They captured the program's first conference championship in nearly a decade. They led their team to consecutive postseason appearances for just the second time in program history. They won a collective 67 games and became the first senior class in two decades to post three straight winning seasons.  
 
This year's senior class has quite a resume on which to hang its hat.
 
Seniors Rachel Howard, Claudia Price, Hashima Carothers and Raushan Gultekin can see the end of their USF careers on the horizon with their final appearance at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Pepperdine. The West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas awaits, beginning Mar. 2 at the Orleans Arena, and this group of seniors is hoping to extend their careers at least a few more games beyond Saturday.     
 
"Outside of winning, I just want to have fun these last couple games," said Carothers, a defensive stalwart who has registered the third-most blocks on the team over her career. "It's a long season, you get tired and you start to feel it mentally. But I think this is the time you kind of spark back up, like a reboot. Just knowing that us four are going our separate ways, I just want to have fun and let it all hang out."
 
These final few weeks of the season have provided plenty of time for reflection on their part. The team trips, hotel stays, locker room conversations, late nights in the dorms and pre-game talks will all leave their special mark on each of these seniors as they start to shift their attention on what lies beyond USF.
 
"I look back at all the times me and my teammates went to Dolores Park," said Gultekin, who had her senior season cut short 10 games in due to an elbow injury sustained in practice. "When I leave the city I know I'm really going to miss that. I'll also miss playing college basketball, because there's nothing quite like it. It's such a more tight-knit family vibe than you'll probably find playing in any other setting."
 
One highlight this group can all agree on is the lasting impact of winning last year's WCC Championship as a No. 6-seeded underdog.
 
"Definitely one of the greatest moments of my life," said Howard, "to work so hard for something and accomplish it with some of your favorite people in your life."
 
A two-time all-conference pick, Howard will leave USF with her name imprinted firmly in the Dons' record book. Her 1,273 career points rank as the 12th most in USF history and her 178 career three-pointers stand as the second-most. But records and accolades aside, Howard has her eyes trained on the big picture as her historic collegiate career winds down.
 
"I want to walk away from any game feeling accomplished," said Howard. "I want it to be a fulfilling feeling in the sense that we competed as a team and gave it our all and got everything that you want to feel good about in a game, regardless of what the end result is on the scoreboard." 
 
For most of the seniors, the time has come and gone too quickly, as it always seems to do. Those first days in the Green and Gold seem like yesterday, with four years' worth of experience passing in a flash.
 
"Our freshman year, our first workout for me, Rachel, Claudia and Kalyn – we all went in so nervous not knowing what to expect," reflected Carothers, a psychology major. "Being freshmen and finally entering college and saying 'Okay, this is what we're here for, it's happened, now let's go to work.' I can't even imagine that once we graduate there might be months that go by where we don't see each other."
 
"I want everyone on the team to really embrace the moment and realize that the time really does fly by," said Gultekin, who will be earning her degree in advertising. "Especially for the younger players. I want them to understand that everyone's time comes to an end, but to just embrace it while you can."
 
While their time in uniform and in the classroom will inevitably come to a close, these seniors know that the experiences and lessons they will carry with them far surpass anything they could have accomplished on the court.
 
"Mental toughness," said Price, an entrepreneurship and innovation major. "Finding the motivation to keep moving forward. Finding the motivation within myself and what makes me want to be the best person I can be, whether it's for my family or work or whatever goals I'm trying to achieve."
 
"By stepping away from USF we'll be physically leaving, but I've created so many relationships outside of my team that I'll be leaving with such a great network," said Howard, a graduate student in USF's sports management program.
 
"I've learned that there are so many different types of people out there in the world," said Gultekin, a native of Lund, Sweden. "I plan to travel more and as I do I'm more aware of how much I can learn about people wherever you go."
 
Real life can wait another few weeks. For these four seniors, the goal will be to make their final games as Dons a fitting conclusion to the careers that have shaped their legacies.

"I want my teammates to know that I fought for you guys and I played hard," said Price. "I don't want to lose, but if it happens I just want them to know that I was a warrior and I fought for them."
 

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USF (16-12, 20-7 WCC) vs. Pepperdine (7-21, 5-12 WCC)
Saturday, Feb. 25 | 2 p.m.
War Memorial at the Sobrato Center | San Francisco, Calif.      
Series Record: USF leads, 38-36
Last Meeting: Feb. 2, 2017 (A), PEP 81-59
Video: TheW.tv (George Devine, PBP)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Complete Game Notes [PDF]
 
Opening Tip
USF (16-12, 10-7 WCC) host the Pepperdine Waves (7-21, 5-12 WCC) in the regular season finale on Saturday at 2 p.m looking to close out the regular season on a gour-game winning streak. USF's four seniors – Rachel Howard, Claudia Price, Hashima Carothers and Raushan Gultekin – will be honored before the game. The Dons are coming off an 89-73 victory over Loyola Marymount on Thursday, while Pepperdine suffered an 84-57 defeat at Saint Mary's.  
 
The Dons At a Glance...                       
LAST TIME OUT

• Defeated Loyola Marymount, 89-73, on Thursday night
• Rachel Howard (29), Anna Seilund (23), and Michaela Rakova (19) accounted for 71 of the Dons' 89 points
• Howard set a program record by going 14-of-14 from the free throw line and the Dons made a season-high 31 free throws
• Seilund's 23 points were a career high, while her five 3-pointers were a season best
• An 11-2 run early in the fourth quarter put the Dons up 74-57 as they started to pull away

 
WHERE THEY STACK UP
At 10-7 in WCC play, USF comes into the week alone in fourth place, while Pepperdine sits in an eighth-place tie with Pacific. Gonzaga maintains sole possession of first place at 14-3 with BYU and Saint Mary's looking up at the Zags with identical 12-5 records. The Dons are likely to take home the No. 4 seed in the WCC Tournament. Even if they finish tied with Santa Clara (9-8) in fourth place after Saturday, USF will hold the advantage in the tiebreaker, which would first factor in head-to-head results - USF and Santa Clara split the season series - and then head-to-head results of the other WCC teams starting with Gonzaga in first place and moving down the standings. USF split with Gonzaga this year, while the Broncos dropped both games against the Zags. 
 
WHO'S HOT?
Senior guard Rachel Howard and junior guard Anna Seilund have had the hot hand from long distance of late. Over the last five games, Howard is shooting a team-best 47.2 percent (17-36) from the perimeter, while Seilund has connected at a 43.8 percent clip (14-32).
 
HOWARD IS THIS WEEK'S BEST
Senior Rachel Howard was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week and Jesuit National Player of the Week after scoring 23 points in a win over Gonzaga and 19 against Portland. It was Howard's first time earning either honor.
 
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.    
 
BEYOND THE ARC
Senior Rachel Howard (40.3 percent) and redshirt junior Kalyn Simon (39.4) rank third and fourth in the WCC, respectively, from the perimeter, while Howard's 60 triples are the third-most in the WCC this year.
 
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS
Rachel Howard has been steadily climbing up the USF career scoring list over the course of her senior season. She comes into her final home contest in 12th place all-time with 1,273 career points. With her 29 points against LMU on Thursday, she surpassed Teri Hunt (1984-87). Howard has also taken over second place in the USF record book with 178 career three-pointers made, trailing Shay Rollins (2005-09), who holds the USF career record with 205 treys. Meanwhile, Anna Seilund's season-high five three-pointers against LMU helped her move into sixth place with 125 career triples.  
 
Scouting Report
 
About Pepperdine
The  Waves come into Saturday's contest in the midst of a three-game losing streak after dropping Thursday's contest at Saint Mary's, 84-57. Senior guard Allie Green and sophomore forward Yasmine Robinson-Bacote are tied for sixth in the WCC averaging 14.1 points per game. Robinson-Bacote also ranks third in the conference at 8.5 rebounds per contest. Meanwhile, freshman guard Sydney Bordonaro has been one of the top three-point shooters in the conference this year, ranking second at 44 percent from the perimeter. On the defensive end, 6-foot-4 freshman Megan House sits at second in the WCC averaging 1.6 blocks per game. The Waves were picked to finish ninth in the conference this year under fourth-year head coach Ryan Weisenberg.    
 
Series History with Pepperdine
USF leads the all-time series, 38-36, and has won seven of the last nine meetings. However, it was the Waves who came away with the victory in the last meeting, an 81-59 decision on Feb. 2 in Malibu. The Dons carry a 20-14 record over Pepperdine at home. USF holds the longest winning streak in the series with their seven-game run between 1994-95 and 1996-97. Pepperdine, meanwhile, won six in a row from 1997-98 to 1999-00 and took nine of 10 between 2007-08 and 2012-13. The Waves won the first-ever meeting between the two schools, 58-51, back in 1977-78.
 
Last Time They Met
The USF offense fell into a deep freeze, suffering a 81-59 loss to Pepperdine on Feb. 2 at Firestone Fieldhouse behind 28 percent shooting from the field, the Dons' second-lowest percentage of the season. Senior Rachel Howard led the Dons with 14 points on the night, including three 3-pointers. Freshman Anna Pierce chipped in with nine points, while fellow freshman Nia Alexander tallied eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Claudia Price added a career-high five assists. USF held a commanding 49-35 advantage on the glass, including a season-high 26 offensive rebounds, but even the Dons' 18-0 margin in second chance points was not enough to shake them out of a 40-minute cold spell. The Dons held their only lead following Howard's three with just over six minutes in the first quarter before Pepperdine started to widen the gap, taking a 23-16 lead into the second period. USF could only muster nine points in the second quarter as the Waves, who shot 51 percent in the first half, opened their lead to 12 points by halftime. The second half would prove to be much of the same as USF didn't get closer than 15 from that point on.
 
Last Time Out
Three players accounted for most of the scoring, while the defense made timely stops as the USF women's basketball team posted an 89-73 win over Loyola Marymount on Thursday evening from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Senior guard Rachel Howard scored 29 points and handed out five assists, while junior Anna Seilund tallied a career-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists and junior Michaela Rakova added 19 points as the triad registered 71 of the Dons' 89 points. Howard set a program record by going a perfect 14-for-14 from the free throw line, while USF hit a season-high 31 free throws on the night. While not their most democratic effort in terms of scoring distribution, the Dons picked up some vital blue collar support from senior Claudia Price's nine points and game-high nine rebounds as she helped limit LMU's Jackie Johnson – the WCC's second-leading scorer coming into the game – to just 5-of-15 from the field. On the offensive side, USF seemed to have an answer for every LMU run. Trailing by 14 to start the second half, the Lions crept within six on a pair of free throws by Johnson midway through the third quarter. But USF responded with five quick points and eventually a Seilund three-pointer that gave the Dons an 11-point lead heading into the final period. A four-minute scoreless stretch for USF midway through the fourth quarter did little to shift the momentum in LMU's favor as the Lions went just 5-of-14 from the field in the final period. The Dons went 1-of-8 from the field over the final seven minutes but converted 11 of 15 chances from the charity stripe to keep the Lions at arm's length.

Up Next
The West Coast Conference Championships begin on Thursday, Mar. 2 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The likely scenario will have the Dons as a No. 4 seed matching up against the No. 5 seed on Thursday at 8 p.m. The No. 5 seed could be either Santa Clara or Loyola Marymount. Visit USFDons.com/DonsInVegas for more information on the WCC Tournament.
 
Fan Guide
                                           
Promotions
Saturday will be Senior Day at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center as seniors Rachel Howard, Claudia Price, Hashima Carothers and Raushan Gultekin will be honored in a pre-game ceremony.  
 
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.