MORAGA, Calif. -- Returning to the road just over the Bay Bridge, the USF Dons women's basketball team (16-9, 6-7) picked up the 69-66 victory over the Saint Mary's Gaels (11-14, 5-9) on Thursday night from University Credit Union Pavilion.
 
The Dons were paced by Kennedy Dickie's 22 point and 12 rebound double-double as she started hot and put a ton of pressure on SMC's defense by going to the free throw line 10 times. Ioanna Krimili also contributed 17 points to USF's effort while also dishing out four assists in the victory.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Kennedy Dickie set the tone for her strong game by knocking down two three point shots for USF's first six points as they led 6-2 early. Saint Mary's was able to settle back down as they made some outside shots of their own as they built a 20-15 lead before the Dons responded with a Jasmine Gayles lay up to get their deficit down to three as they trailed 20-17 after the first 10 minutes.
• Saint Mary's was able to build their lead back up to six as they knocked down four of their first six shots before the Dons took back control. Dickie would knock down her third three point shot of the day and followed that up with a Kia Vaalavirta lay up that brought the deficit down to 28-26 late in the quarter. USF would go on to take the lead into halftime as Ioanna Krimili knocked down a pull up jumper at the buzzer giving the Dons the 37-35 advantage.
• Coming out of the half the Dons were looking to build their lead early as Jessica McDowell-White hit from three point range to bring the lead to five before Dickie connected on a long distance shot of her own making it 43-37. The Gaels were able to claw back into the action as they evened the score at 50 before Krimili drove to the paint and scored on a jumper as the Dons held a 52-51 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
• Continue to stave off the Saint Mary's comeback attempts, McDowell-White hit a huge three to start off the quarter and Krimili would follow later with another paint jumper that expanded USF's lead to 63-57. With under three mintues left in the game, the Gaels were once again able to even the score at 66 before USF came up clutch. McDowell-White came up with a huge steal and then went coast-to-coast with a lay up that gave USF the lead as the Dons got one more stop following to pick up the 69-66 road victory on Thursday. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Dickie led the way for the Dons on Thursday evening as she scored 22 points on 5-of-8 from the field while also knocking down four shots beyond the arc. Kennedy also secured 12 rebounds, came away with a pair of steals and dished out an assist against the Gaels.
• Krimili had another efficient scoring night for her team putting in 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting while handing out four assists, grabbing two rebounds and coming away with a steal on Thursday night.
• McDowell-White played a huge role in the win as she scored nine points to go along with a pair of rebounds and assists while playing a team-high 38 minutes including coming up big in the clutch against Saint Mary's.
• Playing a big role off the bench, Loren Christie scored eight points onf 4-of-5 shooting from the field to go along with five rebounds as well as three blocks and steals in Thursday's road win. 

POST GAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view our post game press conference with head USF women's basketball coach Molly Goodenbour, please click here.
• To view our post game press conference with Kennedy Dickie and Ioanna Krimili, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
The Dons will be back on the road this Saturday as they take on the Pacific Tigers (11-14, 6-8) at 4:00 p.m. from the Alex G. Spanos Center. USF took care of business last time against Pacific as they came away with the 92-81 victory behind Krimili's 30 point outing. 

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.