Box Score
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – A second half comeback by the San Francisco women's basketball team stalled midway through the period as the Dons fell to the Santa Clara Broncos 61-48 Saturday afternoon at the Leavey Center.
USF was led by a pair of double-digit scorers as
Alicia Scafidi finished with team highs of 12 points and eight rebounds.
Zhané Dikes added 11 points and three steals and
Bailey Barbour contributed a season-high nine points on 3-of-6 shooting .
The Dons, who fell behind 28-21 at the halftime break, found themselves down by double-digits when Ricki Radanovich hit a 3-pointer for the Broncos. A pair of free throws by Barbour put the score at 36-27 with 12:52 remaining and started an offensive frenzy for USF. After a Santa Clara miss and defensive rebound by Dikes, the freshman from Las Vegas took it coast-to-coast for the runner in the lane.
Disrupted by Barbour under the basket, Lindsay Leo committed a turnover for Santa Clara on the next play of the contest which led to a layup by
Taylor Proctor to put the score at 36-31 with 12:02 to play. After trading baskets and free throws, a 3-pointer off the hand of Scafidi swished the net for the Dons with 8:43 to play to keep the four-point margin intact.
However, a stretch of four missed shots and two turnovers by the Dons over the next four minutes allowed the Broncos to regain a double-digit advantage when a layup by Leo put the score at 53-40 with 3:32 to play. Santa Clara went on to close the game with the 61-48 victory. The Broncos finished with four scorers reaching the 10-point mark and Leo added a game-high 12 rebounds to pick up the double-double.
In the first period of play, the Dons started out hot, scoring the first five points in the contest. A steal and eurostep through the lane and to the basket by Dikes gave the Dons the 13-10 advantage with 11:33 to play. Santa Clara then went on a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to gain a six-point advantage in the game.
Scafidi powered in the layup off an inbounds play to stop the run and put the score at 19-15 in favor of the Broncos. Santa Clara led by seven at halftime after Nici Gilday's jumper went in with 4.5 seconds remaining.
With the win, the Broncos move to 4-1 in West Coast Conference action and sport a 12-6 overall record, and the Dons slip to 8-11 (1-5 WCC) on the season.
The Dons return to War Memorial Gym for a home date with BYU on Saturday at 2 p.m.
