Dons Earn Bounce-Back Win Over Pepperdine

Thursday, January 11

San Francisco, Calif.

6:00 p.m.

University of San Francisco

6-10,2-1WCC

Pepperdine

5-11,1-2WCC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
Pepperdine	19	10	18	17	64
San Francisco	13	29	25	16	83

Photo by: Christina Leung

1/11/2024 9:53:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In a full-team effort, the University of San Francisco women's basketball team (5-10, 2-1) earned a bounce-back win Thursday evening, defeating Pepperdine (5-11, 1-2) 83-64 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

San Francisco came out of the gates slow as Pepperdine jumped out to a 14-7 lead at the 2:19 mark of the opening quarter. The Dons clawed back into the game, trimming the deficit to four twice in the late stages of the first.
Trailing 17-10 with just over a minute to go, Paula Tirado knocked down a three-pointer with 53 seconds left to cut the Waves' advantage to 17-13. The Waves responded with a mid-range jumper to extend the lead to six, 19-13 at the end of the period.
Freja Werth opened the second quarter with a layup before the Waves used a 5-2 run to extend the lead to seven, 24-17, at the 7:45 mark.
An offensive onslaught ensued for the Dons shortly after, using a 23-0 run to take control of the game. While on the scoring run, the green and gold took their first lead of the game, after Werth and Aya Kéita drained back-to-back three-pointers to give the team a 26-24 advantage.
Four players scored throughout the Dons' offensive escapade, with Werth and Kéita scoring eight points apiece.
Despite Pepperdine connecting on two late baskets at the end of the second quarter, San Francisco entered halftime with a 13-point advantage, 42-29.
The Dons continued to hold their double-digit advantage throughout the third quarter, pushing the advantage to 20 after 30 minutes of play. With the Dons leading by 16, 63-47, with 47 seconds left in the third, Lorena Barbosa recorded four straight points and collected one offensive rebound to give the team a 67-47 lead.
Pepperdine began to cut into the deficit entering the fourth quarter, getting as close as 13 points, 70-57, near the mid-way point. The Dons, however, held serve throughout the remainder of the game as Marina Hernandez game's last bucket, scoring her first points on a breakaway layup with 19 seconds left.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Werth led the team in scoring, recording 19 points on 58.3 percent (seven-for-12) shooting. Tying Kéita with three made three-point field goals, shot 50 percent (three-for-six) from distance.
Debora dos Santos recorded her team-leading 10th double-double of the season with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Shooting an efficient 66.7 percent (six-for-nine) from the field, dos Santos also shined on the defensive end, collecting two steals and one block.
Kéita set career highs in the win over the Waves, scoring in double figures for the first time with 14 points off the bench. During the team's 23-0 run in the second quarter, Kéita went a perfect three-for-three from the floor and knocked down both of her three-point attempts.
Jasmine Gayles reached double figures for the seventh consecutive game after posting 18 points in a team-high 38 minutes. Gayles also collected four rebounds, tallied three assists, and connected on four of her six free-throw attempts.
As a team, San Francisco shot 46.7 percent (28-for-60) and won the rebounding battle over Pepperdine, 40-30. The Dons also led in multiple statistical categories including points off turnovers (18-16), points in the paint (34-24), second-chance points (13-12), and bench points (28-24).

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.
To view the full postgame press conference with Freja Werth and Paula Tirado please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco continues West Coast Conference action when it hits the road to take on Pacific at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13 at the Alex G. Spanos 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.