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SAN FRANCISCO – An explosive burst of outside scoring helped the San Francisco women's basketball team cruise to a 90-69 victory over Portland on Thursday night at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

The Dons turned in a well-rounded outing with six women reaching double figure scoring, paced by senior Zhane Dikes' 15 points and eight rebounds. Anna Seilund added 14 points, hitting four 3-pointers, and contributed a game-high four assists in the victory. Kalyn Simon, Rachel Howard, Hashima Carothers and Taylor Proctor all eclipsed the 10-point mark in the decisive victory.

USF went 12-for-22 from 3-point range on the night, coming up one triple shy of matching a school record for threes in a game, set at Cal Poly on Dec. 7, 2008. Along with Seilund's four swishes from distance, Dikes and Howard each drained three and Simon added two in the potent attack.

"When you're hitting threes it makes the game a whole lot easier," noted head coach Jennifer Azzi. "Also, when you're shooting well from the 3-point line it opens up the game. We had 12 threes tonight, shot the ball well, and in turn, that opens up the inside game. I was happy with our team's effort."

Along with what proved to be a juggernaut attack on offense, USF controlled the tone and tempo of the game with balance and ball movement. The Dons finished with 16 assists on its 28 made baskets while taking care of the basketball. The Dons finished with a season-low eight turnovers in the game to finish with a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio on the night.

"I told our team after the game that's how it should be – two assists to every turnover," said Azzi. "That's an area we've focused on, and I'm happy that our team took the things we've been working on at practice and really applied it to the game tonight."

The Dons jumped out early, as Simon and Howard hit back-to-back triples to start the scoring for USF. Simon's second shot from beyond the arc found the bottom of the net with 5:11 to play in the first quarter and the score at 15-4 in favor of the home team. USF scored 10 of the final 12 points in the frame capped by a pass from Seilund to an open Howard for the triple to extend the lead to 16.

The Pilots were able to battle back to reduce the deficit to single digits after Portland's Holly Blades connected from distance with 2:00 remaining in the half, but the score at the break was 41-30 in favor of the Dons.

In the third period, the Pilots found an early rhythm and Ellie Woerner's jumper with 6:40 on the clock cut the USF lead to six. An offensive rebound and putback for Carothers started a 13-3 run as the Dons again eased out to the comfortable lead. The Dons went on to take the 90-69 victory, USF's second game of the season reaching the 90-point plateau.

For Portland, Woerner paced the team with 19 points, and a 5-of-7 effort from 3-point range, but USF's offensive attack was too much for the Pilots to handle. The Dons were superior in nearly every category, finishing with 49.1 percent shooting from the floor, 54.5 percent shooting from distance, and a nearly perfect 22-for-24 outing from the free throw line.

With the victorious effort, USF improves to 13-8 on the season, and 4-6 in the West Coast Conference. Meanwhile, Portland drops to 2-19 and is still seeking its first win in league play.

Next on the docket, USF welcomes Gonzaga to the Hilltop on what is sure to be a special day for Dons basketball. The Dons will celebrate the 20th anniversary of USF's Sweet 16 team, welcoming alumnae from that historic squad back to War Memorial. The Dons and the Bulldogs tip off at 2 p.m.