SAN FRANCISCO – After trailing by five at the intermission a torrid third quarter set the tone for the second half, as the University of San Francisco women's basketball team defeated visiting Pepperdine 64-56 on Monday afternoon at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
"Another really good team effort tonight," said head coach Molly Goodenbour. "I thought we came out a little sluggish in the first half but we regrouped and played well in the second half – especially the third quarter.  We were able to get some good stops, and able to score in transition which always helps us when we can have our offense be generated a little bit by our defensive effort."
 
USF (7-8, 3-6 WCC) had two players in double figures but got contributions throughout the lineup.  Ioanna Krimili finished with a game-high 23 points, going 9-for-16 from the floor and 5-for-9 from three point range.  It was Krimili's sixth 20-point game of the season and ninth of her career. Lucie Hoskova had 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for her second career double-double. The first since her USF debut against Northern Colorado on November 5, 2019.
 
Lucija Kostic finished with seven rebounds herself, and a game-high nine assists, along with three steals and four points.  Amalie Langer had three points, four rebounds, two assists and a block.
 
"I thought Amalie Langer once again did a fantastic job on her defensive assignment," added Goodenbour. "I thought we tried to rebound the ball a little bit better. We still had a few too many turnovers but overall a real solid performance. It was nice to have Lucie (Hoskova) getting rebounds in there and making some good basket cuts that led to easy buckets.  Ioanna is back to hitting her shot, which gave us a big lift."
 
The Dons outrebounded the Waves 32-27 on the evening.  USF also punished the Waves inside where they scored 30 of their 64 points.
 
Pepperdine (3-7, 0-6 WCC) was led by forward Monique Andriuolo who had 16 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.  She was 5-for-9 from the field but a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. She was joined by guard Cheyenne Givens in double figures who had 14. 
 
The congest began with the two sides trading buckets. The Waves took a 20-16 lead into the second quarter thanks to Andriuolo, who had eight of her 16 in the period.  Pepperdine opened the game red-hot from the field going 8-for-12 from the floor and 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
 
In the second quarter both teams' offenses stalled, combining to score 19 points.  Pepperdine went into the locker room with a 30-25 lead thanks to USF going the final five minutes without making a field goal.
 
In the third quarter Hoskova, Krimili, and the Dons took over.  USF opened the half on a 12-2 run. A layup by Hoskova with 6:40 to play in the third gave the Dons the lead for good, 35-34, which came in the middle of a 20-6 run by USF. The Dons' duo scored a combined 22 points, with Hoskova scoring 12 and Krimili adding 10. Hoskova was a perfect 5-for-5 in the third quarter, Krimili was right behind her going 4-for-5 from the floor.
 
The quarter ended with the Dons leading 51-44.  USF shot 76.9 percent from the field going 10-for-13, they held the Waves to just five field goals on 13 attempts.  The fourth quarter featured more back and forth play but Pepperdine was never able to cut the deficit to less than five. With 2:10 to play a 3-point field goal by Jessica McDowell-White put the game on ice.
 
USF will return to action on Thursday when they take on the same Pepperdine Waves. The game at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu will tip off at 7:00 p.m. The game will be streamed on the WCC Network.  George Devine will have the radio broadcast on the Dons Audio Network.