Latu's Career Night Propels Dons Past Lady Eagles

Thursday, December 22

San Francisco, Calif.

2:00 p.m.

University of San Francisco

11-3,1-1WCC

104

Northern New Mexico

0-9

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Northern N.M.	14	10	17	11	52
San Francisco	26	25	36	17	104

Photo by: ©Chris M. Leung Photography

12/22/2022 4:37:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Playing in their last game before the Christmas break, the USF Dons women's basketball team (11-3, 1-1) put together an all-together strong team performance to pick up the 104-52 win over the Northern New Mexico Lady Eagles (3-15) at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Thursday afternoon.

USF received strong contributions up and down the roster as Malia Latu came off the bench and scored a season-high 18 points on a very efficient 7-for-10 from the field while Kennedy Dickie also put together a great game to with 17 points and 14 rebounds as the Dons wrapped up non-conference play.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The Dons took control of Thursday's game from the opening tip as they raced out to a quick 8-2 lead thanks to a made three-point shot from Kia Vaalavirta as well as made free throws from Jessica McDowell-White, Ioanna Krimili and Amalie Langer. Following a brief run from Northern New Mexico, USF re-established control of the quarter as Dickie knocked down a jump shot from the paint as the Dons lead 26-14 after 10 minutes of play.
USF continued to build their lead in the second quarter as three-point makes from Krimili and McDowell-White followed by a Latu lay up pushed the Dons' lead up to 21 and forced the Lady Eagles into a timeout. The hometown Dons continued to expand the lead the remainder of the quarter and following an Aya Kéita lay up at the end of the quarter they held a 51-24 lead at the half.
The shooting barrage continued in the third quarter as the Dons hit a new season-high with 36 points out of halftime as Krimili scored eight points while Jasmine Gayles and Dickie each scored six points to hold the 87-41 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Up by a lot late in the game, the Dons were able to give extended playing time up and down the roster as freshman Marina Hernandez knocked down her first three-point of her collegiate career for USF's 100th point of the game as they went of to pick up the 104-52 win at home.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Latu led the way for USF as she played a team-high 29 minutes and scored a season-high 18 points and an efficient 7-for-10 from the field to go along with seven rebounds and a block and assist. Malia also made 2-of-3 three-point shots while knocking down both of her free throw attempts.
Dickie had a great bounce back performance against Northern New Mexico as she scored 17 points and collected 14 rebounds in the USF victory. Kennedy also dished out a pair of assists and blocked a shot while making 6-of-8 field goals she attempted.
dos Santos made the most of her 12 minutes played as she scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting while also collecting six rebounds and blocking four shots against the Lady Eagles.
Proving to be pest to the opposing offense, Cami Fulcher had a nice game for the Dons in her 22 minutes of action as she grabbed five rebounds, came away with three steals and knocked down a big three-point shot in the victory.

POST GAME WITH THE DONS:

USF head women's basketball coach Molly Goodenbour: "This was a nice way to head into the Christmas break. Everyone got the chance to play good minutes and we can now turn our focus to WCC play. I was happy to see Malia score and I thought Deb and Kennedy ran the floor well and got some easy transition baskets as well as rebounds. Cami played really solid defense and I was happy to Marina get a basket."
To watch the highlights from USF's 104-52 win over Northern New Mexico, please click here.
To watch the post game press conference with Malia Latu and Marina Hernandez, please click here.

UP NEXT:
The Dons will now hit the road as they head to the South Bay to take on Bay Area rival the Santa Clara Broncos (10-5, 1-1) on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 2:00 p.m. from the Leavey Center. USF took two of three games they played against Santa Clara last year with their lone loss coming on the road by a 83-78 final score with Gayles and Krimili each going off for over 20 points in the game.

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.