SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Competing in a hard fought conference battle, the USF Dons women's basketball team (13-6, 3-4) came up short on their home floor to the Saint Mary's Gaels (10-8, 4-3) by a 67-63 final score on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the tremendous efforts of Ioanna Krimili, the Dons were unable to cut into their deficit throughout the second half as Saint Mary's led for the majority of the game despite the Heraklion, Greece native's 29 points. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• It was an up-and-down game early as both teams shot the ball at a highly efficient rate as Krimili rattled off eight of the Dons' first 10 points connecting on a pair of threes and knocking down a pull up jump shot as USF led 10-8 early in the quarter. Later in the quarter as Saint Mary's was able to even the score, Amy Baum connected on a big corner three that put USF back up 27-24 before the Gaels would score the last four points of the quarter to lead 28-27 after one.
• Heading into the second quarter, the Dons were able to get a quick bucket on another Krimili three that gave them a 30-28 lead before the Gaels put together a 6-0 run of their own. The rest of the first half was a back-and-forth battle with each team trading baskets as Jessica McDowell-White knocked down a three that evened the score with under a minute left in the quarter before Saint Mary's scored in the waning seconds to take a 43-41 lead at the half.
• Saint Mary's came out of the half looking to build their lead as they were able to put together an 8-0 run following a Krimili three to start the half that gave the Gaels the 51-44 lead before a Jasmine Gayles got the Dons a little closer. The Gaels scored a couple buckets late in the quarter as they headed into the final 10 minutes leading 57-53 on the Hilltop. 
• Feeling the fatigue of an up-and-down game, both teams weren't able to generate much offense in the final quarter as both sides were able to record just one field goal apiece through the first six minutes of the quarter. Both teams traded free throws late in the game before a McDowell-White made three pointer had the deficit down to one point at 61-60. Depsite a late three point hit from Kia Vaalavirta to cut the lead down to two, the Gaels were able to pick up the 67-63 road victory on Saturday afternoon. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Krimili put together another tremendous performance on Saturday as she scored 29 points and knocked down six three-point shots against the Gaels to go along with three steals and a pair of rebounds.
• Gayles came off the bench and put in 10 points for the Dons to go along with four rebounds, a pair of assists and a steal in her 21 minutes of action on Saturday.

POST GAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the highlights from today's game, please click here.
• To view USF head women's basketball coach Molly Goodenbour's post game press conference, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
The Dons will now hit the road this week as they will head east to Provo for a morning battle with the BYU Cougars (10-8, 5-2) on Thursday January 19 at 10:00 a.m. PST. USF fell short against the Cougars in both matchups last season.

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.