SPOKANE, Wash./PORTLAND, Ore. -- Following their impressive overtime road victory over Santa Clara, the USF Dons women's basketball team (12-3, 2-1) is back on the road this week as they head north to face off with the #20 Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-2, 4-0) on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6:00 p.m. before then heading down to face the Portland Pilots (10-5, 4-0) on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 5:00 p.m. from the Chiles Center.

The Dons will have their hands full taking on the top two teams in the West Coast Conference on the road for the third weekend of conference play as USF looks to continue building on their success halfway through the season. USF currently ranks near the top of most statistical and individual categories in the WCC as the Dons lead the league as they will try to match the potent scoring attacks of both the Bulldogs and Pilots.

GONZAGA GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023 / 6:00 p.m.
Opponent: #20 Gonzaga Bulldogs (14-2, 4-0)
Site: McCarthey Athletic Center / Spokane, Wash.
Watch: WCC Network
Listen: Dons Radio Network (George Devine)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

PORTLAND GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 / 5:00 p.m.
Opponent: Portland Pilots (10-5, 4-0)
Site: Chiles Center / Portland, Ore.
Watch: WCC Network
Listen: Dons Radio Network (George Devine)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Following yet another win away from the Hilltop, the Dons now find themselves ranked 23rd in this week's Women's Hoops Mid-Major Top 25 Poll decided on by coaches across the country. USF's opponents this week Gonzaga is currently ranked 1st in the poll while Portland comes in at 20th overall.
• Making just her second start of the season last time out, Debora dos Santos played a huge role in USF's victory over Santa Clara as she scored 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the field while also grabbing eight rebounds to go along with a season high four steals and a block. Playing her first full season in the WCC, dos Santos has starred in the Dons' front court ranking second in the league shooting 57.5% from the field and is fifth in rebounds per game by averaging 7.3 this season.
• Using their strong front court depth and tremendous effort from their guards on the glass, the Dons currently lead the WCC in team rebounds per game at 43.8 so far this season which is four more than second place Pepperdine as USF has done a great job of taking second chance opportunities from their opponents and turning last season's struggle into a strength.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS:

• Gonzaga enters Thursday night's game playing tremendously this season despite some early season injuries that shortened their rotation as they've been able to win 14 of their first 16 games of the season with their lone losses coming against Marquette and #2 Stanford on the road.
• A key reason for the Bulldogs' success has been their highly efficient scoring as a team with four athletes averaging double figures led by last season's WCC Sixth Woman of the Year forward Yvonne Ejim, who's third in the league scoring 16.6 PPG while also collecting 7.9 rebounds and shooting 55.1% from the field this season.
• A new addition to Gonzaga this season is graduate transfer guard Brynna Maxwell from Utah who has provided a very impactful scoring punch for the Bulldogs as she currently leads the WCC in three-point shooting percentage at 54% while also averaging 14.9 PPG in Gonzaga's starting lineup.

SCOUTING THE PILOTS:

• Portland enters Saturday night's game on a roll as they currently have won five straight games dating back to non-conference play with wins over Portland State, San Diego, BYU and at LMU and Pepperdine last week.
• Leading the way for the Pilots this season has been the impressive scoring output of forward Alex Fowler who's just behind Ioanna Krimili averaging 17.5 PPG this season while shooting a league best 66.4% from the field as USF will have their hands full attempting to limit her scoring.
• The Dons will need to use their size to match up well with a Portland team that likes taking the ball to the basket as they lead the WCC in field goal percentage at 46.7 overall, but struggle shooting beyond the arc where they rank eighth in the league at 28.8% shooting from long range. 

SERIES HISTORY:

• Thursday night's game in Spokane will mark the 78th overall meeting between the Bulldogs and Dons with Gonzaga holding the 51-26 overall advantage as they've won 13 straight games over USF including all three meetings last season, which were decided by an average of seven points. 
• Saturday's game against the Pilots will mark the 35th meeting between both programs since the 2005-06 season with Portland holding a slight 18-17 advantage with both home teams coming out victorious in last year's game. In the rematch in San Francisco, Krimili notched a career-high 38 points in the win over the Pilots. 

TRACK THE ACTION:
Live streaming for Thursday and Saturday's games will be through the WCC Network and live statistics can found through StatBroadcast. A radio broadcast will also be available through the Dons' Radio Network as well. To find links for both broadcasts and live statistics use 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.