University of San Francisco Athletics

• San Francisco (9-13, 2-7 WCC) plays a pair of games on the Hilltop this week, starting with  conference leaders, Gonzaga. The Dons are coming off a scrappy 63-61 loss to San Diego on Saturday, nearly erasing a 19-point deficit in the win. A last-second shot missed the mark as the Toreros escaped War Memorial Gym with the win. 
• Gonzaga (18-5, 8-1 WCC) travels to the Hilltop for the season's first meeting between the Dons and the Bulldogs. In the midst of a six-game winning streak—currently the longest streak in the conference—Gonzaga's last loss was its only blemish in conference play, a 54-51 affair at Saint Mary's on Jan. 10.

• "One of the greatest moments in Dons history came in 2006, when San Francisco with the No. 7 seed eliminated WCC co-champion Gonzaga in the opening round of the WCC Tournament in Spokane. San Francisco's victory not only ruined the Zags' hopes for going to the NCAA Tournament, it spoiled what was supposed to be a 'coronation' weekend for the Bulldogs in the McCarthey Athletic Center.”  - George Devine, USF play-by-play man

 
In it to Win it

• USF is looking for its elusive 10th win of the season, a mark that will put this Dons team with a double-digit win tally. The last time USF saw at least 10 wins was when USF went 14-16 in the 2007-08 season.

 
Know the Foe

• The Bulldogs enter Thursday's game leading the WCC in the standings and pacing the league in a multitude of categories. Gonzaga is tops in scoring offense (68.7 ppg), scoring defense (allowing 54.8 ppg), rebounding defense (allowing 35.4 rpg), steals (12.0 spg), turnover margin (+5.57), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and home attendance (5,612).
• Nationally, the team is eighth in the NCAA Division I standings in 3-point field goal percentage, sinking 37.9 percent if its attempts from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bulldogs is Taelor Karr, who is 44-of-98 (44.9%) from downtown.
• Individually, Gonzaga is led by Haiden Palmer's 13.0 points per game, which is good for sixth in the conference, but Sunny Greinacher's effective 54.4 percent shooting is tops on the team and second in the league. She adds 9.0 points a night for the Bulldogs, just behind Karr's 10.2 points per game.

 
USF and Gonzaga—The Series

• The Bulldogs lead the overall series between the two 29-24. Gonzaga enters War Memorial Gym riding a 13-game winning streak against USF with the Dons' last win over the Bulldogs coming March 2, 2006, at the WCC Tournament in Spokane, Wash. In those last 13 games, Gonzaga has won those contests by an average of 29 points per contest.

 
San Diego Remix

• Despite trailing by as many as 19 points in the second half, USF made a run that included an 18-5 stretch that spanned eight minutes and 21 seconds to claw back into the game and have a last-second shot to win or tie.
• Alicia Scafidi posted her second career double-double in the outing, with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
• The San Diego loss was the second-consecutive for the Dons, both with margins of five points or less, after narrowly falling at Saint Mary's on Jan. 28.

 
By the Numbers—The Highlights
The Dons dot the WCC leaderboard, in both team and individual categories:

• 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.
• 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.

• Fans can keep up on the latest in USF athletics through several ways:
• Become a fan of the Dons on Facebook by going to www.facebook.com/DonsAthletics - and follow the women's basketball team specifically at www.facebook.com/SanFranciscoWBB.
• Become a follower of USF on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DonsAthletics or follow coach @Jennifer Azzi.
• Check out video of the Dons in action at www.youtube.com/USFDonsAthletics.