USF (9-8, 3-3 WCC) at Portland (3-14, 1-5 WCC)
Thursday, Jan. 19 | 7 p.m.
Chiles Center | Portland, Ore.     
Series Record: Tied, 31-31
Last Meeting: Jan. 28, 2016 (USF 90-69)
Video: TheW.tv
Audio: Livestream.com/usf (Joe Castellano, PBP)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Complete Game Notes [PDF]
 
Opening Tip
USF (9-8, 3-3 WCC) travels to the Pacific Northwest on Thursday to take on Portland (3-14, 1-5 WCC) at 7 p.m. in WCC action. Both teams will be looking to rebound from losses this past Saturday after USF fell on the road to Pacific, 63-60, while Portland dropped a road contest at LMU, 69-54. Thursday's tilt will cap off a stretch of four road dates over the Dons' last five games. USF will be home for three straight upon returning from Portland. 
 
The Dons At a Glance...
• Dropped a 63-60 decision on the road Saturday afternoon at Pacific... were leading by nine points with just under four minutes to play before Pacific went on a 13-0 run to mount the comeback... UOP's GeAnna Luaulu-Summers went 8-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch, while USF went without a field goal after Rachel Howard's jumper with 3:50 on the clock... Howard led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting while eclipsing the 1,000 point barrier on a three-pointer in the first quarter.   
• With a three-pointer on her first attempt of the game in the first quarter at Pacific, Rachel Howard became the 22nd player in the USF history to crack the 1,000 point threshold... the senior moved into 21st place in USF's career record book, surpassing Kim Bachman (1978,83 / 1,002 points) on the all-time list... Howard leads the Dons and ranks fifth in the WCC in scoring (13.9 ppg)… she also moved into fifth place with 143 career three-pointers made.
 
USF Career Points Leaders
1. Mary Hile (1977-81) 2,326
…
20. Sarah Wanless (1995-00) 1,086
21. Rachel Howard (2013-Pres.) 1,020
22. Kim Bachman (1978-83) 1,002
 
• Freshman Anna Pierce saw the most playing time of her young USF career over the past two games, logging 24 minutes off the bench in USF's win over BYU where she scored seven points and handed out four assists... she followed that up with a season-high 28 minutes and 10 points, knocking down two three-pointers and going 4-for-4 from the line.
• Eight turnovers for the Dons against BYU this past Thursday were the fewest in a game this season… their +8 turnover margin in that contest was their second-highest this year (Western Carolina)… 5-3 in games where they hold a positive turnover differential... committed 20 turnovers at Pacific on Saturday compared to 13 by the Tigers.  
• USF has held a rebounding advantage in just six of their 17 games so far... they lead the conference in defensive boards (28.1 per game), but rank ninth in offensive rebounding (10.6).
• Junior Anna Seilund has been a veritable Swiss Army knife for the Dons this year... she's been a key asset at the free throw line where she ranks sixth in the WCC at 82.7 percent (43-52)... she leads the team and ranks 10th in the WCC in assists (3.6 per game), including a career-high eight at Saint Mary's on Jan. 7... she's ninth in the conference averaging 1.8 steals per game... established a career high with 22 points against San Jose State on Dec. 6 while averaging a career-best 10.6 points per game, second on the team... also logging the most minutes on the team and eight-most in the WCC (32.8 per game).  
• Overall, the Dons are the third-best free throw shooting team in the conference (75.3).
 

Scouting Report
 
About Portland
The Pilots come into the week riding a four-game losing streak after falling to Saint Mary's (92-76) and LMU (69-54) on the road this past week... their lone WCC win came against Pepperdine (71-61)... their only other Division I victory came over Portland State (79-68)... also defeated Alaska Anchorage (66-57) in the Great Alaskan Shootout... sophomore guard Darian Slaga paces the Pilots on offense, averaging 11.4 points per game... sophomore forward Julie Spencer has provided a balanced attack at 8.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per contest, good for eighth-best in the WCC... rank last in the conference in team scoring offense (58.0 ppg) and scoring defense (70.9)... return all five starters from last year's team... picked to finish tied for ninth in the WCC preseason poll... head coach Cheryl Sorenson is in her third season at the helm. 
      
Series History with Portland
The all-time series is tied at 31-31... six Dons scored in double figures in the most recent meeting, a 90-69 USF win at the Sobrato Center, highlighted by Zhane Dikes' 15 points and eight rebounds... USF has won the last five meetings and seven of the last eight... prior to that, Portland had won nine meetings in a row between 2007-08 and 2011-12... the Pilots won the first meeting of the series, 68-48, back in 1987-88... USF is 10-18 on the road against Portland all-time.
 
Last Year's Meetings With Portland
USF won the first meeting of the 2015-16 season with a 90-69 decision in Portland. The Dons turned in a well-rounded outing with six women reaching double figure scoring, paced by senior Zhane Dikes' 15 points and eight rebounds. Anna Seilund added 14 points, hitting four 3-pointers, and contributed a game-high four assists in the victory. Kalyn Simon, Rachel Howard, Hashima Carothers and Taylor Proctor all eclipsed the 10-point mark in the decisive victory. USF went 12-for-22 from 3-point range on the night, coming up one triple shy of matching a school record for threes in a game, set at Cal Poly on Dec. 7, 2008. Along with Seilund's four swishes from distance, Dikes and Howard each drained three and Simon added two in the potent attack.
 
In the second meeting at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, USF won 82-63. The Dons shot 51.7 percent from the field and finished with 19 assists in the game. Four women finished with double-digit scoring efforts, paced by game-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds for Zhane Dikes. Taylor Proctor added 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and the duo of Michaela Rakova and Rachel Howard each finished with 11 points in the game. Rakova earned her first career start against the Pilots as the Dons employed a new-look starting five.
 
Last Time Out
The Dons were in control holding a game-high nine-point lead with 3:50 to play before Pacific used a 13-0 run to send the Dons to a 63-60 loss this past Saturday afternoon at the Spanos Center. Senior guard Rachel Howard led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including a three-pointer on her first attempt of the game in the first quarter that put her over the 1,000 career point threshold. Freshman Anna Pierce registered a career-high 10 points, all of which came in the first half, while junior Anna Seilund chipped in with 10 points of her own to go along with a game-high five assists. After a slow third quarter where both teams combined to score just 19 points, the Dons held a 45-41 lead heading into the final period. USF started to pull away midway through the fourth quarter when Price drained back-to-back jumpers and Seilund snuck through for a layup that gave the Dons a 46-55 advantage. But Pacific started to shift the momentum behind GeAnna Luaulu-Summers, who at 90.2 percent from the line coming into the contest ranked 17th in the NCAA. Luaulu-Summers proceeded to go 8-for-8 from the line over the final four minutes to help the Tigers trim the deficit. Immediately following Luaulu-Summers' final free throws, Pacific's Desire Finnie stole the ensuing inbounds and converted the layup to give the Tigers a 61-59 lead with 1:53 on the clock that effectively served as the dagger. USF went without a field goal for the remainder of the game following Howard's jumper at the 3:50 mark in the fourth quarter.
 
Up Next
The Dons return home to host San Diego at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Individual game tickets for all USF home games this season are available online at USFDons.com or by calling (415) 422-2USF. General admission tickets are available for as low as $10. All USFCA faculty, staff and students with a valid ID, and youth 12 and under enter free. Parking for USF home games is typically available free of charge two hours prior to tip-off until one hour after the conclusion of the game in any campus lot, with the exception of designated green parking spots and the top of Hayes-Healy garage.