STOCKTON, Calif. – Led by Jasmine Gayles' career-high 40-point performance, the University of San Francisco women's basketball team (7-10, 3-1) earned an 81-68 come-from-behind victory over Pacific (10-7, 2-2) in a West Coast Conference contest at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• San Francisco fell behind early, as Pacific scored the first two baskets of the game to go up 4-0 at the 8:56 mark of the first quarter. After Gayles sunk a free throw to put the Dons on the board, she recorded the team's first field goal, a driving layup to cut the deficit to 4-3 less than a minute later.
• A 6-0 ensued for the Dons when Freja Werth and Cami Fulcher knocked down back-to-back three-point baskets to give the green and gold their first lead of the game, 9-4.
• After the Tigers cut the lead to three, 9-6, layups from Lorena Barbosa and Gayles extended the Dons' advantage to 13-6 at the 6:10 mark.
• Pacific fought back using a 12-2 run to regain the lead, 18-15, and led 23-20 with 26 seconds left on the first-quarter clock. Gayles, however, sunk a three-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 23 heading into the second quarter of play.
• The two teams traded baskets in the early stages of the second quarter before Pacific scored 10 straight points to take a commanding 37-26 lead at the 4:50 mark of the second.
• In a game of scoring runs, the Dons fought back with eight straight, capped off with two free throws from Gayles, to trim the deficit to three, 37-34, with 1:31 remaining.
• The Tigers extended their advantage to seven shortly after with two straight baskets, entering halftime with a 41-34 edge.
• San Francisco continued to fall behind at the start of the third quarter as Pacific extended its lead to 12, with just over a minute off the clock.
• Gayles continued to shine, scoring eight straight points to get the Dons back into the game, 46-42, at the 6:31 mark of the third.
• A team effort helped the green and gold regain the lead late in the third quarter as six players scored to put the Dons in control. Trailing by seven, 51-44, at the 5:30 mark, Barbosa knocked down a straightaway three-point basket to cut the deficit to four, 51-47.
• After the Tigers pushed their lead back to seven, 54-47, Paula Tirado, Debora dos Santos, Aya Kéita, and Gayles propelled the Dons on an 8-0 run to regain the lead, 55-54, with 1:45 remaining in the third.
• After the Tigers pulled ahead late, 59-58, Gayles connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Dons a 61-59 advantage.
• The fourth quarter was all Dons, as the team never relinquished the lead. The green and gold's advantage ballooned to double digits at the end of the quarter as a driving layup from Werth put the Dons up 11, 72-61, at the 2:07 mark.
• San Francisco continued to lead throughout the remainder of the contest as Gayles solidified the win with two free throws with nine seconds left. 

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Gayles finished with a career-high 40 points while shooting 60 percent (nine-for15) from the field. Gayles became the first WCC player this season to eclipse 40 points and is the most scored in a game since Pepperdine's Yasmine Robinson-Bacote had 47 on November 23, 2018. Gayles also was successful at the free-throw line, reaching the charity stripe 22 times throughout the contest. Gayles connected on a career-high 17 free throws for a 77.3 free-throw shooting percentage.
• Debora dos Santos tallied a 12-point, 13-rebound performance for her team-leading 11th double-double of the season. Despite only shooting 33.3 percent (four-for-12) from the field, dos Santos connected on four of her six free-throw attempts.
• Werth reached double figures for the third-straight game as she posted 11 points on an efficient 44.4 (four-for-nine) shooting.
• Barbosa led the second unit and matched a career-high with seven points in 11 minutes off the bench.
• As a team, San Francisco held its fourth straight opponent to under 70 points. The Dons held Pacific to just 36 percent (nine-for-25) from the three-point line and won the rebounding battle, 32-28. 

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the full postgame press conference with Head Coach Molly Goodenbour please click here.
• To view the full postgame press conference with Jasmine Gayles please click here.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco continues its road trip on Saturday, Jan. 20, when it travels to take on Santa Clara at 1 p.m. at Leavey 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 - Coca-Cola - 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.