Video highlights
SAN FRANCISCO – The Dons trailed by six at halftime but rallied back with a strong final 20 minutes, anchored by a season-high five players in double figures, to post an 81-72 victory over San Diego on Saturday afternoon from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
Senior guard
Rachel Howard led the way with 27 points on 8-of-17 from the field, including three 3-pointers, to post her third consecutive game over 20 points, the first time in her career she has done so.
Kalyn Simon tallied 16 points while matching Howard with a game-high seven rebounds. Meanwhile,
Anna Seilund scored 13 points and handed out a game-best seven assists, and
Michaela Rakova and
Claudia Price each registered 12 points apiece, with Price going a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.
"I was really pleased with the way we played the second half," said head coach
Molly Goodenbour, whose team has won three of its last four to move into a tie with Saint Mary's for second place. "I thought the leadership today by Rachel, Anna and Claudia was great. They did things we've been asking them to do all year, but they really stepped up and helped us be better communicators, better defenders and make better decisions."
San Diego led for virtually the entire first half, save for a 14-second stretch midway through the first quarter.
Trailing 41-35 at halftime, USF (11-8, 5-3 WCC) took its first lead since the first period on a pair of Howard free throws with 7:09 in the third quarter. The third quarter alone featured five lead changes as both teams jostled for momentum. Price's buzzer-beating jumper gave the Dons a 60-58 lead heading into the final frame.
The back and forth carried into the fourth quarter, but the Dons started to pull away when Seilund found Price under the basket to extend the USF lead to 72-66 with 3:46 left. San Diego (10-8, 3-5 WCC) went the final 6:14 without a field goal, helping USF put together a 16-6 run over the game's final six minutes. The Toreros hung around by hitting six of their seven free throw attempts down the stretch. However, once San Diego started fouling USF with under a minute to play, the WCC's third-best free throw shooting team took advantage of the free chances by making 7-of-8 within the final minute to close out the win.
"Our game plan was to give them a little bit of space, but that didn't work very well because they kept making shots on us," Goodenbour said. "So in the second half we really talked about tightening up defensively and putting more pressure on them and not letting them get into such a rhythm, and I thought we had more success with that."
The adjustments paid dividends as San Diego shot just 37 percent in the second half compared to almost 55 percent in the first.
Both teams started out hot. The Toreros shot 69 percent from the field in the first quarter, while USF connected at a 53 percent clip as the Toreros compiled a 22-19 lead at the end of the first quarter. Howard went 4-of-5 in the first frame to tally 10 of her game-high 27 points. She was matched by San Diego's Katherine Hamilton, who also scored 10 in the opening period, and finished with 12 on the day.
The Toreros built a 36-21 lead midway through the second quarter behind a 14-2 run, aided by four Don turnovers. The Dons went almost four minutes without a field goal until Seilund's short jumper with 3:32 on the clock. However, USF closed out the half strong, using a 14-5 swing to get within six as the Toreros headed to halftime with a 41-35 lead.
After committing nine turnovers in the first half, USF took better care of the ball over the final two quarters with just two turnovers the rest of the way.
It looked to be a long day for the Dons' post players as San Diego held a 22-12 edge in the paint through the first half before USF adapted and outscored the Toreros 18-10 underneath the basket in the second half.
Sydney Williams led the Toreros with 19 points, while Caroline Buhr tallied 17 points. Aubrey Ward-El, who came into the game leading the conference in assists, scored 11 and handed out five assists.
The Dons stay at home for their next two contests when they host Saint Mary's on Thursday at 7 p.m. before welcoming Pacific to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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.
Tickets are available for USF's Hall of Fame dinner to be held on Feb. 3 at the McLaren Conference Center on campus. Former women's basketball standout Tami Adkins '93 joins Eduardo Rangel '66 (men's soccer), Patrick McGuigan '06 (baseball), James Hardy '78 (men's basketball), and Dr. Sandee Hill (special category) as the 2017 class of inductees into the Father Hubert "Hub" Flynn Hall of Fame. Click here to purchase your tickets today.
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