LAS VEGAS – An early hole proved too difficult to dig out of as the USF women's basketball team fell to No. 1 seed Gonzaga, 77-46, in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference Championships on Monday afternoon at the Orleans Arena.
 
Senior Rachel Howard led the Dons with 18 points, five rebounds and five assists, while junior Anna Seilund added nine points and five rebounds.
 
Gonzaga jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game, immediately putting the momentum in their favor. USF (18-13) was held scoreless until Claudia Price hit a layup almost five minutes into the first quarter. The Dons started one for their first 10 from the field and went just 2-for-17 in the opening quarter as the Zags (25-6) jumped out to a 22-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. USF never led in the game.  
 
"I think in that situation it's important to stay positive," Howard said. "In our experience, if you look back at our game last year against BYU they were up 10-0 on us and we ended up winning the game. So, understanding that basketball is a long game and a game of runs, we were just looking to keep playing as hard as we can."
 
USF shot 25 percent on the day, their second-lowest mark of the season and went just 4-of-30 from long range. This coming from a team that registered double digit three-pointers in four of its last five games and has been averaging over 80 points per game over a season-long five game winning streak that was snapped with Monday's loss.
 
"I thought we ran into a team playing like they're ready for the NCAA Tournament," head coach Molly Goodenbour said. "It was not the same team we played when we played them on our home court and got the win. With that being said, I don't think we played like what we've demonstrated we're capable of. We weren't as assertive as we needed to be and we weren't much of a defensive presence. Our offense was kind of reflective of how we played on the defensive end."
 
USF enjoyed a quick flourish to finish out the first half, making their last three field goals, but by that point Gonzaga had built a 47-17 lead heading into the intermission.
 
The Zags kept the pressure on in the second half and USF was never able to claw back into it.
 
Howard, who didn't hit her first shot until a layup almost 13 minutes into the game, moved into the top-10 among USF career scoring leaders with her final WCC Tournament effort, leaving her with 1,345 points for her career.

Five players recorded double digit scoring for Gonzaga, led by Kiara Kudron's 15 points. Zykera Rice (13), Jill Barta (12), Laura Stockton (11), Emma Stach (10) rounded out the Zags in double figures.
 
"Our leaders before us started the foundation," said Price, who had six points and five rebounds after missing the Dons' quarterfinal win over LMU while recovering from a concussion. "For us as our class, we just tried to keep that tradition going. Coach Molly emphasizes that we should do our job. In the future you will see USF continue to be successful."