SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Continuing the team's strong momentum early in the 2022-23 season, the USF Dons women's basketball team (9-2) is back home at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center as they begin West Coast Conference action by hosting the Loyola Marymount Lions (2-8) on Saturday, Dec. 17 and then will welcome the Pepperdine Waves (5-5) to the Hilltop on Monday, Dec. 19 with both games starting at 2:00 p.m.

The Dons are riding a seven-game win streak as they haven't lost yet in the month of December after picking up a home victory in blowout fashion over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and then picked up an impressive road victory winning by 11 against Colorado State last Saturday. USF's win over the Rams moved the team into the top 100 of the NCAA NET rankings and secured their second victory over a Mountain West opponent this season. 

LMU GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022 / 2:00 p.m.
Opponent: Loyola Marymount Lions (2-8)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center / San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: WCC Network (George Devine and Jessica Blodgett)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

PEPPERDINE GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Monday, Dec. 19, 2022 / 2:00 p.m.
Opponent: Pepperdine Waves (5-5)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center / San Francisco, Calif.
Watch: WCC Network (George Devine and Jessica Blodgett)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast 

DONS AT A GLANCE:

• USF returns home looking to continue their winning ways as they begin conference play ahead of the Christmas break in an adjustment to the early season schedule. Redshirt junior guard Ioanna Krimili had a phenomenal week leading her team as she won her second WCC Player of the Week award of the season after averaging 26.5 PPG on 53% shooting in the wins over the Golden Lions and Rams.
• Providing a tremendous scoring compliment off the USF bench, senior guard Jasmine Gayles is second on the team in scoring as she's averaged 13.2 PPG this season and leads the Dons with 54 free throw attempts as she's done a great job attacking the basket this season. Jasmine was key in the victory at Colorado State as she recorded her second double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds in her last game.
• The Dons key to success throughout the season has been their stingy defense and tremendous work on the glass, USF is currently holding their opponents to 36.4% shooting from the field which is tied for the lead in the WCC as well as just 25% shooting from three-point range to lead the conference. Dons' opponents have also not been able to generate second shot opportunities as USF leads the league in rebounds per game at 43.7 this season.

SCOUTING THE LIONS:

• LMU arrives at War Memorial looking to turn their fortunes around after a tough start to their season with a 2-9 overall record as their lone victories have come against Cal State San Marcos and Utah State. The Lions have played some quality opponents in the non-conference but have come up short against Washington State, Arizona and Oklahoma State.
• Leading the way for LMU this season has been the strong play of graduate student guard Ariel Johnson, who has been the Lions leading scorer this year at 14.1 PPG while also posting a team-high 24 assists through her team's first 10 games of the year.
• USF will also need to ensure that they limit junior guard Nicole Rodriguez's effectiveness from three-point range as she's shooting an efficient 43% on 54 attempts from beyond the arc during the 2022-23 season.

SCOUTING THE WAVES:

• Pepperdine comes to the Bay Area with a .500 record as they've won three straight home games before beginning conference play against Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon before taking on the Dons.
• The Waves have found success in the non-conference season in a similar fashion to the Dons with good team rebounding and strong defense as they're second in the league in rebounds per game at 42.5 per game while also ranking top three in opponent field goal percentage at 36.5% this season.
• Leading the way for Pepperdine this season has been the strong play of sophomore guard Ally Stedman who is currently tied for third in the WCC at 16.6 PPG while also doing good work on the defensive end for her team as she's tied for first on the Waves with 18 steals on the season. 

SERIES HISTORY:

• LMU holds the recent advantage over USF as they lead the series by a 22-19 margin although the Dons have won three in a row and four of the last five including sweeping the Lions last season. Gayles and Kennedy Dickie combined to score 37 points in last year's 70-49 win over the Lions in San Francisco last January. 
• USF leads the recent series with the Waves by an 18-17 margin as they've won four straight dating back to the 2020-21 season. The Dons picked up the 78-57 victory last season at War Memorial against Pepperdine as Krimili scored 25 points in the win to reach the 1,000 points for her collegiate career. 

TRACK THE ACTION:
Live streaming for both games against the L.A. schools will be through the WCC Network and live statistics can found through StatBroadcast. To find links for both the broadcast and live statistics can be found through the team's schedule page. 

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.