SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – Opening West Coast Conference play on the Hilltop, The University of San Francisco women's basketball team (4-6, 1-0 WCC) overpowered Gonzaga (5-7, 0-1 WCC) 73-58 in a wire-to-wire victory Thursday evening at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Beginning the contest fast, San Francisco scored the game's opening seven points, highlighted by a straight-away three-pointer by Debora dos Santos at 6:57 of the first quarter.
• Despite a made jumper from Allie Turner to put Gonzaga on the board, the Dons' lead ballooned to double-digits after Luana Leite hit a corner three followed by an Elle Papahronis to put the green and gold up, 12-2 at 4:30.
• Gonzaga fought back in the later stages of the opening quarter, trimming the deficit to four, 14-10, using an 8-2 run, capped off with a Yvonne Ejim second-chance layup with 44 seconds left.
• Lorena Barbosa tacked on two free throws with 18 seconds on the first-quarter clock to push San Francisco's advantage to six, 16-10.
• The Dons' lead was quickly pushed back to double-digits at the start of the second quarter as Freja Werth scored five straight to give the team a 22-10 advantage at 6:39. Holding onto its double-digit advantage through the end of the half, the green and gold outscored the Zags, 15-7, in the second quarter and held a 31-17 edge heading into the halftime break.
• Continuing to dominate, the Dons extended the margin to 18, 44-26, their largest lead of the game, at the 6:18 mark of the third quarter on an Emma Trawally Porta three-pointer.
• Gonzaga, facing a significant deficit, brought the game to within 10, at the end of the third, using an 11-3 scoring run to trail by 10, 47-37, after 30 minutes of play.
• San Francisco held onto its advantage throughout the fourth quarter, despite Gonzaga getting to within nine, 57-48, following two Ejim free throws at 5:20.
• At 4:17, Cami Fulcher connected on her lone basket of the evening shortly after, knocking down a wide-open three-pointer to put the Dons back up double-digit, 60-48.
• Trawally Porta recorded the Dons' final field goal at the 3:05 mark of the quarter, scoring a second-chance layup following an offense rebound from Luana Leite.
• Despite not posting a field goal in the game's final three minutes, the green and gold knocked down 10 of its 11 free throws to solidify the win, 73-58.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Four players posted double-digit scoring performances, led by Trawally Porta's 18 points as she reached double figures for the fifth consecutive game. Shooting 50 percent from the field and from the three-point line, Trawally Porta added seven rebounds, two steals, and one block.
• Alongside Trawally Porta, Werth (15 points), dos Santos (15 points), and Leite (11 points) helped guide the Dons offensively.
• Leite nearly recorded a triple-double, adding a season-high 10 assists and seven rebounds while shooting a perfect seven-for-seven from the free-throw line.
• Defensively, dos Santos led the team in blocks, matching her career-high with four.
• As a team, the green and gold totaled 10 steals, matching the season-best set at Northern Arizona on December 14. San Francisco also held Gonzaga to 58 points, marking the sixth time the team has held an opponent to under 60 points.
• Notably, San Francisco snapped Gonzaga's 22-game conference winning streak with the 15-point victory

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view the highlights from tonight's game, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with Head Coach Molly Goodenbour, please click here.
• To view the full postgame interview with Luana Leite and Emma Trawally Porta, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
San Francisco returns to the road, wrapping up the calendar year, at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28, when it takes on LMU at Gersten Pavilion.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco women'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.