FORT WORTH, Texas – The University of San Francisco women's basketball team battled but a slow start offensively saw the Dons terrific season officially come to an end on Saturday night, falling to California Baptist 90-82 in the second round of the WNIT.
"California Baptist is a very good team," said head coach
Molly Goodenbour. "There's a reason they are undefeated this year. I thought they came out and did a really good job of pounding the ball inside. When we guarded them on the interior, they would kick it outside and knock down shots, which is what they've done all year. I wish them the best of luck on Monday."
"As far as our team, we got down a little bit in the first half but I'm really happy with how we fought back. I thought there was a lot of fight in us especially in the second half. There's some kids on our team that are dealing with a few nagging injuries and some fatigue so they weren't their best, but I thought everyone who was on the floor really gave us 100% of what they had."
USF (16-11) had a strong second and third quarter, but a sluggish first quarter and foul trouble late plagued the Dons. Three players finished in double figures with
Ioanna Krimili going off for a game-high 30 points. She was 10-for-25 from the field, including 6-for-17 from beyond the arc.
The six 3-point field goals gives her 97 for the year which is fourth most in WCC single season history. The Dons' sharp shooter now has 117 3-point field goals in her career which already ranks 10
th most in USF history.
Krimili was joined in double figures by
Lucie Hoskova who had 22. If this was her final game in the green and gold, Hoskova ends her brilliant two year run with 794 points. Her 20-point performance tonight was her 14
th of the season and 16
th of her career.
Amalie Langer finished with 10 points along with three assists and two steals.
Kia Vaalavirta had nine points off the bench and hit two big three-point field goals as the Dons attempted to claw their way back.
California Baptist (26-0) finished with three players in double figures and was led by Britney Thomas' 26 points. Caitlyn Harper had 24 and Taylor Wu had 12. The Lancers owned the paint, finishing with 42 of their 90 points inside the key.
The Dons scored on the game's first possession, but turnovers and sloppy play let the Lancers take the early advantage. Meanwhile, USF struggled to get going offensively from beyond the arc. USF opened the contest 1-for-8 from the three-point range before Krimili hit a triple at the top of the key to end the first with the Dons down a pair, 16-14.
The second quarter featured more of the same. USF took better care of the ball but was whistled early and often. Langer and Rathbun both picked up their third fouls midway through the period. The Lancers went on a run late to build their lead to 12, 42-30 with under a minute to play.
The Dons responded however. A jumper by Hoskova and a triple before the half by Krimili brought the Dons within eight at the half, down 42-35. USF shot 38.9 percent from the field but started to find its touch late.
The Dons went to a zone to start the second half and got a stop and a bucket. But the Lancers responded going on a 10-0 run to build their lead to 15 with 6:49 left in the third.
Back-to-back threes by Vaalavirta and Langer with 5:31 in the third brought the Dons back to within nine and started the Dons comeback attempt. The Dons cut it to six with 3:11 to play on a triple by Krimili. However, with 2:07 to play a three in front of the Lancer bench by Harper ended any hope of final comeback.
"This group was a group that really benefited from the opportunity to play in the WNIT and have a postseason experience. We are young, we have a lot of kids coming back with multiple years of eligibility. This was a fantastic experience for them to be able to play in a tournament situation and to feel what that's like. I do believe we are building a foundation for moving forward and being able to hopefully play in more postseason tournaments as we progress," said Goodenbour.
