LOS ANGELES — Host Loyola Marymount grabbed a bevy of offensive rebounds in the first half and hit some timely 3-pointers in the second to keep the San Francisco women's basketball team at bay, as the Lions beat the Dons, 66-58, in a West Coast Conference contest at Gersten Pavilion.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• San Francisco (5-10, 1-3 WCC) was within five or less points on four different occasions in the second half Thursday, but on each occasion, Loyola Marymount (10-7, 3-2 WCC) got a key 3-pointer to stay out ahea. Chelsey Gipson hit three of those four key treys. She hit one coming right out of halftime to turn a three-point game into a six-point LMU advantage. She hit another one at the start of the fourth to give the Lions an eight-point lead at 58-50, and her last one came midway through the final period after Julia Nielacna's two free throws had made it a four-point game.
   
• Loyola Marymount lived on the offensive glass in the first half. The Lions pulled down eight offensive boards in both the first and second quarters for a total of 16 before halftime. That led to 14 second-chance points. Five offensive rebounds in the first four minutes of the game helped get LMU out to a 12-7 lead, and three offensive boards in the first three minutes of the second during a 12-2 run put them ahead 29-22.
   
• San Francisco wouldn't go away, though, in the first half. Down 12-7 early, the Dons posted an 11-2 run in the latter part of the first period to go up 18-14, holding the Lions scoreless for more than 2 1/2 minutes and without a field goal for all of the last 6:21 of the quarter. San Francisco would lead 20-17 after one thanks to an impressive 75.0 percent (9 for 12) shooting performance in the first 10 minutes.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 16: USF tallied 16 assists, their fourth straight game with at least 16 assists after only getting 10 in a double-overtime game versus North Dakota on Dec. 21. Shannon Powell led the way with seven.
• 18.2: Two of the WCC's top 3-point defensive teams went at it Thursday, with the conference leader LMU holding the Dons to just 18.2 percent from deep, and USF keeping the Lions to 30.4 percent.
• 21: Loyola Marymount had 21 offensive rebounds, 16 in the first half alone. That gave the Lions 20 second-chance points. They would outrebound the Dons, 36-28.

COMING UP

• San Francisco travels up Highway 1 to Malibu on Saturday to conclude its Southern California road trip with an afternoon matchup at 2 p.m. versus Pepperdine. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.