University of San Francisco Athletics

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco women's basketball team returns home this week to host Southern California West Coast Conference opponents Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
 
GAME 22 INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb. 7, 2019 – 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: Pepperdine (13-8, 7-4 WCC)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
Tickets: https://bit.ly/2yJatoS
Live Video: https://bit.ly/2WLDDkA
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2BrGVAl
 
GAME 23 INFORMATION
Date/Time: Feb. 9, 2019 – Noon
Opponent: Loyola Marymount (13-10, 6-5 WCC)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
Tickets: https://bit.ly/2yJatoS
Live Video: https://bit.ly/2UG03la
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2UMItME
 
ABOUT THE DONS

• San Francisco (6-15, 2-8 WCC) kicked off the second half of WCC play last week the same way it did the first half, with a victory. The Dons snapped an eight-game skid by leading wire-to-wire on the road at rival Santa Clara on Saturday.
   
• Freshman forward Lucija Kostic was named the WCC Player of the Week Monday for the week of Jan. 28 to Feb. 3 after posting the biggest game of her young career in USF's win at Santa Clara. Kostic posted her first career 20-point game and first career double-digit rebounding game for her first career double-double. She led all players with 22 points and 12 rebounds. She also had two blocks, two assists and a steal while going 7 for 11 from the floor.
   
• In the Dons' previous matchup against Loyola Marymount (Jan. 10) in Los Angeles, the Lions beat USF, 21-7, on the offensive boards. Since that game, USF has grabbed double-digit offensive boards in five of six games and has broke even or won the offensive rebounds battle four times.
   
• San Francisco has continued to be competitive game in and game out. The Dons have won or held leads in 18 of their 21 games. They have led at halftime 12 times and 12 of their games have been decided by 10 points or less.
   
• Nia Alexander returned to the starting lineup on Saturday at Santa Clara. She scored 11 points, dished three assists, grabbed two rebounds and swiped two steals in 29 minutes against the Broncos. It was her first time in the starting lineup since Nov. 29 at Washington State.

ABOUT THE WAVES
Pepperdine (13-8, 7-4 WCC) has won six of its last eight, winning games in five of the last six weeks except for a winless road trip to Saint Mary's and Pacific on Jan. 24 and 26. In contrast, the Waves have lost five of their last six road games, including being just 1-3 on the road in WCC play. Pepperdine earned a huge home win on Saturday when it upset No. 25/RV BYU by double digits, 79-65.
 
Yasmine Robinson-Bacote's name is littered all over the WCC leaderboard, including being the conference's leading scorer at 19.4 points per game. She's also one of the best rebounders in the conference (7.4 rebounds per game) and is among the WCC's top-15 for steals (t-11th, 1.4 steals per game) and 15th in free-throw percentage (70.0 percent). The Waves shoot the 3 while doing one of the best jobs in the WCC of keeping opponents from shooting it. Pepperdine is second in the conference with a 37.8 3-point shooting percentage and second on defense by holding opponents to just 29.9 percent.
 
ABOUT THE LIONS
Loyola Marymount (13-10, 6-5 WCC) also beat No. 25/RV BYU at home last week, upsetting the Cougars by three, 61-58. The Lions have won three of their last four, but have dropped three of their last four road games – all in conference play. LMU is 5-7 away from Gersten Pavilion this season, including 5-4 in true road games.
 
The best rebounder in the WCC resides in Los Angeles, and that is LMU's Bree Alford, who's 10.0 boards per game are a full rebound better than the next player. Chelsea Gipson will try to match USF's Shannon Powell's scoring prowess, as she enters the game averaging an identical 16.1 ppg. LMU is the worst free-throw shooting team in the WCC at 62.1 percent. The Lions rebound well (2nd in WCC, 39.1 rpg) and defend the 3-pointer well (3rd, 30.1 percent allowed), and their games are usually low-scoring. Their offense is eighth in the conference at 65.1 ppg, but they're fourth in the WCC by limiting opponents to just 65.9 ppg.
 
LAST GAME VS. THE BRONCOS
San Francisco showed how much its young team learned during the first half of WCC play this season with a surge in the second half of Saturday's game when it got close. Santa Clara pulled to within one point four different times in the third quarter, but the Dons closed the period with a 6-0 run that gave them a 40-33 lead heading into the fourth.
 
And in the fourth quarter, the Dons shot 50 percent, never let Santa Clara get closer than four points, and held on for their first victory since opening conference play on Dec. 29. Again the defense stepped up, holding Santa Clara without a made basket for more than three minutes. When the Broncos were within five points with just under two minutes to play, Shannon Powell hit a big 3-pointer from atop the arc that put San Francisco back up by eight.
 
COMING UP
San Francisco gets to stay in Northern California next week when it crosses the Bay Bridge to take on Pacific on Feb. 14 and Saint Mary's on Feb. 16. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.