San Francisco (15-11, 6-9) at Saint Mary's (19-8, 12-4)Thursday, February 26 • 6 p.m. • McKeon PavilionWatch: theW.tv | Listen: theW.tv | Live stats: usfstats.comComplete game notes (PDF)The Buzz
The Dons look to avenge a heartbreaking loss to Saint Mary's in the opening week of conference action. At home, the Dons led by as many as 24 points before the Gaels swooped in for the last-second victory.Â
Tale of the Tape
When the Dons have the ball ...USF Scoring Offense - 69.4 (3rd)
 • Saint Mary's Scoring Defense - 63.8 (5th)
USF Field Goal Pct.
 - .421 (3rd)
 • Saint Mary's FG Pct. Defense - .381 (3rd)
USF 3FG Pct.-Â .320 (6th)
 • Saint Mary's 3FG Pct. Defense - .345 (8th)
USF Free Throw Pct. -Â .756 (2nd)
Asists per game - 13.0Â
 • Steals per game - 7.7Â
 • Blocks per game - 3:0When the Gaels have the ball ...Saint Mary's Scoring Offense - 65.0 (8th)
 • USF Scoring Defense - 63.7 (4th)
Saint Mary's Field Goal Pct. - .419 (4th)
 • USF FG Pct. Defense - .383 (4th)
Saint Mary's 3FG Pct. - .297 (9th)
 • USF 3FG Pct. Defense - .311 (3rd)
Saint Mary's Free Throw Pct. - .723 (5th)
Assists per game - 11.2
 • Steals per game - 6.5
 • Blocks per game - 3.0
[WCC rank in parentheses]
#WeAreSF
The Dons have two women averaging double-digit scoring, paced by
Taylor Proctor's team-leading 15.5 points on .475 shooting and 7.7 rebounds a night. Proctor ranks in the WCC top 10 in all three categories.
Taj Winston puts up 11.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. Her steals average is good for second in the league and 71st in the NCAA.Â
As a team, USF is connecting on 75.6 percent of its free throw attempts, 15th nationally, paced by
Paige Spietz' percentage of 84.4 (44th in NCAA).
Know the Foe
The Gaels enter the contest with two women averaging double-digit scoring, paced by Lauren Nicholson's 17.2 points per game, which stands as the fifth-best mark in the WCC.Â
Shannon Maudin adds 10.4 points of offense and is one of four women who pull down at least five rebounds nightly, led by Carli Rosenthal's 7.5 boards a game.
As a team, the Gaels sport a 19-8 record, and stand at 12-4 in league play, still in contention to be seeded as high as second in the WCC Championships. Most recently, Saint Mary's took the close 62-58 victory at Portland as Nicholson led all scorers with 22 points.
USF & Saint Mary's - The Series
The Gaels hold the 37-23 advantage in the all-time series and Saint Mary's has taken wins in the last five meetings. In the season's earlier contest, the Dons held a 21-point halftime lead before succumbing just before the final buzzer at War Memorial Gym.
Last 5: 0-5 • Last 10: 1-9 • Last 20: 2-18
At WMG: 12-17 • Away: 9-19 • Neutral: 2-1 • First meeting: 1985-86 - USF won 73-67 (H)
Saint Mary's Remix
The Dons held the advantage over the visiting Gaels for 39 minutes and 57 seconds. But a last-second layup from Hayley Hendricksen gave Saint Mary's their only lead of the night as the team defeated the Dons 68-66. The sting of the loss cut deep as the Dons led by 24 points late in the first half before a reversal of fortune befell USF.
The Dons were paced by a season-high 17 points off the hand of
Rachel Howard, 14 of which came in the first 20 minutes of play.
Taylor Proctor,
Zhane Dikes and
Paige Spietz all contributed at least 10 points to the stat sheet, but in the end it wasn't enough for the win.
Last Time Out
In stark contrast to the scene last month in Malibu, the Dons couldn't get it going as Pepperdine stole the 76-65 victory from USF to spoil Senior Day.
The trio playing their final game on the Hilltop did everything they could to change the outcome, with
Aundrea Gordon posting a new career-best 21 points.
Taj Winston went off with a 14-point, 13-rebound double-double and
Paige Spietz added nine points, seven rebounds and three blocks for USF.
The Last Time ...
The Dons opened the year 3-0
 • 1983-84
The Dons won seven in a row at homeÂ
 • 1996-97
The Dons had 10 wins at home
• 2007-08
The Dons posted a winning season
 • 2001-02
The Dons finished WCC play 6th or better
 • 2004-05
On the Horizon
USF finishes the regular season on the road at Pacific, as the Dons and the Tigers tip Saturday at 2 p.m. Then, all 10 WCC squads converge on the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the 2015 West Coast Conference Championships, March 5-10.
WCC Championships Schedule & Projections
As it stands, San Diego, Pacific, and BYU all hold an 12-4 mark in conference and Saint Mary's is one game behing, so seeds 2 through 5 are still up for debate. But if the current standings hold, the schedule from the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas is will be (pending tiebreakers). Visit
usfdons.com/DonsInVegas or follow the hashtag #DonsInVegas all week long for updates on USF's games from the desert.
Thursday, March 5 - Quarterfinals/First Round   #8 Pepperdine vs. #9 Loyola Marymount - 12 p.m.
#7 Santa Clara vs. #10 Portland - 2 p.m.
#3 Pacific vs. #6 San Francisco - 6 p.m.
#4 Saint Mary's vs. #5 BYU - 8 p.m.
Friday, March 6 - Quarterfinals   #1 Gonzaga vs. #8/9 -12 p.m.
#2 San Diego vs. #7/10Â - 2 p.m.
Monday, March 9 - Semifinals   #1/8/9 vs. #4/5 - 12 p.m.
#2/7/10 vs. #3/6Â -Â 2 p.m.
Tuesday, March 10 - Finals   1 p.m. on ESPN U
On the Air
Joe Castellano hits the airwaves from Moraga, filling in for longtime voice of the Dons,
George Devine.
Watch all home games on theW.tv/live, in partnership with Silver Chalice/Campus Insiders. Get in on the action for both home and away contests at usfdons.com/LIVE. Catch all the action at theW.tv!
Get Connected
Fans can keep up on the latest in USF Athletics in a variety of ways.- Follow USF Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @ DonsAthletics- Follow USF women's basketball on Facebook at www.facebook.com/San FranciscoWBB, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/USFDonsWBB, or via Instagram at www.instagram.com/USFBasketball- Check out video of the Dons in action at www.youtube.com/usfdonsathletics and tune in to Comcast SportsNet California for USF's monthly cable feature series, "Behind the Mask". Check local listings for air dates, times and channel information.
