SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco women's basketball team held leads in every period Saturday – even the extra one – but visiting Santa Clara held a lead when it mattered most, closing the game on a 9-2 run in overtime to survive the Dons and win, 71-66, in a West Coast Conference clash at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.


 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• San Francisco (5-9, 1-2 WCC) led by as much as seven in the fourth quarter and 15 out of the gate in the third, but all of that went away as Santa Clara (8-6, 1-2 WCC) hit six 3-pointers in the second half and forced 13 USF turnovers to erase its deficits.
   
• The Broncos' biggest 3 came in the waning seconds of regulation. Lindsey VanAllen received an inbounds pass from Joseta Fatuesi at the top of the arc and immediately threw up the deep attempt, watching hit nothing but net to tie the game at 60-60. Santa Clara had gone just 2 for 7 from deep in the first half, but VanAllen scored 20 of her game-high 23 points in the third and fourth quarters alone, hitting four treys along the way including the game-tying basket with just six seconds left.
   
• The Dons took a 64-62 lead with back-to-back baskets from Shannon Powell and Nia Alexander to start overtime, but they wouldn't score again until there was just 4.4 seconds left in OT. They went 0 for 5 with a turnover during that stretch between baskets. The USF defense did its job to keep the team in the game by forcing three consecutive misses by the Broncos, but an offensive rebound, a free throw, and a basket off a USF turnover made it 67-64. Tia Hay – who finished with 21 points – was a perfect 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the game's final 10 seconds.
   
• USF outscored Santa Clara 19-9 in the second quarter to get out to a 12-point, 34-22 halftime lead. The Dons shot an impressive 62.5 percent in the first two quarters and outrebounded the Broncos, 16-12. They also forced 12 turnovers by Santa Clara. Those numbers flipped in the second half. Santa Clara held USF to 40 percent shooting and took back the rebounding crown, 17-16. The Broncos also reduced their turnovers to just eight while forcing 13 from USF.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 17: Santa Clara recorded 17 steals in the game. Five Broncos had multiple steals, led by Hay's four. Powell led USF with three steals.
• 34: The Dons' bench outscored the Santa Clara reserves, 34-10. Nia Alexander (13) and Julia Nielacna (12) both scored in double digits off the bench. Abby Rathbun also had nine points subbing in.
• 49.1: San Francisco shot 49.1 percent in the game. That's the team's highest shooting percentage since Dec. 19 when it shot 56.9 percent versus North Dakota State in Deland, Fla.

COMING UP

• San Francisco travels to Southern California next weekend to face Loyola Marymount (Thursday) and Pepperdine (Saturday) in its first road WCC games of the season. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.