PULLMAN, Wash. – The University of San Francisco (12-14, 9-8 WCC) dropped a hard-fought 67-59 West Coast Conference decision at Washington State (17-12, 12-6 WCC) Thursday evening at Beasley Coliseum.
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• After falling behind 6-2 in the opening minutes, San Francisco recorded eight straight points to take a 10-6 lead at the 6:53 mark of the first quarter. Luana Leite led the charge with six of the eight points, highlighted by a three-pointer to conclude the run.
• The Dons continued to score, extending the lead to eight, 18-10, following a 6-0 scoring run. Leite, Freja Werth, and Emma Trawally Porta scored during the run as Leite finished with two free throws at 5:39.
• After Washington State's Charlotte Abraham knocked down a contested three-pointer with 2:19 remaining in the quarter, neither team scored, as the Dons led 18-13 at the end of the opening period.
• In a low-scoring second quarter, Trawally Porta recorded the first points on a driving layup to put San Francisco up 20-13, 12 seconds in.
• Washington State answered by recording four of the following six points, trimming the green and gold's advantage to three, 22-19 at 5:13.
• Bringing the margin back to seven, Leite connected on two free throws, and Trawally Porta continued to dominate the paint, guiding the Dons to a 26-19 edge with 2:52 remaining.
• Washington State held San Francisco without a field goal in the final two minutes while using a 7-1 scoring run to get within 27-26 at the halftime break. Astera Tuhina knocked down a three-pointer with three seconds left to trim the Cougars' deficit to one, the closest since the 7:32 mark of the first quarter.
• The Cougars regained the lead in the first minute of the third quarter as Tara Wallack posted a layup for a 28-27 advantage.
• The Dons stormed back with four straight points, with Leite and Werth connecting on consecutive field goal attempts for a 31-28 lead.
• Washington State gained momentum shortly after, using a 14-2 scoring run to take a 42-33 advantage.
• Battling back, Werth and Angeliki Ziaka connected on three-pointers but a last-second layup from Wallack gave the Cougars a nine-point edge at the end of the third quarter, 48-39.
• Starting the fourth quarter with a sense of urgency, an Elle Papahronis driving layup and a Leite three-pointer brought the Dons to within four, 48-44, at 9:04.
• Eight straight points from the Cougars quickly ballooned the lead to 12, 56-44, near the halfway point of the final period.
• Trailing by 14, 65-51, at 2:08, San Francisco began to chip away at the deficit, as Papahronis and Mia Vukšic combined for six points to get the Dons within eight, 65-57, with 43 seconds left.
• After two Cougar free throws, Ziaka cone ted on the game's final field goal as Washington State earned the 67-59 victory.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Leite led San Francisco in scoring, recording a season-high 19 points while knocking down a team-leading two three-pointers. Reaching double-figure scoring for the seventh time this season, Leite shot 54.5 percent (six-for-11) from the field in 32 minutes.
• Along with Leite's double-digit scoring performance, Werth added 16 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
• As a team, San Francisco shot an efficient 81.0 percent from the free throw line as Leite, Papahronis, Vuksic, and Cami Fulcher combined for a perfect 11-for-11 at the charity stripe. 

UP NEXT:
San Francisco wraps up its Pacific Northwest road trip at noon on Saturday, Feb. 22, when it takes on Gonzaga at the McCarthy Athletic Center.
 
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SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor – ABM –  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.