BERKELEY – While her first career game in her hometown on Friday against Cal didn't quite go how she would have liked, senior guard Rachel Howard helped make the Dons' follow-up effort a better one, leading USF to a 73-52 win over Western Carolina in the consolation game of the Cal Classic at Haas Pavilion.
 
Howard tallied a game-high 16 points on 6 of 13 shooting from the field and added six assists in making the most of a rare opportunity to play in the city where she starred at nearby Berkeley High.
 
"No pressure," said Howard, who was named to the All-Tournament Team. "I felt very blessed this week to have a lot of supporters and getting to play in my hometown."
 
Anna Seilund, Hashima Carothers and Alicia Roufosse each pitched in with 10 points apiece, which marked a career high for Roufosse. Raushan Gultekin matched her career best with eight points and dished out a career-best six assists of her own.  
 
USF (4-2) overcame a little bit of a slow start after shooting just 32 percent in the first half, but bounced back to shoot at a 60 percent clip the rest of the game to claim their first win away from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center this year.  
 
"Road wins are always big, no matter what the team," Howard said. "It's important to go out and execute whether or not you have your home court advantage, and that's actually something we talked about before the game."
 
After the first quarter ended in a 15-15 tie, both USF and Western Carolina endured their own scoreless droughts that made for a slow second quarter. The Dons went over five minutes without a bucket before Howard's layup with 2:45 left in the period. Meanwhile, Western Carolina (2-5) was in the midst of a scoreless spell that lasted over four minutes. Kalyn Simon's jumper with just over two minutes in the second quarter helped the Dons take a 27-22 advantage into the intermission.
 
Much like they did against Cal a day earlier, USF came out in the third quarter and put together an impressive offensive run. A layup by Claudia Price at the 6:30 mark sparked a 13-2 USF run punctuated by Nia Alexander's three-pointer that put the Dons ahead 40-29.
 
USF didn't look back from that point as they started to pull away midway through the fourth quarter, using a 16-5 run that saw them extend their lead to 19 with under two minutes to play and ultimately work it to a game-high 22 point advantage on a three from Ninni Salmi.
 
Despite 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds by WCU's Sherae Bonner, USF was able to control the paint, outscoring the Catamounts 34-14 under the basket.
 
Tess Harris added 12 points for Western Carolina in the first-ever meeting between USF and WCU, members of the Southern Conference.
 
The Dons will hit the road and head to Fresno State on Nov. 30 with tip-off slated for 7 p.m. against the Bulldogs.

2016 Cal Classic MVP
Courtney Range (California)

2016 Cal Classic All-Tournament Team
Kristine Anigwe (California)
Penina Davidson (California)
Chassidy Omogrosso (Duquesne)
Rachel Howard (San Francisco)
Sherae Bonner (Western Carolina)