University of San Francisco Athletics

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco women's basketball team leaves the Bay Area for the first time this week when it travels to the Pacific Northwest for its first true road trip of the season. The Dons will face Pac-12 Conference member Washington State on Thursday, then take on nearby Idaho on Saturday.

GAME 6 INFORMATION
Date/Time: Nov. 29, 2018 – 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: Washington State (2-4, 0-0 Pac-12)
Site: Pullman, Wash. (Beasley Coliseum)
Live Video: https://bit.ly/2Non3oN
Live Audio: http://bit.ly/2OOiKjs
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2BEU8Gn
 
GAME 7 INFORMATION
Date/Time: Dec. 1, 2018 – 2:00 p.m.
Opponent: Idaho (2-3, 0-0 Big Sky)
Site: Moscow, Idaho (Memorial Gym)
Live Video: https://bit.ly/2Rs73RL
Live Audio: http://bit.ly/2OOiKjs
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2U47VgX


ABOUT THE DONS

• Each of the Dons' last three games have been decided by single digits. San Francisco is 1-2 in its last three contests, having beaten Cal Poly by three (65-62) on Nov. 18 before falling to Northern Colorado by five (68-63) and UT Arlington by seven (80-73) on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
   
• San Francisco has scored at least 62 points in each of its first five games, but it has also allowed at least 62 points in each of them as well. The Dons are 2-1 this season when limiting their opponents to less than 70 points, while going 1-2 when scoring less than 70.
   
• True freshman forward Julia Nielacna is tied for the team scoring lead with 14.2 points per game – and she's scored all of them off the bench. She has the same amount of points (71) as fellow scoring leader Shannon Powell, who's started all five games. She is shooting 41.2 percent from the floor, including 57.1 percent (4 for 7) from 3-point range. She's also the team's leading free-throw shooter with a team-high 25 made free throws off a team-high 33 attempts. She leads the Dons with a 75.8 percent clip from the charity stripe (minimum 10 attempts).
   
• Steals have been a big part of the Dons' game so far this year. They are averaging 10.6 steals per game and forcing opponents into 17.8 turnovers per game. But the Dons have also committed an average of 19.0 turnovers per game. Marta Galic has the best steals-to-turnovers ratio on the team, grabbing a team-high nine steals while only giving it away four times. Moa Lundqvist has also been strong in that category with six steals against just two giveaways while also notching nine assists – third-most on the team for a 4.5 assists-to-turnovers ratio.
   
• Though USF owns a +0.6 rebounding margin this season, having outrebounded its opponents on three occasions, it's on the offensive glass where the Dons have lacked. Opponents are outrebounding USF 68-61 on the offensive end, topping the Dons there three different times. However, the Dons are 2-1 in games where they've been beaten on the offensive boards, only falling by five points to Northern Colorado on Sunday, who had a 10-rebound advantage there (20-10).

ABOUT WASHINGTON STATE
The Cougars (2-4) split their two games at CSUN's Warner Center Marriott Thanksgiving Basketball Classic last weekend, beating Jacksonville State, 64-51, after falling to the host Matadors, 65-52. WSU's only other win came in double overtime over visiting Nebraska on Nov. 16. Washington State has played four of its first six games at home, which will become six of eight by this week's end.
 
The Cougars have three players averaging double-digit points per game, led by Borislava Hristova's 21.0 ppg, third in the Pac-12 and among the top-25 in the country. Hristova is ranked among the nation's top-50 in seven different categories including field goals made, minutes played per game and free throws made. She is already among the Washington State greats of all time as a redshirt junior this year, eclipsing 1,000 career points last season and twice being named to the all-Pac-12 team. Maria Kostourkova is the team's leading rebounder at 10.8 per game, second in the Pac-12 and 32nd in the country.
 
ABOUT IDAHO
The Vandals (2-3) dropped both of their Thanksgiving Weekend games in Long Beach, Calif., falling to in-state rival Boise State on Friday and host Long Beach State on Saturday. Idaho has lost three of its last four games after starting the year with two exhibition victories and a regular-season-opening win over CSUN on Nov. 6. Saturday's game marks just the second home game this season for the Vandals.
 
Mikayla Ferenz was named the Big Sky Conference Co-Player of the Week after tallying back-to-back 30-point games, scoring 30 points against the Broncos and 31 against the Beach. Her 20.6 points per game are second in the Big Sky and 32nd in the nation. She also leads the team with a 2.00 assists-to-turnovers ratio and is second with 6.4 rebounds per contest. Natalie Klinker leads the Vandals in that category with 8.2 boards per game. Janie King is shooting an impressive 59.1 percent from 3-point distance (13 for 22).
 
LAST GAME VS. UT ARLINGTON
San Francisco made a strong push in the final quarter Sunday, but UT Arlington's 22-point lead proved to be just enough for the Lady Mavericks to hold on, as they staved off the Dons' comeback to win 80-73 in a non-conference matchup at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
Nia Alexander, Marta Galic and Shannon Powell all gave the Dons a lift in the fourth quarter. Alexander went off, scoring 12 of her 14 points on the night in the final frame. She scored 11 points in a row and 12 of 13 over a 4-minute, 15-second period while assisting on the next basket as well, helping the Dons kick off their 18-5 comeback push. Galic had five points in the run with assists from both Alexander and Powell, as the run turned a 21-point deficit into an eight-point game with 61 seconds left.
 
COMING UP
San Francisco's road trip concludes next week in Northern California with a single game at Sacramento State on Dec. 5. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.