USF (12-10, 6-5 WCC) at Loyola Marymount (11-11, 6-5 WCC)
Saturday, Feb. 4 | 2 p.m.
Gersten Pavilion | Los Angeles, Calif.     
Series Record: USF leads, 38-33
Last Meeting: Feb. 20, 2016 (H), USF 81-72
Video: TheW.tv
Audio: Livestream.com/usf/wbbaudio (George Devine, PBP)
Live Stats: LMULions.com (Gametracker)
Complete Game Notes [PDF]
 
Opening Tip
USF (12-10, 6-5 WCC) continues its road swing through Southern California with a 2 p.m. matchup at Loyola Marymount (11-11, 6-5 WCC) on Saturday afternoon. The Dons are looking to bounce back after a 81-59 defeat at Pepperdine on Thursday evening, while the Lions posted their fourth straight win with a 63-55 victory at home over San Diego.         
 
The Dons At a Glance...                       
Last TIME OUT

• Lost at Pepperdine on Thursday afternoon, 81-59
• Rachel Howard led USF with 14 points on 5-of-16 from the field and 3-of-7 from the perimeter
• Anna Pierce added nine points and Nia Alexander scored eight while grabbing a team-best eight rebounds
• USF's 28.6 field goal percentage was its second-lowest of the season, while the Waves shot 53.6 percent on the night
• The Dons went just 8-for-32 from three-point range, while Pepperdine shot 12-for-24 from beyond the arc 

BEYOND THE ARC
The Dons came into Thursday's game at Pepperdine tied for the WCC's best percentage from three-point range, but a 8-for-32 showing in Malibu dropped USF to third in the conference at 34.2 percent on the year. Redshirt junior Kalyn Simon ranks third in the conference with a 41.8 percent clip from the perimeter, while Rachel Howard's 42 triples are the sixth-most in the WCC this year.
 
ONE AFTER ANOTHER
Senior guard Rachel Howard had her five-game streak of scoring at least 20 points snapped in a loss at Pepperdine on Thursday where she tallied 14 points. Howard had registered totals of 22, 21, 27, 26 and 28 prior to that and was averaging 24.8 points per game over that span, while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 56.7 percent from the perimeter.      
 
IN THE TRENCHES
USF ranks second in the WCC in defensive rebounding at 27.0 per game, but ranks third to last on the offensive glass (11.3). However, USF grabbed a season-high 26 offensive boards in its loss to Pepperdine on Thursday en route to a 49-35 rebounding advantage and a 18-0 margin in second chance points over the Waves. USF has held a rebounding advantage or tie in half of its contests so far, while the Dons' -0.2 rebounding margin ranks in the middle of the WCC.
 
NO HOME SICKNESS HERE
Redshirt junior Kalyn Simon is the rare Don who has been shooting better on the road than at home this season. Simon is connecting at a team-best 57.1 percent clip in her 10 road games versus 36.5 percent at home. She is also shooting 54.5 percent from the perimeter away from the Sobrato Center compared to 35.7 percent in home contests.
 
WHERE THEY STACK UP
At 6-5 in WCC play, USF comes into Saturday's game tied with LMU in fourth place. Gonzaga maintains sole possession of first place at 9-2 with Saint Mary's right behind at 8-3. 
 
JOIN THE CLUB
Howard's three-pointer on her first attempt of the game at Pacific on Jan. 14 put her over 1,000 points for her career. She became the 22nd player in USF history to reach that milestone.
 
Scouting Report 
About Loyola Marymount
The Lions come into Saturday's contest in the midst of a four-game winning streak after topping San Diego 63-55 at home on Thursday night. LMU is 7-5 at Gersten Pavilion this year. Reigining WCC Player of the Week, Jackie Johnson, is second in the WCC averaging 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. Johnson also ranks 11th nationally in blocks (3.0) and ranks among the top-10 in the WCC in field goal percentage (49.8) and steals (1.9). Sophomore forward Cheyanne Wallace (11.9) and senior guard Leslie Lopez-Wood (11.4) are the other Lions averaging double figures. The Lions were picked to finish sixth in the WCC under fifth-year head coach Charity Elliott. 
      
Series History with Loyola Marymount
USF leads the all-time series, 38-33, and carries a seven-game winning streak in the series into Saturday's matchup. Prior to USF's seven-game stretch, 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 15-16 when playing the Lions on the road.
 
Last Year's Meetings with LMU
In their first meeting last season, it took the full 45 minutes and five periods for the San Francisco women's basketball team to outlast Loyola Marymount 75-73 at Gersten Pavilion. USF was paced by four double-digit scoring efforts, led by Zhane Dikes' 21 points, five rebounds and four steals. Rachel Howard contributed 12 points, Kalyn Simon added 10, and Taylor Proctor finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the game. Howard swished a three to knot it at 60 apiece with just over two minutes to play. Proctor's layup off the pass from Howard with 3.2 seconds gave the Dons the slim lead, but Loyola Marymount's Taylor forced the overtime period after a successful trip to the line with 1.3 seconds remaining. In overtime, USF led by five after Dikes' couplet made it 73-68 with 13.4 seconds remaining, and despite an empty trip to the stripe with two seconds on the clock the Dons were able to deny a final shot attempt for Loyola Marymount to hold for the 75-73 victory.

In the second meeting of the year in San Francisco, the San Francisco seniors began their farewell tour with a bang, leading the Dons to an 81-72 win from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. The Dons' dynamic duo combined for 35 points and 24 rebounds on the day. Taylor Proctor finished with a game-high 25 points and nine boards, while Zhane Dikes finished with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and became the Dons' all-time leader in free throws made as she swished her 418th attempt from the line in the fourth quarter. The Dons finished the day outshooting the Lions 42 to 36 percent, and winning the battle of the boards 49 to 35. Effective ball movement for the USF offense led to 18 assists on 24 made baskets, with Rachel Howard notching her fifth game of the season with six assists to her name. Nine women scored points for the USF offense and all 10 players who entered the game scooped up at least one rebound in the contest.

Last Time Out
The USF offense fell into a deep freeze on Thursday night, suffering a 81-59 loss to Pepperdine 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. Pepperdine ended up shooting 53 percent on the night while going 12-of-24 from the perimeter.
  
Up Next
The Dons return to the Bay Area for a road contest at Santa Clara on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by their final road game of the regular season when they travel to Provo, Utah to take on BYU on Saturday at 1 p.m.