SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The University of San Francisco women's basketball team (10-12, 7-6 WCC) fell to Santa Clara (12-11, 6-7 WCC) 59-50 Saturday afternoon at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- San Francisco grabbed an early lead in the opening minutes as Emma Trawally Porta posted a layup for a 2-0 advantage with 37 seconds off the clock.
- Santa Clara answered with a 9-1 scoring run, capped off with a Malia Latu layup to give the Broncos a 9-3 lead at 7:18.
- Battling back, Luana Leite recorded a layup, and Freja Werth knocked down two free throws at 6:32 to bring the Dons to within two, 9-7. The green and gold continued to hold the momentum, scoring nine of the following 11 points, highlighted by four straight tallies from Elle Papahronis, for a 16-11 advantage with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter.
- The Broncos concluded the quarter strong as Olivia Pollerd scored five straight points in the final two minutes to tie the game at 16 at the end of the opening period.
- The second quarter began with a defensive struggle with neither team scoring in the first two minutes. Santa Clara broke through at 8:15 as Alana Goodchild connected on a wide-open three-pointer to give the Broncos a 19-16 lead.
- Holding the Dons scoreless until the 5:44 mark of the second, the Broncos continued to score and built a nine-point advantage, 29-20, with two minutes until the halftime break.
- Closing the gap with the final basket of the first half, Werth fought through traffic for a layup to trim the deficit to 29-22 at halftime.
- Beginning the third quarter with four consecutive points, Leite and Aya Kéita guided San Francisco offensively to bring the team to within three, 29-26, at 8:39.
- Santa Clara quickly brought its lead back to nine near the end of the quarter, 44-35, on a Pollerd layup.
- Despite Werth scoring San Francisco's final three points of the quarter, Santa Clara knocked down a late three-pointer for an 11-point advantage, 47-36, at the end of the third.
- In a tightly-contested fourth quarter, the Dons outscored the Broncos 14-12 but fell short, dropping the nine-point decision 59-50.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Werth led San Francisco in scoring, recording 18 points while knocking down the team's lone two three-pointers. Narrowly reaching a double-double, Werth added eight rebounds.
- Active on the glass, Papahronis posted a career-high nine rebounds and added eight points and two steals.
- Leite connected on five of her six free-throw attempts, finishing the game with nine points. She also dished out two assists and recorded one block.
UP NEXT:
San Francisco returns to the road for a two-game stretch starting at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, when it takes on Pepperdine at Firestone Fieldhouse.
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 –
Planet Orange – 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.
