DAVIS, Calif. – The 2020-21 opener for the University of San Francisco women's basketball team featured 10 lead changes and four ties. USF battled hard in a traditionally unfriendly environment but ultimately fell 82-75 to host UC Davis at The Pavilion.
"Good to play against an opponent other than ourselves," said head coach
Molly Goodenbour. "Davis is always a challenging game for us, it's a tough opponent to play and an even tougher opponent on their court. While we are disappointed with the loss there's a lot of good things to build on."
The Dons (0-1) had four players in double figures and were led by freshman guard
Ioanna Krimili who scored a game-high 22 points in her return to the floor. Joining her in double figures was
Amalie Langer who scored a career-high 17 points,
Lucie Hoskova added 12 as did
Leilah Vigil who grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for her 16
th career double-double.
The Aggies (1-0) balanced attack was led by Evanne Turner's team-high 19. She was one of five players in double figures for UCD who shot 49.2 percent from the field going 25-for-59, from long range they were 7-for-14. The Dons responded by shooting 41.8 percent from the field (28-for-67) and 52.9 percent from 3-point range (9-for-17).
In almost every metric the Dons had the advantage – USF finished with more second chance points (14-11), more points off turnovers (18-12), and more points in the paint (32-26). The difference today was the charity stripe where the Aggies finished 17-for-22 while the Dons were just 10-for-16. In the second half alone, UC Davis was a combined 13-for-17 from the free throw line, while USF was 9-for-14.
The frantic fourth period opened with a triple by Langer to bring the Dons within four, 61-57. After a bucket in the paint by the Aggies, USF responded with a layup from Hoskova and a triple by Krimili to cut the deficit to one with 8:12 to play.
That was as close as the Dons would get, UC Davis went on a 12-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to go up 75-62. Undaunted, USF went on a run of their own, eventually cutting the game to five following a three by Langer with 16 seconds to play.
"I think this non-conference season is going to be a great opportunity for us to figure out who to have on the floor and when," added Goodenbour. "That's our biggest challenge right now going from six available players last year to 14 or 15 players this year who are all capable – but capable in different ways, offensively and defensively. I thought there some really good things out there tonight.
Amalie Langer's defense on their point guard was tremendous, Sophia off the bench did some really good things and I think she will develop into a starting point guard role in the next couple of years. We get what we get from Lucie, Abby and Leilah and I'm really comfortable with that. Now it's trying to figure our other players figure into the equation."
USF returns to action on Friday when they continue east. They will take on Nevada at the Lawlor events center on the 27
th. That game is slated for a 2:00 p.m. tip. It will be streamed live on Mountain West Network.
George Devine will have the Dons' radio broadcast which can be accessed on the women's basketball schedule page.
USF had launched the Dons Together initiative to combat the shortfalls caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out how you can
help today.
