THE RUNDOWN
SAN FRANCISCO – The University of San Francisco women's basketball team took down the Pepperdine Waves, 68-67, in an absolute thriller on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. The Dons (7-8, 2-2) earned their second West Coast Conference in an all out battle with the WCC team from Malibu, the Waves (6-8, 2-2). In a game that saw eight lead changes and was tied eight times, it was anybody's ball game in the final minutes, but Coach Goodenbour's roster was able to get it done, beating the buzzer to send Pepperdine home with a loss.
Action opened with the two teams trading buckets and it would remain that way all the way through the first 10 minutes. Pepperdine hit a three-pointer to create a small gap of separation and enter the second with the same lead (3), 16-13. Each team shot 35.7 percent from the field in the first quarter.
Shooting 100 percent from the line (6-for-6) and earning five steals in the second helped USF to rally back and regain the lead. Another big help for Coach Goodenbour's squad in the second quarter was
Veronica Preciado. Coming off the bench, the junior guard gave the home team a nice lift with nine points in the second frame. The Dons outscored the Waves 21-15 before half to turn the tables and take a three-point lead, 34-31, as they headed into the locker room.
Pepperdine surged forward in the third, netting 26 points to the Dons 18. An 8-0 run, capped off by a three pointer, helped the Waves to take back the lead 48-46 with four minutes on the clock. The Waves went 6-of-8 from the field to finish off the quarter up five, 52-57. The visitors had 13 points off USF's turnovers in the third frame alone.
The final quarter was a hard fought battle. Seilund and
Michaela Rakova were the difference makers, scoring a combined 23 points in the second half, highlighted by each hitting three-pointers that came on back-to-back plays to open the final quarter. The two plays put the Dons down by one point with seven minutes to play. They would tie it up, 62-62, on a pair of Seilund's free throws with five minutes to go, but still could not swing their momentum into a lead.
The next tie wouldn't't come until 21 seconds remaining in the contest, when Seilund again sunk two from the line to make it 66 all. With time running down and Pepperdine possessing the ball, USF was forced to foul. However, Paige Fecske of Pepperdine could not convert on both free throws, leaving the window open for the Dons to end the game with six seconds on the clock.
With a burst of speed and power, Seilund shook her defender and drove down the lane, laying it up beautifully to give the Dons a 68-67 victory as the clock expired.
ICYMI:
WHAT'S GOODenbour:
On what it's like to be a part of a buzzer-beater game:
"It was a really exciting game! A fun game to coach and play in. It's a great feeling as a coach to feel incredibly confident putting the ball in Anna's hands for the last shot. I'm very excited for our team and proud of their resilience. We did a good job of fighting today—we are starting to understand every single game is going to be a battle and we have kept at it. Overall, I'm pleased with the effort."
On Kalyn Simon:
"Kayln is playing some of the best basketball of her career—very steady and reliable. She is also playing great defense while being assertive and confident on offense. No do doubt that Kalyn is one of our cornerstones.
On Michaela (Mishka) Rakova:
"Mishka has put together two really strong performances—19 rebounds vs BYU and a double-double again tonight. When she plays with that assertiveness she's tough and makes us so much better.
GAME NOTES:
- Four Dons scored in the double digits including Anna Seilund (24), Michaela Rakova (16), Kalyn Simon (12), and Veronica Preciado (11).
- Anna Seilund led all scorers with 24 points, three assists, one block and five steals. She is now 28 points away from the 1,000-points club in USF history books.
- Seilund was a perfect five-for-five from the line in the game and shot 50.0 percent on the game.
- Michaela Rakova earned her seventh double-double of the year, registering 16 points and 10 rebounds.
- The Dons out rebounded the Waves 33-27.
- USF had 34 points in the paint compared to Pepperdine's 26.
- The Dons shot 61.5 percent in the third quarter and 100 percent from the free-throw line in both the second (6-for-6) and fourth (4-for-4) frames.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Dons will take on top-ranked Loyola Marymount next Thursday at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Tickets are available
here. The Dons will then hit the road to Gonzaga for a weekend match up with the Bulldogs. Tip-off against the Lions is set for 7 p.m.
If you don't get your fix of hoops on the Hilltop with the women's game next Thursday, buy tickets
here to see the
men take on Gonzaga.
