Video Highlights
SAN FRANCISCO – They didn't make it easy on themselves, but the USF women's basketball team was able to hold off a second-half rally to claim a 73-71 win over Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
USF (3-1) held a 20-point lead early in the third quarter, but Long Beach State hit 10 three-pointers in the second half to chip away at the lead. A last-second three by Raven Benton as time expired was too little too late for Long Beach State (3-1) as the Dons captured their second straight win over the 49ers.
"We didn't handle the end of the game situation really well," said head coach
Molly Goodenbour. "We're fortunate we survived this team. We got some momentum at the end and we made free throws. So they did what they needed to do, but maybe it was not the strongest minutes we could have had."
Junior
Anna Seilund led the way for USF with a season-high 13 points while handing out a team-best five assists.
Kalyn Simon scored 12 and
Michaela Rakova and
Claudia Price each added 10 points on the day.
The Dons came out shooting a blistering 59 percent (16-for-27) in the first half en route to a season-best 49 percent shooting day as a team. From the line, USF sunk 18 of 22 attempts.
The first five minutes of the contest saw the score tied at 10-10 until
Rachel Howard's three at the 3:15 mark sparked a 13-0 run that helped the Dons take a 25-13 advantage into the second frame.
Long Beach State flirted with a run when Katie Webster hit back-to-back layups midway through the second quarter, but a pair of free throws from
Alicia Roufosse setup an 8-1 USF spurt that was capped off by a layup by Seilund with 2:26 left in the half, by which time the Dons had stretched their lead to 17.
The tables started to turn coming out of the intermission as Long Beach State began connecting from the perimeter, led by three 3-pointers apiece in the second half from Benton and Jessica Gertz, who had 11 points on the day.
After Simon's layup with 8:43 left in the third quarter that put the Dons ahead by 20, Long Beach State was able to trim the lead down to 11 on a three by Cece Wilson with just under two minutes remaining. USF would eventually finish the third quarter leading by that same 11-point margin.
LBSU then took advantage of 2-for-9 shooting by USF in the fourth quarter to climb back within five on Benton's three with 51 seconds on the clock. After Seilund converted a pair of free throw attempts, Benton, who notched 11 of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter, knocked down another triple with 36 seconds remaining to bring LBSU within four at 72-68, but that would be as close as Long Beach State would get outside of Benton's last-second three.
"It was a good bounce back from the Washington State game," said Goodenbour, whose squad lost to the Cougars on the road, 73-35, on Friday night. "I thought we came out with some energy. I thought we competed for four quarters. We've got a lot of things to work on, but I'm really pleased with their effort and the way they responded."
USF improves to 3-0 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center this year and will look to carry that momentum into the Cal Classic the day after Thanksgiving. USF will face host Cal on Friday at 1 p.m., followed by a matchup with either Duquesne or Western Carolina on Saturday.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS:
WBB | Your @USFDonsWBB earns another win at home against @beachWBB 73-71! Check out some of the action here: pic.twitter.com/ovUMhrKNZI
— USF Dons Athletics (@DonsAthletics)
November 21, 2016
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