The University of San Francisco women's basketball team makes its return to postseason play on Friday when they take on Houston in the opening round of the WNIT at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Friday's game will be streamed on FloHoops with John Liddle and Kyle Youmans handling play-by-play duties. George Devine will have the Dons' radio broadcast live from the arena.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Time: March 19 – 3:00 p.m. PT
Opponent: Houston Cougars (16-7)
Site: Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center (Fort Worth, Texas)
Stream:  FloHoops ($)
Audio:  Dons Audio Network
Talent: George Devine
Live Stats: USFDons.com
 
Tournament Details
The 2021 WNIT is a 32-team field with four regions hosting eight teams. This isn't the traditional one and done WNIT format. USF will be guaranteed two contests. Should the Dons win on Friday they will they will play the winner of game four (California Baptist vs. New Mexico) on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT. If the Dons loose, they will play the looser of game four in the consolation game. If the Dons win three-straight they will advance to the Memphis site with the three other regional champions.  The semifinals are March 26 and the championship game is set for March 28.
 
Fort Worth Regional Schedule:
Round 1 - Friday, March 19
Game 1: Arizona State (11-10) vs. Rice (18-4), 11 a.m. 
Game 2: Fresno State (16-10) vs. Missouri (9-11), 2 p.m. 
Game 3: San Francisco (15-10) vs. Houston (16-7), 5 p.m. 
Game 4: California Baptist (24-0) vs. New Mexico (15-4), 8 p.m. 
 
Round 2 - Saturday, March 20
Consolation: Losers Game 1 and 2: 11 a.m. 
Consolation: Losers Game 3 and 4: 2 p.m. 
Championship Semifinal: Winners Game 1 and 2: 5 p.m. 
Championship Semifinal: Winners Game 3 and 4: 8 p.m. 
  
Round 3 - Monday, March 22
Consolation Final: 4 p.m. 
Championship Final: 7 p.m. 

USF AT A GLANCE
LAST TIME OUT
The Dons saw their run in the WCC Tournament ended in the Semifinals when BYU defeated the Dons 85-55 on Monday, March. 8.  USF finished with one player in double figures - freshman guard Ioanna Krimili who had 21 points.  The game got out of hand in the second and early third quarter when the Dons shot a combined 1-for-26 which allowed the Cougars to take a commanding lead.
 
BACK IN THE POSTSEASON
After finishing the year 15-10 - including have won 10 of their last 12 games, the Dons make their return to the post season with an at-large bid to the WNIT. The last time the Dons were in an NCAA sponsored postseason tournament came in the 2016 season when USF was in the NCAA tournament. In post season play all-time the Dons are 2-6 (2-4 NCAA, 0-2 WNIT). 
 
DONS IN THE WNIT
This marks the third time the Dons have been in the WNIT - they made their first appearance on the 2002 season where they lost to USC at War Memorial Gym in the opening round.  Their next trip came in 2015 ending a 13-year hiatus from post season play. USF lost in the opening round that year as well, falling to Fresno State 79-73 at Fresno State.
 
SHARING IS CARING
The Dons currently rank 22nd in the nation in total assists with 396 total assists, they are 33rd in the nation in assists per game averaging 15.8 assists per contest.  USF is 13-2 this year when dishing out 15 or more assists a game. Leading the team in assists is forward/center Lucija Kostic with 110 assists on the year which is 33rd in the nation and second in the WCC Her 2.12 assist/turnover ratio is 51stin the nation and tops in the WCC.  She is averaging 4.4 assists per contest.
 
IOANNA CHASES HISTORY
With 88 made 3-point field goals, Ioanna Krimili is already the USF single-season record holder for threes.  She is now climbing the top-10 in the West Coast Conference. Her 88 made threes makes her tied for 7th in a single-season with BYU's Brenna Chase who made 77 in 2019. With Ioanna's ability to collect multiple 3-point field goals in a game - she could move up into the top-5. Next up: 6th place with 89 by Julie Lienert from Santa Clara in 1991.
 
DONS FROM DISTANCE
The Dons love to shoot the three.  USF is 45th in the nation in attempts (556), 36th in made threes (193), 49th in 3-point field goals per game (7.7), and 58th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (34.7). USF's 193 made threes currently ranks fourth in USF single-season history - they are seven shy of becoming just the fourth program in USF history to make 200 or more threes in a single season. The USF record for threes in a year is 217 set in 2016-17 which was accomplished in 31 games.
 
VS. HOUSTON
Series
This is the second ever meeting between the Dons and Cougars.  Houston is one of the few teams who can say they've seen a full-strength Dons team, having played USF last season before injuries took their toll on the Dons' 2019-20 season. USF owns a 1-0 advantage having beaten the Cougars 80-57 at the Greater Victoria International Tournament on Nov. 30, 2019.
 
About the COUGARS
Houston enters the WNIT as an at-large bid after falling to Central Florida in the American Athletic Conference postseason tournament. Houston enters Friday's contest with a 16-7 overall record - and like the Dons have been hot late, winning eight of their last 10.  As a team, the Cougars are averaging 67.4 points per game, but hold their opponents to 61.9 points per contest.  Houston is shooting 38.8 percent from the field. Not a great 3-point shooting team, the Cougars connect on just 29.4 percent of their attempts from long range - however, they are elite at taking away the three. Their opponents are shooting just 23.4 percent from beyond the arc (85-for-363). Three players are averaging in double figures the leading scorer is redshirt sophomore guard Miya Crump (10.4 ppg) however, fellow guard, freshman Laila Blair is on fire, averaging 15.8 points per game over the last five contests.
 
Last Time Out Versus HOUSTON
A stout defensive effort while the offense got comfortable paved the way for an 80-57 win over Houston in the consolation championship at the Greater Victoria International Tournament on Nov. 30, 2019.  USF locked down the Cougars from the start. Houston made just two of its first 11 shots in the game (18.2%). The Dons' defense forced four turnovers and three offensive fouls in the game's first four minutes, not allowing the Cougars to get into their offense and forcing them to take outside. Lucie Hoskova led all scorers with 26 points, she also had five rebounds and five assists. Ioanna Krimili had 13 in one of her last games of the 2019-20 season.  USF shot 40.5 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from distance. The Cougars connected on just 25.8 percent of their shots and were just 4-for-20 from deep, including 2-for-12 in the second half.