DELAND, Fla. — The San Francisco women's basketball team left everything on the court and then some on Friday, as the Dons played North Dakota to double overtime on the final day of the Hatter Classic at Stetson University, narrowly falling 100-97 at the Edmunds Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With multiple players fouling out and some in-game bumps and bruises, San Francisco was left with just four players to play with on the court with less than a minute to go in the second overtime. Even with that, the Dons were still able to tie the game yet again. Marta Galic, who finished with a season-high 15 points, stole the ball with 15.6 seconds left and was fouled on the play. She made both her free throws, making it 96-96.
   
• Down at the other end, North Dakota drew a foul and made both free throws. Now San Francisco had to run its offense playing down a person. Nonetheless, Shannon Powell drew a foul with 6.2 seconds left and went to the free-throw line for two and a chance to tie the game again. She made her first, giving her a career-high 31 points, but she would not be allowed to even attempt the second. A mixup on which Don should be in the key to rebound caused USF to get called for a violation, disallowing Powell's second free throw attempt and leaving the score at 98-97.
   
• Galic fouled a North Dakota player on the ensuing inbound, giving her five fouls and leaving the Dons with only three players to play with. The Fighting Hawks made both their free throws again, making it 100-97 with only a few seconds left. Powell dribbled the ball up court and tried to get off a last-second tying 3-pointer, but the buzzer sounded and the game was over.
   
• Time after time in the fourth quarter and in overtime, San Francisco kept emerging with clutch plays and chances. After scoring four straight points to tie the game at 83-83 in the first overtime, the Dons turned the ball over. But they grabbed it right back with a clutch steal from Powell. She was fouled on the play and made one of two free throws to give USF an 84-83 lead. But both teams went 1 for 2 from the line a combined three consecutive times, leaving the score tied 85-85 after the first overtime.
   
• Only once did either team lead by more than three in the fourth quarter. Julia Nielacna hit a 3-pointer, then followed that with a running layup to break a 62-62 tie and give the Dons a five-point lead at 67-62 with 4 1/2 minutes to play. But North Dakota answered with a 10-2 run over the next 2 minutes, 45 seconds. The Dons committed five fouls and turned the ball over twice during North Dakota's run that put them ahead 72-69.
   
• Shannon Powell earned a clutch 3-point play to tie the game back up at 72-72 with just 61 seconds to play. She drove right and put it in while getting hit, then sank her free throw. Both teams had shots to win it in the final 20 seconds. North Dakota missed a long jumper, with the rebound going to Galic. She passed it up court to Powell with no timeouts. Powell drove the middle of the lane and laid up the ball in traffic, only to see it bounce off the front rim as the regulation buzzer sounded and sent the game into overtime.
   
• North Dakota went ahead for the first time since the first quarter with a 7-0 run late in the third that gave it a 46-45 advantage, its first since leading 7-6 in the opening period. But the lead was short lived, as Kia Vaalavirta answered with her third 3-pointer of the game from the corner just 18 seconds later. The two teams would trade baskets in the final minutes of the frame and head into the fourth quarter tied 53-53.
   
• San Francisco started hot, jumping out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter by scoring 27 points – its third-most points in a quarter this season. The Dons shot 58.8 percent in the frame and also got 15 points off of eight North Dakota turnovers. USF was a perfect 4 for 4 from deep in the opening period, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Kia Vaalavirta that gave the Dons their double-digit lead.
   
• But the second quarter was nearly opposite for USF. The Dons managed just seven points after their big opening quarter, making just two baskets (2 for 13, 15.4 percent) and going scoreless for nearly eight minutes. That allowed the Fighting Hawks to whittle down their 11-point deficit to just four at 34-30 heading into halftime. The damage might have been worse, but the USF defense stayed strong and forced 10 more North Dakota turnovers in the second period alone, making it 18 in the first half and 20 points coming from them.

COMING UP

• San Francisco takes a quick break for the Christmas holiday before opening West Coast Conference play