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SAN FRANCISCO – The USF women's basketball team was locked in from deep while Gonzaga controlled the paint, but in the end it was the Dons who came out on top of a 77-72 decision on Thursday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
USF (14-12, 8-7 WCC) made up for being outscored 40-10 in the paint by hitting 11 three-pointers, one shy of their season high, as they handed the Zags their first loss in their last 13 contests.
Senior guard
Rachel Howard led the Dons with 23 points, including a 5-for-9 clip from the perimeter to go along with a game-high six assists. Howard scored 12 points in the fourth quarter alone where she hit a pair of threes and went 6-for-10 from the free throw line.
Junior
Anna Seilund added 21 points on a 7-of-11 shooting night that featured a 4-of-5 mark from long range.
USF had to rally back from a seven-point deficit with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter when it looked like Gonzaga (21-5, 12-3 WCC) could start running away with it.
"Even though we were down seven points, we came back strong. We didn't change anything in our game plan," Seilund said. "We had the crowd with us today. You can feel that on the court."
A three by Howard kicked off a quick USF spurt that included a Seilund jumper that brought the Dons within one with just under eight minutes on the clock.
Howard's free throw with 2:15 to go tied the game at 66-66, before Howard struck again with a three 30 seconds later that gave the Dons a one-point advantage and a lead they would ultimately hold onto for the win.
"We've struggled with consistency all year, but we can be this team, we're just not sure how to be this team every night," said head coach
Molly Goodenbour, whose squad improved to 9-2 at home.
Coming out of the gate, the Dons had their hands full trying to contain the WCC's fourth-leading scorer, Jill Barta, who tallied 12 of her game-high 26 points in the first quarter. That task was made more difficult as
Michaela Rakova and
Hashima Carothers both fouled out, sapping the Dons of their typical presence under the basket.
"That's their game. Their posts are tough," added Goodenbour. "I thought Claudia [Price] did a fantastic job defensively, though. She put her body on people, she boxed out well, moved well, communicated well. We anticipated those would be tough matchups for us, but what we didn't do was allow them to make any three-pointers."
That likely proved the difference as Gonzaga went 0-for-11 from beyond the arc. This was the first game this year the Dons held an opponent without a three-pointer. Twice this season they've allowed just one triple.
USF led after each of the first two quarters, but the Zags took advantage of a 1-for-9 funk from the Dons late in the third quarter to start inching away. Carrying a 58-55 lead to start the fourth quarter, Gonzaga got back-to-back layups from Kiara Kudron and Laura Stockton to build up their game-high 62-55 lead before the Dons responded by going 5-of-9 from the field and 10-of-14 from the charity stripe over the final nine minutes.
Despite the loss, Gonzaga will still hold onto the top spot in the WCC standings for the time being, while USF sits in a fourth-place tie with Santa Clara.
The Dons welcome Portland to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday.
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.
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