SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Coming off a big home win over rival Santa Clara, the USF Dons women's basketball team (15-7, 5-5) are back home this week taking on two of the top teams in the WCC as they will host the Portland Pilots (16-6, 10-1) on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 6:00 p.m. and will then match up with the #17 Gonzaga Bulldogs (21-2, 11-0) on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2:00 p.m. from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. 

The Dons will have their hands full this week at home hosting two teams that have combined to lose just one conference game this season. USF has bounced back from a slow start to 2023 as they've won two of their last three games with a key piece of their success being Jessica McDowell-White's play in conference action. The Australian senior has averaged 7.4 PPG and 3.4 rebounds and assists to game while shooting an impressive 43% from three-point range. 

PORTLAND GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023 / 6:00 p.m.
Opponent: Portland Pilots (16-6, 10-1)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center / San Francisco, Calif. 
Watch: WCC Network (George Devine and Jessica Blodgett)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Dons Athletics

GONZAGA GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023 / 2:00 p.m.
Opponent: #17 Gonzaga Bulldogs (21-2, 11-0)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center / San Francisco, Calif. 
Watch: NBC Sports Bay Area (Anne Marie Anderson and Maylana Martin Douglas) and WCC Network (George Devine and Jessica Blodgett)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: Don Athletics 

DONS AT A GLANCE:

• USF enters this next week of conference action with two big games against quality opponents on their home floor. The Dons currently rank third in the WCC in points per game as they're averaging 71.5 this season while shooting 41% percent from the field as a team.
• Leading the way for the Dons throughout the season has been the prolific scoring of Ioanna Krimili who currently ranks second in the WCC by averaging 17.6 PPG while attempting a league-high 14 field goal attempts per game.
• The Dons received another tremendous performance from Kennedy Dickie last week against the Broncos as she recorded her fifth double-double of the season by scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the victory. Dickie has been a force on the glass all season as she currently ranks fourth in the WCC in rebounds per game with an average of 7.5 boards.
• USF remains one of the best rebounding teams in the league as they currently rank just behind Pepperdine as they've grabbed 39.4 boards per game as a team this season. 

SCOUTING THE PILOTS:

• Portland has remained a force throughout conference play with their lone loss coming at home to Gonzaga last month.
• The Pilots had their way with the Dons in their first meeting of the season as they picked up the 77-46 victory as forward Emme Shearer scored 21 points against USF while point guard Haylee Andrews recorded 14 assists to help her team to victory.
• USF's defense will need to be on top their game to try and force Portland into more difficult shots, as the Pilots currently lead the WCC in team field goal percentage at 47% from the field this season.
• Portland's defense will also be a force to be reckoned with as they're allowing the second fewest PPG in the league at 61.1 due to their length and press defense that works to force their opponents into turnovers and tough looks.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS:

• The 17th ranked Bulldogs have been a force through their season with a 21-2 overall record as they're currently riding an 11-game winning streak with their only two losses of the season coming against Marquette and #2 Stanford away from Spokane.
• Gonzaga has been a force on both ends of the floor this season as they're scoring the most PPG in the league this season at 73.9 per game, while also allowing the fewest PPG in the league at 59.6 with their opponents shooting 39.2% from the field this season.
• The Bulldogs have been a force this season in making outside shots this season with two student-athletes ranking in the top five in three point percentage with guard Brynna Maxwell ranking first at 51.6% from beyond the arc this season. Forward Eliza Hollingsworth has done a great job of stretching the floor for her team ranking fourth in the WCC at 44.2%.
• USF will also have their hands full attempting to slow down forward Yvonne Ejim who's averaging 16.5 PPG and eight rebounds in their front court, while guard Kaylynne Truong is scoring 15.8 PPG while also dishing out 5.5 assists per contest. 

SERIES HISTORY:

• Portland leads the recent history against the Dons by a 19-17 model with USF picking up the 80-72 victory at War Memorial last February 17 as Krimili scored a career-high 38 points in the victory.
• The Bulldogs have a 38-3 overall advantage over USF dating back to the 2005-06 season with the Dons' last victory coming in February 2017 in San Francisco by a 77-72 score. 

TRACK THE ACTION:
Thursday's game against the Pilots will be live streamed on the WCC Network with live stats can be found through StatBroadcast. Saturday's game against Gonzaga will be broadcast on NBC Sports Bay Area. Links for both the live stream and live stats for this week's games 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.