STOCKTON, Calif. – In the season's first meeting, Pacific had the number of the San Francisco women's basketball team. But that was 2014. In USF's rematch with the Tigers in Stockton, the Dons turned the tables and turned in a dominating 91-79 win Saturday at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
USF opened the day with a layup from
Taylor Proctor and the Dons set the stage for an offensive output not seen since in two decades. The last time the Dons eclipsed 90 points over a conference opponent was in a 93-77 victory over Gonzaga during the 1994-95 campaign.
Already locked into sixth place in the West Coast Conference standings, the Dons finish the regular season with a mark of 17-12, and 8-10 in league play. The finish is the highest for the USF women since 2004-05 and the tally of 17 victories hasn't been seen since 2001-02's WNIT season where the team finished 18-12.
Up next, the Dons will look to a rematch with the very same team they saw today, as Pacific (21-8, 13-5 WCC) secured the No. 3 seed in next week's WCC Championship bracket and USF will meet the Tigers in the quarterfinal round. The two will tussle for the third time of the season Thursday at 6 p.m., from the court at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
"I think more than anything, it's important for our team to just go in to the tournament relaxed and confident," said head coach
Jennifer Azzi after the game. "We're likely going to play Pacific again and they're a great team. I have nothing but respect from them and their staff, their program. They're a great 3-point shooting team and they're fast, so we'll see how that plays out."
Proctor paced a handful of Dons who reached double-figure scoring. The junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, her sixth double-double of the season. She finished the day shooting 10-of-14 from the field, and making 6-of-7 free throw attempts.
"I couldn't have done it without my teammates. They were looking inside the whole entire time, so kudos to them giving me the ball," Proctor said. "We worked the ball, we got the ball in the right person's hands and whoever was open, was open. We just attacked early and I think that's why we had such a high percentage of shooting."
Paige Spietz and
Zhane Dikes contributed 15 points each, and Spietz connected on 7-of-8 attempts from the field.
Taj Winston added 14 points and four steals and was one of three women to record five assists on the night, joining
Anna Seilund and
Aundrea Gordon. Rounding out the double-digit scoring was freshman
Michaela Rakova's 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting.
Despite the early run for the Dons, Pacific was not going to go quietly on Senior Day. The Tigers' hot outside shooting was on display as a long-range shot from GeAnna Luaulu-Summers gave the game its first of seven times with the score at 13-13.
The game see-sawed for the remainder of the period, with 12 lead changes in the first 20 minutes of action. Dikes drained a pair of free throws with 1:44 to play in the half to give USF with 41-40 advantage and send the Dons into the locker room with the lead.
Pacific opened the second half with a basket from Kendall Kenyon and the Tigers would battle back for the 60-58 lead with 11:05 to play. After Desire Finnie's free throw with 9:31 on the clock, the Dons offense scored the next nine unanswered to leap back into the lead. With 4:00 remaining in the game, a Spietz basket off the pass from Proctor sparked an eight point run. By the time Proctor drained two free throws with 2:05 to go, the Dons had built the 85-72 advantage. USF went on to win 91-79 and come away with the highest point total of the season on 57.9 percent shooting.
The last time the Tigers lost to an opponent who scored at least 91 points came at the hands of then-No. 4 Connecticut in 2011, in Storrs. Entering the game, Pacific was 12th in the nation in turnover margin, and the Dons turned the tables forcing the Tigers into 16 miscues for 21 points. USF won the battle of the boards 35 to 30 and finished with a season-high 23 assists.
Pacific's leading scorer and rebounder, Kenyon, entered the contest averaging a double-double and was held to just eight points and six rebounds in the contest. In December's contest at War Memorial Gym, she went off for 27 points and 15 rebounds.
"We wanted to come on Pacific's court and beat them because at home it was just embarrassing for us," Proctor recalled of the 38-point loss in December. "They're always a great team to play. Their dribble penetration is very hard to guard but I think that we came out tonight, played hard and that's what we have to do this next game in the conference tournament."
Should the Dons defeat the Tigers in their quarterfinal matchup on Thursday, USF would play the No. 2 vs. No. 7/10 winner in the semifinal round on Monday, March 9.