SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In a hard-fought battle on the Hilltop, the University of San Francisco women's basketball team (3-9) dropped a narrow 74-67 non-conference decision to Columbia (8-4) Thursday evening at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• The Dons trailed early from the jump, falling behind by seven, 11-4, at the 7:47 mark of the first quarter. Despite the early deficit, Jasmine Gayles and Freja Werth connected on back-to-back three-point baskets to bring the Dons back within one, 11-10 under a minute later.
• The Lions quickly responded and ballooned their lead to eight, using a 7-0 run to push the advantage to 18-10.
• Trailing 22-14 at the 3:02 mark of the opening period, the Dons used a three-minute scoring run to even the game at 22. Gayles, Werth, and Cami Fulcher propelled the team through an 8-0 run. Three-pointers continued to fall for the Dons late in the first quarter as Fulcher and Werth hit two straight long-range shots while Gayles finished the run with two free throws.
• Columbia ended the quarter on top with a last-second two-point basket from Abbey Hsu, giving the Lions a narrow 24-22 edge.
• The Lions held their advantage throughout the second quarter, pushing the lead to as high as eight points. Trailing 40-32, the Dons' resilient efforts prevailed as buckets from Fulcher and Debora dos Santos, late in the first half, cut the deficit to three at the halftime break, 40-37.
• San Francisco gained control in the third quarter, taking its first lead, 44-41, at the 6:53 mark after Werth connected on her fifth three-point basket of the game.
• The game remained close in the following two minutes as both teams traded baskets. After the Lions cut the Dons' lead to just one, 48-47, at the 4:17 mark of the third quarter, the green and gold recorded nine-straight points, giving the team a 10-point advantage, 57-47.
• Aya Kéita sparked the run as she scored three times, tallying a total of seven points in a two-minute span.
• Columbia answered with a 7-0 run of its own in the quarter's final minutes as the game entered the final quarter of play with San Francisco leading by three, 57-54.
• In a fourth quarter that saw three ties and three lead changes, Werth hit her sixth three-pointer of the game to give the team a 62-58 edge in the early stages of the period.
• Going down to the wire with Columbia leading by one, 68-67, with 1:39 remaining, the Lions closed on a 6-0 run to earn the seven-point victory, 74-67.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Playing in a season-high 37 minutes, Werth scored a career-high 20 points, as she shot 77.8 percent (seven-for-nine) from the floor. Doing most of her damage from beyond the three-point line, Werth nearly broke the USF single-game record for three-pointers in a game as she totaled a career-high six from beyond the arc.
• Dos Santos recorded her fourth-straight double-double after posting 20 points and 10 rebounds in 29 minutes of work. Tying a career-high in made field goals with 10, dos Santos shot 55.5 percent (10-for-18) from the field while adding one block and two steals.
• Gayles, the third Don to score in double figures, tallied 12 points, with the bulk of her points at the free-throw line.
• Despite going scoreless from the floor, Luana Leite totaled a career-high 10 assists as she became the first player this season to produce double-digit assists in a game.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full highlights of tonight's contest, please click here.
• To view the full postgame press conference with Head Coach Molly Goodenbour, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
San Francisco closes out its non-conference slate at home when it hosts Brown at 1 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 1 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsWBB on Twitter, @USFDonsWBB on Instagram and @USFDonsWBB on Facebook.
 
MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Corona - 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.