WBB | Dons Finish Strong on the Road at Pacific - University of San Francisco Athletics

Thursday, February 14

Stockton, Calif.

7 p.m.

University of San Francisco

6-18, 2-11WCC

Pacific

16-8, 9-5WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
San Francisco	11	4	12	21	48
Pacific	19	23	16	16	74

Abby Rathbun vs Loyola Marymount 2-9-2019

Abby Rathbun led the Dons Thursday with a team-high nine points and a season-high-tying eight rebounds.

Photo by: Christina Leung

WBB | Dons Finish Strong on the Road at Pacific

2/14/2019 10:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

STOCKTON, Calif. — A slow start rolled into a strong finish Thursday for the San Francisco women's basketball team, but a huge second quarter by host Pacific helped lead the Tigers to a 74-48 West Coast Conference win at the Alex G. Spanos Center.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After going ahead in the first quarter, Pacific adjusted in the second and shut down any momentum the Dons had tried to build at the end of the first. The Tigers outscored the Dons, 23-4, in the second quarter alone to run out to a 42-15 lead and never look back. Pacific shot 47.4 percent in the second frame, including making five of its last six shots, while holding USF to 2 for 11 (18.2 percent) shooting.
San Francisco was slow to get things going in the first quarter, not scoring its first points until 3 1/2 minutes in, and not getting its first field goal until seven minutes in. But once the Dons made their first basket, things got rolling. After opening the game 0 for 7 from the floor, USF made three of its last four shots in the opening quarter and scored the last four points of the period to cut Pacific's lead to 19-11.
USF got plenty better in the second half, playing its two best quarters of the game in both the third and fourth. The Dons were within four points of Pacific in the third (16-12) and won the fourth quarter, 21-16. The Dons shot nearly 11 percent better in the second half than it did in the first, had four less turnovers and grabbed two more steals.
The Dons closed Thursday's contest on a strong note, going on a 9-0 run to finish the game. The Dons made five straight field goals to end the game, three of them from Marta Galic, who scored all eight of her points on the night in the final three minutes of play. The defense also held Pacific to just 3-for-11 shooting (27.3 percent) in the game's last eight minutes.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

4: The Dons' four points scored in the second quarter were the lowest amount of points they have scored in a single quarter all season. Their previous low was six in the first quarter versus UC Davis on Dec. 15.
8: Eight different players scored points for USF, led by Abby Rathbun's nine points. Rathbun also led the Dons with eight rebounds, tying her season high.
17: One game after the Dons outrebounded their opponent by 19, Pacific outrebounded them by 17 on Thursday night. Pacific had 45 rebounds to USF's 28, including a 19-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

COMING UP

San Francisco gets closer to home on Saturday when it faces East Bay rival Saint Mary's at 1 p.m. The Dons are back home on Feb. 21 and 23 to host Portland and Gonzaga, respectively, with Senior Day festivities taking place on Feb. 23.