No. 6 San Francisco (18-12) vs. No. 2 San Diego (24-5)Monday, March 9 | approx. 2:30 p.m. | The Orleans Arena in Las VegasTelevision: BYUtv | Live stream: theW.tv | Audio: usfdons.com/liveComplete game notes (PDF)The Buzz
After earning back-to-back wins over Pacific, the Dons insert themselves into the semifinal round at the WCC Championships for the first time since 2007, playing as the No. 6 seed.Â
USF looks for payback against the Toreros after two close losses to San Diego this season. Should the Dons advance to play the winner of No. 1 Gonzaga/No. 5 BYU, USF would make the finals for the first time since 1997's third-straight tournament title run.
Fans in Vegas are invited to attend the pregame tailgate outside the main entrance of the Orleans Arena at 12:30 p.m. Follow the action from Las Vegas on the Dons' myriad social networks and use the hashtag #DonsInVegas to appear on USF's tagboard.
See the tagboard here now!
#WeAreSF
The Dons have two women averaging double-digit scoring, paced by
Taylor Proctor's team-leading 15.9 points on .488 shooting and 7.8 rebounds a night. Proctor ranks in the WCC top six in all three categories.
Taj Winston puts up 12.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. Her steals average is good for second in the league and 48th in the NCAA.Â
As a team, USF is connecting on 76.0 percent of its free throw attempts, 12th nationally, paced by
Paige Spietz' percentage of 84.5 (37th in NCAA).
Dons in the WCC Championships
USF sports a 17-18 all-time record in the WCC Championships, and the Dons are riding three straight  seasons with first round victories in the postseason.Â
Since the postseason tournament found a home in Las Vegas in 2009, USF holds a 3-6 record at the Orleans Arena. USF's semifinal appearance is the first since 2007, and should the Dons advance, it will be the first place in the finals since 1997's title run.
Championship History
The Dons earned three-straight titles in the 90s, defeating Portland for the crown in 1995, '96 and '97. USF was the first two-time tournament winner and is only matched by Gonzaga for consecutive championship titles (2009, '10, '11).
The Dons have earned four post-season tournament bids, advancing to the 1995 NCAA First Round, 1996 NCAA Sweet Sixteen, 1997 NCAA First Round and the 2002 WNIT First Round. This season, USF is hoping to be rewarded for its best season since 2002 with a berth to continue play past the conference tournament.
Know the Foe
San Diego enters the semifinal round after defeating Santa Clara in the quarterfinals, 51-42. Riding a four-game winning streak, the Toreros are paced by a trio of double-digit scorers with Malina Hood's 15.2 points per game leading the way. Sophia Ederaine, 2014-15 WCC Defensive Player of the Year, adds 12.1 points. 9.9 rebounds and a nation-high 4.76 blocks a night.
USF & San Diego - The Series
San Diego holds the decisive 38-25 advantage in the all time series, but neutral court matchups are an even 1-1 between the two schools.Â
The last neutral site meeting for the Dons and Toreros with in the first round of the 2009 WCC Championships, the first conference title determined in Las Vegas. In that meeting, the No. 6 seed Toreros took the 73-64 first round win over the 7th-seeded Dons.
Last 5: 1-4 • Last 10: 1-9 • Last 20: 3-17
 • At WMG: 15-16 • Away: 9-21 • Neutral: 1-1
San Diego Remix - Part One
The back-and-forth contest on the road in San Diego led to the second-straight heartbreaking loss for the Dons after the potential game-winning basket for USF was waved off with 4.4 seconds to play. The Toreros hung on to record the 56-55 victory paced by Katelyn McDaniel's 15 points and seven rebounds.Â
Taylor Proctor finished with 15 points on .500 shooting and a 5-of-7 effort from the line, and five rebounds.
Taj Winston added 14 points, and a game-high four steals. She grabbed seven rebounds, including a team-high four on the offensive glass.
San Diego Remix - Part TwoÂ
The first half of the rematch at War Memorial Gym was all Dons, as the hot-handed home team hit seven triples in the opening period and built as much as a 12-point lead. But in the second, the Toreros rallied to take the lead with nine minutes to go and sunk the Dons 74-69.
USF finished with four double-digit scorers and four women with at least two 3-pointers in the contest.
Zhane Dikes with 15 points on a 3-for-3 effort from long range.
Quarterfinal QuickCap
Sometimes seeding doesn't matter. And for the San Francisco women's basketball team, the No. 6 seed just gave the Dons the opportunity to upend No. 3 Pacific 74-64 in Thursday night's quarterfinal action from the Orleans Arena.
The Dons capped the game with eight points in the final 39.7 seconds of the action to take their second-straight win over the Tigers in as many tries, after spoiling Pacific's senior day to close the regular season.
The Last Time ...
USF is rolling through a season that hasn't been matched in some time, including owning a winning overall record for the first time since 2002's WNIT bid.Â
The Dons opened the year 3-0
 • 1983-84
The Dons won seven in a row at home
 • 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
The Dons played in the WCC semis
 • 2006-07
Milestones
In the Dons' home contest against BYU on Jan. 29, USF junior
Taylor Proctor and senior
Taj Winston both joined the 1,000-point club. The exclusive list of 20 women is headlined by Mary Hile-Nepfel's school record - regardless of gender - of 2,326 points.Â
All the Action. Anytime. Anywhere.
Sure you can catch the action on theW.tv all season long, or you can tune in to see USF's first team All-WCC performer
Taylor Proctor. The junior from Colorado Springs, Colo., serves as the can-do leader on the court for the Dons, pacing the team in points, rebounds and shooting percentage. Earlier this season, she went over the 1,000 point scoring mark as well as the 500 rebound plateau.
It's Academic
Senior
Paige Spietz picked up her second straight nod as a WCC All-Academic first team performer. She maintains a 3.41 gpa for her work in the classroom, graduating with a degree in environmental science from USF. Teammates
Rachel Howard and
Alicia Scafidi earned honorable mention all-academic status.
60 Minutes
USF's four-overtime thriller with Gonzaga on Feb. 7 stands as the longest game in WCC women's basketball history, and the longest contest in NCAA Division 1 this season. The last quadruple overtime contest was a non-conference game in which Baylor and Kentucky racked up a gargantuan score of 130-133 on Dec. 6, 2013, with the Wildcats earning the hard-fought road victory.
Jump Around
As was the trend last season, USF has been solid on the opening tip, with the Dons winning 26-of-30 - 86.7 Â percent - of jumps from the circle thus far. Three of their miscues were all at home: vs. Nevada on Nov. 25, vs. Gonzaga on Jan. 8, and most recently vs. Loyola Marymount on Feb. 19. The only road tip lost was at Pacific on Feb. 26, a game in which the Dons won.
Seilund Splash Balls
Anna Seilund, freshman from Copenhagen, Denmark, is the WCC leader in 3-point percentage, connecting at a clip of 45.2 percent (28-of-62). In USF's first two meetings of the season with the Toreros, she was 4-for-9 (.444) from beyond the arc.
A Lasting Legacy - NCAA Silver AnniversaryÂ
USF head coach
Jennifer Azzi, who led Stanford to two Pac-10 Conference championships and the first NCAA women's basketball championship in school history, was one of six former student-athletes who received the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award for their collegiate and professional achievements in Washington D.C, on Jan. 16.
USF Hall of Fame
Bill Nepfel, former head coach for the Dons, entered the USF Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 6.
Nepfel presided over the most successful stretch in the history of the USF women's basketball program. Serving as co-head coach with his wife, Mary Hile-Nepfel during a 13-year period from 1987-2000, the Dons compiled a 196-166 (.541) record, won or shared three WCC regular season titles, captured three WCC Tournaments and made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.Â
Spanning the Globe
USF welcomed four newcomers to the 2014-15 squad including the first two international student-athletes to play for the Dons under head  coach
Jennifer Azzi,
Anna Seilund and
Michaela Rakova.
Continuing the European connection, USF inked Ninni Salmi during the early signing period. Salmi hails from Finland. Along with Salmi, the Dons also scooped up West Coast talents Jaylin Jones (El Dorado HS/Placentia, Calif.) and Dagny McConnell (Beaverton HS/Beaverton, Ore.).
On the Horizon
Should USF earn the semifinal win, the Dons would face off with the winner of No. 1 Gonzaga and No. 5 BYU in the finals. The last appearance for the Dons in the conference championship was  1997's 65-59 overtime win over Portland.
