MORAGA, Calif. – Led by a career-high 29 points from
Debora dos Santos, the University of San Francisco women's basketball team (13-15, 9-6 WCC) outlasted Saint Mary's (12-17, 5-10 WCC) 78-74 in overtime Thursday evening at the University Credit Union Pavilion.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- In a closely contested opening quarter, Saint Mary's grabbed the game's first lead on an Ali Bamberger turn-around jumper, giving the Gaels a 2-0 advantage with 26 seconds off the clock.
- After San Francisco missed its first two field-goal attempts, Luana Leite evened the score with a driving layup at 8:02 following a dos Santos' steal.
- After the Gaels regained the lead, 4-2, less than a minute later, neither team scored for the following two minutes before a layup from dos Santos tied the game at four at the 5:40 mark.
- Despite trailing for the remainder of the period, the Dons kept the game close as the Gaels held a four-point lead, 18-14, after the first 10 minutes of play.
- A scoring tandem of Jasmine Gayles, Cami Fulcher, and dos Santos guided the green and gold at the start of the second, spearheading a 10-4 to give the Dons their first lead. Gayles and Fulcher recorded long three-point baskets while dos Santos added four points to push the Dons ahead, 24-22 at 7:24.
- The advantage grew in the following minutes as dos Santos recorded a layup and a three-pointer in back-to-back possessions to give the Dons a seven-point edge, 29-22, at 6:06.
- After Saint Mary's posted five straight get within two, San Francisco scored eight of the quarter's last 10 points, highlighted by a dos Santos buzzer-beating jump hook plus the foul to give the Dons a 37-29 lead at halftime.
- The lead ballooned to double-digits just past the midway point of the third quarter when Leite scored a fastbreak layup to give the Dons a 43-33 advantage at the 4:43 mark.
- After Zeryhia Aokuso completed a three-point play to cut into the Dons' lead, Paula Tirado and Aya Kéita got into the action with back-to-back two-point baskets to push the lead back to double-digits, 47-36.
- Saint Mary's ended the third quarter on a 10-5 scoring, gaining momentum, and cut its deficit to single digits, 52-46.
- The Gaels continued to roll at the start of the final 10 minutes, using a 10-3 run to regain the lead, 56-55, capped off with a Tayla Dalton layup at 7:30.
- After Fulcher connected on a mid-range jumper to give the Dons a 57-56 advantage, the Gaels scored five straight points to take a four-point lead, 61-57, with just over six minutes remaining.
- With San Francisco leading 66-64 with 15 seconds on the clock, Aokuso drove for a game-tying layup to send it into overtime.
- In the overtime period, the Dons fell behind as Dalton hit a long three-pointer to give the Gaels a 69-66 advantage.
- Trailing 73-70, Fulcher hit a clutch game-tying three-pointer at 1:40 to spark a Dons' comeback.
- Despite the Gaels pulling ahead shortly after, 74-73, the Dons scored the game's final five points as Leite connected on a layup and free throw, while Gayles closed the contest with two free throws with eight seconds left.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Recording a career-high 29 points, dos Santo led San Francisco in scoring while adding 12 rebounds for her 16th double-double of the season. In 42 minutes of work, dos Santos shot 66.7 percent (10-for-15) from the field, connected on one three-pointer, and was near-perfect from the free-throw line, knocking down eight of her nine attempts. Defensively, dos Santos added three steals and one block.
- Leite nearly recorded a triple-double with 12 points, six rebounds, and a career-high 11 assists.
- Fulcher posted 15 points, reaching double figures for the fourth time in the last five games. Fulcher was five-of-11 from the floor in a career-high 42 minutes while leading the team from beyond the three-point line, knocking down three- of her five attempts from distance.
POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
San Francisco returns to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Mar. 2, when it hosts San Diego in the regular-season finale at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the San Francisco men's basketball program, follow the Dons
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MERCHANDISE:
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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.
