University of San Francisco Athletics

• San Francisco (9-14, 2-8 WCC) finishes off its only three-game home stand of the season Saturday against Santa Clara. Generally finding itself with good home luck this season, USF has dropped the last two at War Memorial Gym, including Thursday's 84-46 loss to conference-leading Gonzaga. The Dons have trips to Portland, Gonzaga and San Diego remaining on the schedule before finishing off the season at War Memorial Gym against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.
• Santa Clara (12-11, 4-6 WCC) arrives on the Hilltop with a five-game losing streak, with the Broncos last win coming against the Dons on Jan. 19. Since that time, Santa Clara has dropped contests to Saint Mary's, Portland and BYU on its own home turf, while falling on the road at San Diego and Loyola Marymount.

• "A win over Santa Clara Saturday would be huge for the Dons. It's been a while since  USF defeated SCU, so a win over the Broncos would mark a significant milestone in Coach Azzi's rebuilding process on the Hilltop. It will also be great to see many USF alumni taking in the game. Santa Clara games bring out the Dons fan in anyone who's connected to USF athletics!” - 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 Broncos enter Saturday's game on a downturn. After starting conference play with a 4-1 mark, Santa Clara has dropped its last five contests and currently sits in fifth in the conference standings. The Broncos are led by a pair of double-digit scorers in Ricki Radanovich (11.2 ppg) and Meagan Fulps (10.6 ppg). Interestingly, Radanovich and Fulps are the only two players for Santa Clara to make the start in every game this season. 
• The Dons and Broncos find themselves with similar season numbers in a multitude of categories, standing side-by-side in the WCC rankings in scoring (USF, 62.7—6th; SCU, 60.0—7th), field goal percentage (USF, .391—4th; SCU, .390—5th), field goal percentage defense (USF, .384—5th; SCU, .384—6th), and rebounding margin (SCU, +0.0—5th; USF, -0.9, 6th), to name a few.  
• Some areas where the two separate from one another include blocked shots (SCU, 4.3—2nd; USF, 2.4—9th), assists (SCU, 14.3—4th, USF, 10.2—9th).

 
USF and Santa Clara—The Series

• The Broncos and the Dons is known as one of the longest rivalries in USF history and dates back to intercollegiate competition as early as 1907. In women's basketball, Santa Clara owns a 46-35 all-time record over USF, and the series inception was in 1976, the first year the Dons began competing in the sport. In the first iteration of the season series, Santa Clara posted a 61-48 win on Jan. 19 at the Leavey Center.

 
Gonzaga Remix

• Like most of the WCC, USF couldn't counter the Gonzaga size, depth and offensive firepower on display at War Memorial Gym on Thursday. The Dons fell 84-46 as the Bulldogs shot 59.4 percent in the first half to race out to a 49-21 lead. USF was outrebounded 49-30 and 21 Bulldogs offensive boards resulted in 16 points. Gonzaga also benefitted from turning 27 Dons turnovers into 32 points. 
• Alexa Hardick took her first trip to the free throw line of the season, making a pair from the stripe with 1:51 to play in the game. Her last time—and, in fact, her only other time—to take free throws was on Dec. 29, 2010, against Academy of Art, where the then-freshman also went 2-for-2 from the line.

 
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.