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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The San Francisco Dons faced a hockey-style offense with line-change substitutions, aggressive full-court pressure and speedy three-point attempts for the Hornets throughout. But the Dons prevailed 95-94 Saturday afternoon at The Nest.

With the victory, USF moves to 4-2 on the season and the Dons' offense tallied its highest point total in the Jennifer Azzi era.

"Nobody plays like Sacramento State does," explained junior guard Rachel Howard. "They have a different game plan than probably pretty much any Division I team. I think in the first quarter we definitely had to adjust to it. We had some early turnovers and they had some early threes, but I think once we got into the flow of the game we understood how to capitalize on their type of play."

The offense was keyed with five women reaching double-digit scoring, led by a career-high 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Howard. Senior Taylor Proctor notched her third double-double of the year with a 24-point, 12-rebound effort and the basket that put the Dons up to stay. Junior Hashima Carothers finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes of action, and Zhane Dikes contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Claudia Price added 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting, sinking her two attempts from the free throw line with 3.6 seconds to play to ice the contest.

The Dons held a nine-point lead at the halftime break which dwindled to four points by the end of the third, after a triple for Sacramento State's Gretchen Harrigan. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the Hornets had knotted the contest at 77 apiece when Ashlyn Crenshaw's layup found the bottom of the net.

Sacramento State forced USF into four quick turnovers in the first three and half minutes of the action, jumping out to an 11-7 lead. The Hornets kept up the pressure throughout the remainder of the period, extending the lead to 27-22 by the end of the first. An offense known for its voluminous 3-point attempts, the Hornets for 4-for-14 from distance after the opening frame, and finished with a 16-for-47 effort beyond the arc.

The USF offense settled into a rhythm in the second, starting off with a charge for Howard, which started a 17-2 run for the Dons. In the five-minute span, Carothers swished three attempts from the field with Raushan Gultekin, Howard and Proctor also contributing baskets for the Dons.

Proctor's jumper at the buzzer, assisted by Howard, gave USF the 46-37 advantage going into the break.

The second half started much like the first, with three early turnovers for USF in the opening minutes as Sacramento State swished 3-pointers by Raegen Rohn and Taylor Brown to cut the lead to 39-35. The Hornets continued to fire away from distance, and a 9-1 run propelled the home team to the 77-all tie after Brown connected from downtown.

Sacramento State edged out to the 85-81 advantage after yet another triple for Rohn, but the Dons scored six unanswered to pull ahead, 89-85, with 2:08 remaining in the game. After a frenetic final minute, including a buzzer-beating three for Ashlyn Crenshaw, the Dons escaped The Nest with the 95-94 win.

USF outshot the Hornets 52.1 percent to 41.5 percent, and held the 52-31 advantage on the glass. Entering the game, Sacramento State was averaging 26.0 offensive rebounds per game, second in the NCAA. The Dons held the squad 10 under their average, and the Dons crashed the glass for 20 offensive rebounds. The Dons finished with 29 assists, also tops in the Azzi era.

The Sacramento State defense forced the Dons into 23 turnovers, resulting in 27 points for the Hornets, one of the staples of their swarming style of play.

"We knew we were going to have some turnovers," noted Howard. "In the second quarter, we kind of agreed that the dribble was the best way to break the press, and we focused on being smarter about when to dribble and when to pass. I thought we could have been a little smarter, but hey, we got the win."

Next on the docket for the Dons, USF travels to Nevada for a Tuesday night game against the Wolfpack. Tipoff at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev., is slated for 6:30 p.m.