LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of San Francisco women's basketball team (14-16) dropped a narrow 76-71 decision to Pacific (18-13) in the quarterfinal round of the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Championship Saturday afternoon at Orleans Arena.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• Pacific came out of the gates fast and outscored San Francisco 20-7 in the opening 10 minutes of play. The Tigers held the Dons to just 12.5 percent from the field in the first quarter while knocking down nine of their 17 shots. Trailing 20-5 in the period's final minutes, Freja Werth connected on a baseline jumper to cut the deficit to 13 with six seconds left.
• The Dons gained some momentum in the second quarter, using an 8-2 run to cut the Tigers' lead to 22-15 at 7:28. Luana Leite sparked the scoring run with the first basket of the second quarter and ended the affair with two free throws to trim the deficit to seven. Debora dos Santos and Jasmine Gayles also helped guide the team, combining for four points.
• After the Tigers pushed their advantage back to nine, 24-15, eight seconds later, the green and gold recorded seven straight points to get within two, 24-22, with 6:38 left in the first half.
• The Tigers made one final run in the closing minutes to extend their advantage to nine, 39-30 at the halftime break.
• Falling into another double-digit hole, 45-35, at the start of the third quarter, San Francisco responded and got within four, 47-43, when Gayles connected on a straight-away three-pointer at the 4:51 mark.
• In a closely contested end to the period, the Dons continued to battle, cutting the Tigers' lead to one, 51-50, on a dos Santos three-point basket with 1:06 remaining.
• Pacific responded with a Nyah Lowery three-pointer with 49 seconds left in the quarter to push its lead back to four, 55-51.
• Three two-point baskets from Leite, Gayles, and Werth in the early stages of the fourth got the Dons back into the game, trailing by one, 58-57, at 8:01.
• The Tigers, however, bumped their lead back up to eight shortly after, using a three-minute scoring run to extend their advantage to 65-57 at 4:06.
• Pacific continued to score and play stellar defense in the remaining four minutes to come out victorious, 76-71.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Recording 20 or more points for the third straight game, dos Santos finished with 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for her 17th double-double of the season. Defensively, dos Santos led the team with two blocks.
• Werth added 17 points for the green and gold, scoring in double figures for the second consecutive game. Nearly recording a double-double, Werth totaled seven rebounds while matching a season-high with four assists.
• Gayles and Leite reached double figures for the Dons, scoring 16 and 11 points, respectively. Leite led the team with five assists and knocked a game-high five free throws.
• As a team, San Francisco shot 44.3 percent from the field, 40 percent from three, while tallying 30 points in the paint and 13 second-chance points.

UP NEXT:
San Francisco ends the season with a 14-16 record while finishing in a tie for third place in the WCC standings at 10-6. The Dons await their postseason fate later this month as the team looks to earn a fourth consecutive bid to the WNIT.

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:
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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.