Box Score
SAN FRANCISCO – Led by career-highs by
Paige Spietz and
Aundrea Gordon, the San Francisco women's basketball team pushed BYU to the limits before the Cougars escaped War Memorial Gym with a 73-66 win Saturday afternoon.
Spietz, a redshirt junior from Brimfield, Ill., posted her first career double-double with an 18-points, 12-rebound outing for the Dons. On a tear of late, she is averaging 14.0 points on 54.8 percent shooting and 7.0 rebounds in USF's last four games. During the two-week span to start the second half of conference action, the Dons have posted a 2-2 record nabbing wins at Portland and against San Diego.
Gordon, a junior from McKinney, Texas, added a career-high 17 points going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field, six blocks and two assists.
Zhané Dikes added 14 points for the Dons to round out USF's double-digit scorers.
The game was tight through the first nine minutes, with Dons and Cougars knotted at 11 apiece with 11:11 remaining. Spietz broke the tie with a 3-pointer off the dish from
Taylor Proctor that started a 10-0 USF run. Gordon fed Spietz for the long-range shot to cap the run and give the Dons a 21-11 advantage, its largest of the game, with 8:08 to play in the first.
BYU would come back to post a 10-2 run of their own to pull within two after Lexi Eaton's layup put the score at 23-21 in favor of the Dons and the game remained tight until the halftime buzzer sounded and the score was tied at 33-all. USF posted a plus-11 advantage on the glass in the first half, pulling down 12 offensive rebounds. But the Dons couldn't capitalize on second-chance opportunities, only getting six points off offensive resets in the period.
The Cougars opened the second half with a 16-4 run to put the Dons down double figures with 14:24 remaining. The Dons battled back with a Gordon triple followed by a BYU offensive foul. After a round of substitutions,
Hashima Carothers knocked down a jumper and Gordon's layup and steal cut the BYU advantage to 49-44 with 13:06 to play.
With just over two minutes remaining, another hookup between Gordon and Spietz sliced the Cougars' lead to three. The Dons couldn't pull any closer, however, as BYU hightailed away from the Hilltop with the seven-point win.
The Dons and Cougars shot similarly from the field, but BYU's 20-of-23 free throw shooting was enough for the victory after USF finished 8-of-15 from the stripe. After getting outrebounded in Provo by 24, USF owned the 46-36 advantage on the boards. The Cougars were paced by a near triple-double by 6-7 senior Jennifer Hamson, who finished with game-highs of 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks.
BYU improves to 19-5 on the season, and 9-4 in West Coast Conference play to own second in the league standings. With the loss, USF falls to 9-15 (4-9 WCC).
The Dons conclude a three-game homestand against longstanding rival Santa Clara Saturday at 2 p.m., at War Memorial Gym.
