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SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco women's basketball team guaranteed a winning record at War Memorial Gym for the season and continues to jockey for post-season position after beating Pepperdine 67-57 on Thursday night.
With the victory, the Dons move to 11-17 on the season and 4-11 in conference action. USF's home record is 8-6 on the year, with one game remaining in the regular season. USF holds its post-season fate in its hands. With a win on Saturday against visiting Loyola Marymount and a Portland loss to BYU, the Dons will pick up the sixth seed in the West Coast Conference tournament.
“Given all the knocks that we've taken this year, the fact that we've come together and they played as hard as they did tonight was outstanding,” head coach
Jennifer Azzi said after the win. “We kind of dug a hole, which we've been doing, but I was proud of how they just stayed together, played hard and executed well.”
Mel Khlok poured in 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting and went 9-for-11 from the line to lead all scorers. In her penultimate game for the Green and Gold, senior
Bailey Barbour put in season highs of 11 points and six rebounds in the victorious effort.
The win didn't come easy, however, as USF started slow out of the gate. Pepperdine came out from the first whistle with pressure and intensity that rattled the Dons' offense. After the home team missed 11 of its first 13 shots from the field, the Waves jumped out to a nine point lead. USF found itself in a 13-4 hole with 13:07 on the clock after Alisha Roberts' three capped a 9-2 Pepperdine run. But USF would fight back to take its first lead of the game in the waning seconds of the first half.
The Dons closed the period on an 11-3 run punctuated with Khlok's 3-pointer as the clock wound down to nine seconds. The senior from Sacramento received a pass from
Alexa Hardick at the top of the key and drained the open look to give USF a 29-27 lead, its first of the game, heading into halftime.
As soon as the second half started and
Taylor Proctor's jumper found the bottom of the net eight seconds into the period, the Dons looked determined to keep the lead and win the game. Pepperdine went through a seven minute scoring lull while USF made basket after basket. The Dons held a 14-point advantage when Barbour's jumper in the paint and converted 3-point play made the score 49-35 with 8:58 to play.
“I think just the whole week in practice, we've been working on positioning in the post and a lot of counter moves,” Barbour said. “I think all that practice this week has really led up to what we did on the court today. I'm really happy and just really proud of my team that we could just work together, and pass the ball a lot, and get the open shots.”
However, Pepperdine would make it interesting down the stretch. Back-to-back baskets by Kelsey Patrick pulled the Waves within nine, as the scoreboard read 62-53 with 1:39 to play. But with too few ticks on the clock for Pepperdine to mount a full-on comeback, the Dons reigned victorious, 67-57.
Patrick finished as the Pepperdine's best player of the night, with 13 points and 13 rebounds. USF outshot the Waves 37.9 to 33.9 percent, and earned 26 of its points in the paint. The Dons went to the line 23 times and converted on 18 attempts compared to Pepperdine's 11-of-15 outing from the stripe. Pepperdine won the battle of the boards 44 to 39, and the Waves finished with 15 offensive rebounds, but could only convert those extra possessions into 10 points. The Dons got at least one basket from every player who entered the contest.
“Winning at home is always the best!” Khlok said. “This is where you practice every single day, this is where you come in and get your extra shots up, and this is something special.”
USF closes the regular season Saturday as the team hosts Loyola Marymount at 2 p.m., on Senior Day on the Hilltop. A celebration of the 40th anniversary of Title IX will precede the game, with a reception for honored guest Mary Hile-Nepfel in the UC Solarium at 12 p.m. The reception is open to all, and free to attend.
