but never truly found a rhythm as she only shot 4-for-14 from the field. With no other Bulldogs able to hit double figures and Cheslek tallying just four rebounds and two points, USF proved to be the stronger squad as Gonzaga dropped its fifth game in its last six tries.
Although the win was the first of any kind over Gonzaga since 2006, it was the first regular season win since Valentine's Day 2004 in Spokane – a year before the Bulldogs began their run of 11 conference titles.
"It was awesome having the Sweet 16 team here, and we had a great crowd and a ton of support here in the gym," said Azzi. "I hope people continue to come to games because our team is playing a great style of basketball and it's an exciting time at USF."
The Dons conclude a three-game home stand in its next outing. USF takes on its longest rival, Santa Clara, on Thursday at 7 p.m. The first 300 fans in attendance at the White Out game will receive free t-shirts.
