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San Francisco Dons
7-9 overall; 0-3 West Coast Conference
vs.
Portland Pilots
5-10 overall; 0-2 West Coast Conference
Game 17
Saturday || Jan. 12, 2013 || 2 p.m.
San Francisco
War Memorial Gym (4,268)
Watch/Listen/Live Stats || Buy Tickets
Just the Facts, Ma'am
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San Francisco (7-9, 0-3 WCC) looks to capitalize on home court advantage to stop a five-game slide as it meets up with Portland at War Memorial Gym. The Dons, who are 5-3 at home on the season, are coming off a road loss to Pepperdine. USF faces its third consecutive opponent who is coming off an open date in the schedule immediately prior to facing off with the Dons.
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The Pilots (5-10, 0-2 WCC) enter Saturday's contest after a week layoff, playing its last game on Jan. 5. In that home outing, Portland fell to San Diego 69-63 to fall to 0-2 in the WCC. In the midst of the three-game downswing, the Pilots, like the Dons, are looking for its first conference win on the year.
In It to Win It
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USF's 7-6 non-conference start is the best opening to a season since the Jennifer Azzi era began in 2010-11. The last time the Dons were above the .500 mark 13 games into the season was 2007-08, when the Dons entered conference action with a 9-6 non-conference record. That season, the team went on to finish 14-16 overall and notch its last double-digit win tally on the year.
Know the Foe
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The Pilots are paced by Kari Luttinen, who has been twice honored by the WCC as Player of the Week. Her 12.4 points per game is good for eighth in the league standings.
USF and Portland—The Series
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Portland holds a 30-24 advantage in the all time series with the Dons, including wins in each of the last nine games contested between the two. USF's last win against the Pilots came Jan. 17, 2008, a 65-58 home victory for the Dons. In its last iteration, Portland came away with the 77-63 win on Feb. 23, 2012, led by Pilots alumnae Natalie Day's 28 points and 12 rebounds.
Pepperdine Remix
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The Dons hit 11 3-pointers, a new season high. Alexa Hardick contributed three of these to match a career-high nine points. Four were off the hand of Taylor Proctor who led the team in scoring with 14 points.
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The Waves shot an opponent-high .571 (8-of-14) from long-distance to erase much of the USF advantage from beyond the arc.
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The Dons made just 4-of-10 from the charity stripe in the game, posting a season-low free throw percentage in its limited trips to the line.
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Alicia Scafidi's nine boards against the Waves put her over the 100-rebound mark for the season (108). The sophomore is 16 shy of 200 glass crashes in her career.
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USF's four-point loss was the fourth of the season with a margin under 10 points.
By the Numbers—The Highlights
The Dons dot the WCC leaderboard, in both team and individual categories:
Mel Khlok Named WCC Player of the Month—December
During the seven-game span in December, the senior guard from Sacramento, Calif., shot a sweltering 50.6 from the field including a 16-of-38 performance from beyond the arc to average 19.1 points and help the Dons to a 4-3 record in December. Her consistent scoring presence throughout the season allows Khlok to lead the way for the Dons, in a variety of ways.
“It's just me going out and playing and doing whatever I can to help my team because everything I do out there is for my team,” Khlok said on being selected by the conference. “I honestly don't even think about my points or scoring, it's always about how what I'm doing is going to help the team. And sometimes when I'm just doing that, the scoring just comes as the game goes on.”
In a 92-64 win over San Jose State on Dec. 15, she swished a season-high 29 points, nabbed a career-high nine rebounds and reached the five-assist mark in a game for the third time this season. Along with starting every contest in the Dons' 2012-13 campaign and pacing the USF scoring output, Khlok leads the team in assists, steals and minutes.
“I am extremely proud of Mel, and not only what she's doing this season, but just her progress as a basketball player and a person. She's a captain. She's a leader,” head coach
Jennifer Azzi said. “I think you're truly successful when the majority of your best players are your hardest workers, and I think Mel has learned how to work hard. It's great for our younger players to see that our hard work pays off.”
This monthly honor marks the first time a USF women's basketball player has been recognized from the conference in this capacity since Dominique Carter earned Player of the Month for her performance in December 2007.
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Up next, the Dons duplicate last week's L.A. travel schedule as the team prepares to meet Loyola Marymount Thursday, followed by a trip to Santa Clara on Saturday, Jan. 19, the second back-to-back conference road trip of the season.
On the Air
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Listen to longtime voice of the Dons, George Devine, call all the action from the USF women's basketball team all season long at www.usfdons.com.
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Devine is in his 17th season as the play-by-play voice of the Dons. Listen to the call and follow along with live stats and video for all home contests at War Memorial Gym, in partnership with Stretch Internet. Hear the call for both home and away games by going to www.usfdons.com/live.
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