SAN FRANCISCO — A big performance Saturday by San Francisco women's basketball senior Shannon Powell in her final home game as a Don, on top of some hard-fought defense, put USF ahead early and kept it in the game against No. 15/16 Gonzaga, but the Bulldogs eventually found their rhythm and pulled away for a 64-44 West Coast Conference win on Senior Day at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.



HOW IT HAPPENED

• Powell posted her eighth 20-point performance of the season with a game-high 20 points on her day to shine. She narrowly missed out on a double-double with a game-best nine rebounds. She shot 53.8 percent from the floor and hit two 3-pointers. She also swiped three steals as part of a Dons defense that held Gonzaga (25-3, 14-2 WCC) to 10 points less than its season average entering the game (74.0 points per game).
   
• The Dons (6-21, 2-14 WCC) burst out of the gate in the first quarter with solid efforts on both sides of the ball. They jumped out to a 7-0 lead over the Bulldogs in the first three minutes and would build that to an 11-2 advantage halfway through the opening period. San Francisco locked down Gonzaga for six minutes, forcing four turnovers and holding them to just 1-for-5 shooting from the floor.
   
• But the Bulldogs finally got in rhythm late in the first quarter. Trailing USF 11-2, Gonzaga went on a 10-2 run to close the frame to cut its deficit to just one. The run rolled into the start of the second quarter, ending as a 14-2 stretch that gave the Bulldogs a three-point lead that they would not relinquish again.
   
• San Francisco didn't go away easily though, keeping up with the No. 15 team in the country all through the third quarter. USF played to within one point of the Bulldogs in the third (13-12). They closed the quarter with a quick 7-2 spurt that made it a six-point game at 36-30 while holding Gonzaga to just 28.6 percent shooting in the quarter.
   
• A big fourth quarter was what put the game away for the Bulldogs. They scored 24 points in the final 10 minutes after not scoring more than 15 in any of the previous three periods. Still just a six-point game after a Powell 3-pointer two minutes in, Gonzaga ran off a 15-2 run over a 5 1/2-minute stretch that turned it into a 19-point contest. USF went 1 for 7 from the floor with three turnovers during the Bulldogs' game-clinching run.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 5: Lucija Kostic had five assists, her fifth game this season with at least five helpers. She has 72 assists on the year (2.8 per game), second-most on the team.
• 42: The Dons had their second straight 40-rebound performance and third in their last five games, pulling down 42 rebounds. That included 20 on the offensive end, with four players grabbing at least five boards.
• 44: Saturday was a low-scoring game for both teams. San Francisco was held to 44 points, its lowest total of the season. Gonzaga scored 64 points, 10 points below its season average of 74.0 per game and the fifth-lowest total all year.

COMING UP

• The Dons travel to second-place BYU on Thursday and San Diego on Saturday to conclude the regular season. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.