Dons Look for Three in a Row Against LMU

USF (15-12, 9-7 WCC) vs. Loyola Marymount (13-14, 8-8 WCC)
Thursday, Feb. 23 | 7 p.m.
War Memorial at the Sobrato Center | San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: USF leads, 39-33
Last Meeting: Feb. 4, 2017 (A), USF 79-72
Video: TheW.tv (George Devine, PBP)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Complete Game Notes [PDF]

Opening Tip
USF (15-12, 9-7 WCC) hosts Loyola Marymount (13-14, 8-8 WCC) at 7 p.m. on Thursday at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center looking for its third win in a row after defeating Gonzaga (77-72) and Portland (83-71) at home this past week. Meanwhile, the Lions are coming off a pair of wins themselves over Saint Mary's (72-57) and Pepperdine (87-78). Heading into the final two games of the regular season, the Dons sit alone in fourth place, while LMU is tied for fifth with Santa Clara.

The Dons At a Glance...
LAST WEEK

Defeated Gonzaga, 77-72, at home on Thursday night
Rachel Howard scored 12 of her team-best 23 points in the fourth quarter, while dishing out a game-high six assists and knocking down five 3-pointers, tying her season high
Anna Seilund added 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and went 4-for-5 from deep
Gonzaga led by seven with nine minutes to play, but the Dons went 4-of-8 from the field and 10-of-14 from the free throw line over the remainder to rally back
USF hit 11 three-pointers on the night, one shy of their season high, while the Zags went 0-for-11 from the perimeter
On Saturday, posted an 83-71 win over Portland behind a season-high 15 three-pointers
Howard and Rakova led USF with 19 points, while Seilund (16) and Kalyn Simon (15) joined them in double figures
Seilund matched her career high with eight assists against the Pilots

WHERE THEY STACK UP
At 9-7 in WCC play, USF comes into the week alone in fourth place, while LMU sits in a fifth-place tie with Santa Clara. Gonzaga maintains sole possession of first place at 13-3 with BYU and Saint Mary's looking up at the Zags with identical 11-5 records. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Dons can finish no higher than fourth and no lower than sixth.

CALLING LONG DISTANCE
The Dons went 15-for-24 from three-point range in Saturday's win over Portland, establishing a new season high for threes made and three-point percentage. Redshirt junior Kalyn Simon went 4-of-5 herself against the Pilots to lead the way, while Rachel Howard, Anna Seilund and Michaela Rakova each connected for three triples apiece. This came after USF went 11-for-26 from the perimeter in their win over Gonzaga on Thursday. Rachel Howard (5) and Anna Seilund (4) both matched their season highs for threes in a game. On the flip side, the Dons held the Zags without a three, the first time this season they've done so. Twice USF has limited an opponent to just one three this season (at SMC and at BYU).

WHO'S HOT?
Senior guard Rachel Howard has been the main catalyst of the USF offense recently, leading the team at 21.6 points per game over the last five contests. Over that span, Howard is shooting 41.9 percent from the field and a team-best 45.5 percent from the perimeter, hitting 15 threes.

RAKOVA LOVES THE SOBRATO CENTER
Michaela Rakova is nearly doubling her scoring average at home versus on the road this season. The junior averages 12.6 points per game at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, where she's shooting a blistering 52 percent, versus 6.6 points per game and a 35 percent clip away from home.

CRUNCH TIME
While Rachel Howard leads the Dons in scoring in the last quarter of games this year (4.7 points), it's Michaela Rakova who has been the most efficient down the stretch, shooting 48.8 percent in fourth quarter situations. Likewise, Anna Seilund has helped ice numerous games this season with her team-best 84.4 percent from the free throw line over the last 10 minutes.

Scouting Report

About Loyola Marymount
The Lions snapped out of a three-game skid by winning a pair of games this past week over Saint Mary's (72-57) and Pepperdine (87-78). Three-time WCC Player of the Week Jackie Johnson ranks second in the WCC at 17.5 points per game. The senior transfer from Minnesota also ranks second in rebounding (9.4) and sits at 10th in the nation at 2.9 blocks per game. Sophomore forward Cheyenne Wallace (12.6) and senior guard Leslie Lopez-Wood (11.7) round out the Lions averaging double figure scoring. Sophomore guard Andee Velasco ranks in the top-25 in the NCAA averaging 6.0 assists per contest. LMU was picked to finish sixth in the WCC this year under fifth-year head coach Charity Elliott.

Series History with LMU
USF leads the all-time series, 39-33, and carries an eight-game winning streak in the series into Thursday's matchup after the Dons won 79-72 in Los Angeles on Feb. 4. Prior to USF's current winning streak, LMU had won five in a row and 10-of-11 between 2009-10 and 2012-13. The Dons own the longest winning streak of the series with 11 straight victories between 1993-94 and 1997-98, but LMU won 10 straight over the 2003-04 and 2007-08 seasons. USF also won the first five meetings starting in 1984-85.    The Dons are 19-13 at home against LMU all-time.

Last Time They Met
With her team trailing by 10 with just under nine minutes left in the game, senior guard Rachel Howard took it upon herself to help spark a rally by scoring 13 points and going 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final period to lead the USF women's basketball team to a 79-72 win over Loyola Marymount on Feb. 4 at Gersten Pavilion. Howard overcame a slow start and led all scorers with 22 points on the day, despite shooting just 4-of-13 from the field. She made up for it by converting 13-of-14 free throw tries and knocking down a pivotal step back three with 33 seconds left that put the Dons up 70-68, giving them their first lead since the 2:31 mark of the second quarter and the momentum that would carry them to the victory. Junior Michaela Rakova posted her fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Kalyn Simon (11) and Anna Seilund (10) rounded out the Dons in double figures. Seilund pitched in with a game-high seven assists. The Lions climbed out to a game-high 10-point advantage on Raychel Stanley's jumper with 8:49 to play. USF proceeded to go on an 10-0 run to tie the game for the first time since the end of the first half when Rakova hit two free throws with 4:28 to go. After a quiet stretch for both sides, LMU eventually regained the lead on a three by Leslie Lopez-Wood with just under two minutes on the clock. That lead would last until Howard nailed the go-ahead three.

Last Time Out
The same formula that helped the Dons defeat Gonzaga on Thursday night held true on Saturday afternoon as USF connected for a season-high 15 three-pointers en route to an 83-71 win over Portland from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. The Dons shot a season-best 15-for-24 (62.5 percent) from the perimeter, including 5-of-7 in the fourth quarter to help them pull away. Junior Michaela Rakova and senior Rachel Howard each poured in 19 points and hit three triples on the day, while junior Anna Seilund scored 16 and matched her career high with a game-best eight assists. Redshirt junior Kalyn Simon was locked in from deep, going 4-of-5 from beyond the arc as she tallied 15 points in the win. Rakova had just two points in the first half, but the Dons led 32-31 heading into the intermission. Howard, meanwhile, scored 13 of her 19 points in the first half, going 3-of-4 from three-point range over the first two quarters. USF started to create some separation in the third quarter when they shot 56 percent from the field and outscored Portland 24-14. The Dons hit four shots in a row midway through the third quarter that helped them string together an 11-2 spurt capped off by a pair of Seilund free throws that put USF ahead 53-43 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. Howard's jumper to start the fourth quarter helped set the tone as USF eventually put the game out of reach by extending a game-high 19 point lead with another free throw from Seilund with 2:25 remaining.

Up Next
The Dons close out the regular season at home with Senior Day against Pepperdine on Saturday at 2 p.m. Looking ahead, the West Coast Conference Championships will begin on Thursday, Mar. 2 from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.

Fan Guide

Promotions
Thursday's game will be USF Women's Basketball Alumni Night where former Dons are invited back to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center to reunite and be honored.

Thursday will also be featured as one of seven Jesuit Basketball Spotlight matchups for the USF women this season. The Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS) is a nationwide effort to capitalize on basketball games between Jesuit schools and, through those games, bring greater positive awareness and exposure to Jesuit education and its shared mission. For more information visit JesuitBasketball.com, follow @Jesuit_BBall on Twitter or visit Jesuit Basketball Spotlight on Facebook.

Ticket Information
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 Information
Parking is available free of charge on game days two hours prior to tip-off and one hour after the conclusion of the game in the Hayes-Healy garage (located along Golden Gate Ave. in between War Memorial at the Sobrato Center and the Hayes Healy dorms) and at the Koret Health and Recreation Center lot (at the corner of Parker Ave. and Turk St.). Street parking is also available around campus, but visitors are reminded to take notice of signs displaying city parking restrictions for each street. Refer to the USF Department of Public Safety parking webpage for a map of parking on campus.

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