SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- As the calendar has turned to November and the temperatures across the country drop, another season of college basketball approaches as the USF Dons women's basketball team readies to open their 2022-23 season on Monday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. as they host the Cal State East Bay Pioneers at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. The Dons will then be back in action on Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. as they welcome the Pac-12's Washington State Cougars to the Hilltop. 

The Dons enter this new season fresh off back-to-back appearances in the WNIT as they boast a veteran roster that seeks to reach another postseason and continue to rank among the top programs in the West Coast Conference. Led by two-time All-WCC first team member Ioanna Krimili and All-WCC second team member last season Kennedy Dickie, USF is poised to continue building on the success of the previous two seasons as Dons' head coach Molly Goodenbour enters her seventh season leading the program. 

CAL STATE EAST BAY GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Monday, Nov. 7, 2022 / 4:00 p.m.
Opponent: Cal State East Bay (0-0)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center (San Francisco, Calif.)
Watch: WCC Network (George Devine and Jessica Blodgett)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here

WASHINGTON STATE GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Friday, Nov. 11, 2022 / 1:00 p.m.
Opponent: Washington State Cougars (0-0)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center (San Francisco, Calif.)
Watch: WCC Network (George Devine and Jessica Blodgett)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Tickets: Purchase Here

MEET THE SQUAD:

• USF's roster returns many of the same faces from last season's third place finish in the WCC, including two-time All-WCC first team recipient Krimili who led the league in points per game a season ago.
• Krimili enters the 2022-23 season just one three-point make away from tying the school record for made three-point shots. Ioanna wasted little time at USF to show her shooting prowess as she smashed the program record for made three-point shots as freshman by knocking down 97 shots beyond the arc which was 20 more than the previous best mark.
• Senior point guard Jessica McDowell-White's durability was crucial to a USF team that dealt with their fair share of injuries last year, as she started in all 33 of the Dons' games last year and played the entire 40 minutes of action twice.
• Dickie is coming off an All-WCC second team selection as her scoring ability and tough defense was key to USF's conference play surge. Led the Dons with 6.7 rebounds per game last year to go along with 9.1 PPG.
• Graduate transfer guard Amy Baum brings tremendous point guard play over from Division II Hawaii-Pacific, where she led Division II in both assists pergame and assist-to-turnover ratio last season.
• Senior transfer Loren Christie brings NCAA Tournament experience and size to the roster after helping Buffalo win the MAC conference tournament last season starting in half of her team's games showcasing her versatility.

DONS AT A GLANCE:

• The Dons under Goodenbour are seeking their third consecutive postseason berth after making consecutive appearances in the WNIT.
• Goodenbour's highly successful tenure on the Hilltop leaves her currently 14 victories away from 100 total at USF.
• Roaring 20's: The Dons have posted a 33-27 record since the turn of century, while also experiencing tremendous success in the conference with a 20-15 mark.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS:

• The Pioneers from Hayward are coming off a tremendous season a year ago when they posted a 24-3 overall record and lost just one of the 16 conference matches they played during the 2021-22 season.
• East Bay is led by first year head coach Jenny Thigpin who spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Northern Arizona and has previous head coaching experience at the Division II level at Utah Tech.
• Cal State East Bay returns their leading scorer from a year ago in junior guard Delia Moore who averaged 11.8 PPG and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 35% from three point distance.

SCOUTING THE COUGARS:

• The Dons will welcome Wazzou to the Hilltop for a return trip after the Cougars won last season's matchup in Pullman by a 72-58 final score. Krimili led the way for USF by scoring 17 points and Jasmine Gayles had a strong performance scoring 15 points off the bench.
• Washington State was able to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament a season ago as an eight seed as they fell to the Kansas State Wildcats by a 50-40 final score in Raleigh.
• The Cougars return their leading scorer from last season in junior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker as she averaged 16.1 PPG a year ago to go along with 5.2 rebounds per contest. She had big game last season against USF on the Palouse as she scored 27 points against the Dons to go along wiht four rebounds, three steals and two assists. 

SERIES HISTORY:

• Monday afternoon's matchup with the Pioneers will be the first meeting between the two programs, as the game will serve as an exhibition for Division II East Bay.
• The Dons are winless in their six total games against the Cougars, with Washington State coming to the Hilltop for the first time since the 2017-18 season where they took home the 74-70 victory at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

TRACK THE ACTION:
Live streaming of both contests will be available via the WCC Network and the team's schedule page. Live statistics are also available via Statbroadcast or the team's schedule page. Tickets to all games can be purchased at www.usfdons.com/tickets.

TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE:
Single-game tickets for West Coast Conference basketball games are currently on sale at www.usfdons.com/tickets. 

Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at www.usfdons.com/shop.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF women's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsWBB on Twitter, @USFDonsWBB on Instagram and @USFDonsWBB on Facebook.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.