Women's Basketball | 12/27/2016 12:00:00 PM

USF (6-5, 0-0 WCC) at San Diego (6-4, 0-0 WCC)
Thursday, Dec. 29 | 6 p.m.
Jenny Craig Pavilion | San Diego, Calif.   
Series Record: 39-28 (San Diego)
Last Meeting: (USF) 84-80 (N), 3/3/16, 1^st Rd. WCC Tournament
Video: TheW.tv
Audio: Livestream.com/usf (George Devine, Play-by-Play)
Live Stats: Gametracker
Complete Game Notes [PDF]
 
Opening Tip
USF (6-5, 0-0 WCC) opens West Coast Conference play at San Diego (6-4, 0-0 WCC) on Thursday with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. from Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Dons will be looking to open their conference slate with a win for the first time since the 2007-08 season. USF rounded out nonconference action with a 78-58 loss to UC Davis at home on Dec. 21.   
 
The Dons At a Glance...

• Lost to UC Davis, 78-58, on Wednesday afternoon for their first home loss of the year
• Senior Rachel Howard led the Dons with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting against UC Davis, but USF's 34.7 percent (25-72) mark from the field was its third-lowest of the season
• Junior Anna Seilund went 10-for-10 from the free throw line against Cal Poly on Dec. 17, the first Don to shoot 100 percent with at least 10 attempts since Hashima Carothers went 10-for-10 against Saint Mary's on Dec. 21, 2015
• Seilund was named WCC Player of the Week this week, the first such honor of her career and the first USF player of the week since Taylor Proctor (Feb. 15, 2016)
• Seilund's 10 free throws made were the second-most in a game in the WCC this year; she ranks second in the WCC in free throw percentage (87.9)
• Seilund has helped spur the offense of late, leading the team with 14.2 points per game over the last five contests in which USF is 2-3
• Howard's career-high 30-point outburst against Seattle on Nov. 15 matches San Diego's Maya Hood (vs. UC Santa Barbara, 11/25/16) as the highest point total in the conference so far this year
• Junior Michaela Rakova's 13 field goals en route to a career-high 26 points in the season opener versus Sacramento State is tied with Hood for the most in a game in the WCC this season
• Howard leads the team and ranks seventh in the WCC in scoring (13.8 ppg)
• With 935 career points, Howard is closing in on the 1,000 point mark. She would be the 19th player in USF history to crack the 1,000 point barrier
• Redshirt junior Kalyn Simon has been deadly from long range this year, leading the conference in three-point field goal percentage at 51.6 percent (16-31)
• As a team, USF ranks third in the West Coast Conference in steals (87)
• The Dons are shooting 36.1 percent in their six games away from the Sobrato Center versus 45.1 percent at home
• USF's bench is averaging 19.9 points per game which makes up 29.5 percent of the team's scoring
• The Dons are shooting 51.5 percent (35-68) over the final five minutes of games this year, but have committed 37 turnovers to their opponents' 26 in those situations
• Posted a winning nonconference record for the third straight year

 
Scouting Report
 
About San Diego
The Toreros are coming off a 65-61 loss to North Dakota at home this past Wednesday... prior to that, USD had won back-to-back games over Seattle (67-44) and Nevada (70-54)... carry a 5-1 record at home... posted a pair of blowout wins over Cal State Fullerton (103-50) and San Diego State (91-53) earlier this season... their 103 points versus Cal State Fullerton is tied for the second-highest point total for a WCC team this year... preseason All-WCC forward Maya Hood ranks second in the WCC in scoring (18.1 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (8.1 rpg)... Katherine Hamilton is the only other Torero averaging double figures at 10.1 points per contest... Sydney Williams ranks third in the conference in blocked shots (1.9 bpg)... outscoring opponents 72.8 to 60.9 on average... picked to finish fourth in the WCC preseason poll.  
 
Series History with San Diego
San Diego holds a 39-28 advantage in the all-time series, but the Dons have won three of the last four meetings. USF took two of three matchups last season, highlighted by an 84-80 overtime win in the first round of the WCC Tournament where Taylor Proctor delivered one of the most heroic shots in recent USF history when she banked in a three with 0.7 seconds left to force overtime, completing a 12-point USF comeback. The Dons won on the road at USD last season, 59-54, before the Toreros returned the favor by topping the Dons at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, 67-58 in overtime. San Diego won 13 contests in a row between 2007-08 and 2013-14. Outside of that and a six-game winning streak by USF that spanned 1993-94 to 1996-97, the series has been fairly evenly-matched, but the home teams have held court in the series as San Diego owns a 21-10 record on their home floor against the Dons. 
 
Last Time Out
USF dropped its nonconference finale, 78-58, to UC Davis at home on Dec. 21. Rachel Howard led the Dons with 14 points and six rebounds, while Anna Seilund chipped in with 12 points, but the Dons shot just 34.7 percent from the floor, including 22.2 percent (4-18) from the perimeter. USF led 15-13 at the end of the first quarter, but UC Davis took a 31-29 advantage into halftime before pulling away in the second half behind Morgan Bertsch's game-high 27 points on 10-of-15 from the field.