Women's Basketball | 12/30/2016 2:13:00 PM
USF (7-5, 1-0 WCC) vs. Santa Clara (6-6, 1-0 WCC)
Saturday, Dec. 31 | 2 p.m.
War Memorial at the Sobrato Center | San Francisco, Calif.
Series Record: 52-36 (Santa Clara)
Last Meeting: (Santa Clara) 59-57 (A), 2/4/16
Video/Audio: TheW.tv (George Devine, Play-by-Play)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Complete Game Notes [PDF]
Opening Tip
USF (7-5, 1-0 WCC) is looking to go 2-0 in the opening weekend of WCC action and snap a three-game losing streak to Santa Clara when the Dons host the Broncos (6-6, 1-0 WCC) for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday afternoon from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Both teams won their respective WCC openers on Thursday, with USF topping San Diego 78-58 on the road, while Santa Clara edged BYU, 64-63, at home.
The Dons At a Glance...
- Opened WCC play with an 82-67 road win at San Diego on Thursday night, their first win in a WCC opener since topping USD 80-62 in 2007-08
- Redshirt junior Kalyn Simon established a new career high for the second time this season by scoring 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting against the Toreros, besting her previous high of 20 points at Fresno State on Nov. 30... at 52.9 percent (18-34) from the perimeter, Simon leads the WCC in three-point field goal percentage and ranks fifth in field goal percentage (53.8)
- The Dons shot at a 56.7 percent (34-60) clip at San Diego, a new team high one game after shooting their third-lowest percentage in a loss to UC Davis (34.7 percent) on Dec. 21
- Junior Michaela Rakova tallied her second double-double of the season and third of her career with 11 points and 12 boards at San Diego... her 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
- Junior Anna Seilund was named WCC Player of the Week on Dec. 19, the first such honor of her career and the first USF player of the week since Taylor Proctor (Feb. 15, 2016)... 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... her 10 free throws made were the second-most in a game in the WCC this year... she ranks third in the WCC in free throw percentage (85.7)
- Senior Rachel 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... Howard leads the team and ranks sixth in the WCC in scoring (14.3 ppg)... with 955 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
- The Dons are shooting 48.7 percent over the final five minutes of games this year, but have committed 38 turnovers to their opponents' 27 in those situations
Scouting Report
About Santa Clara
The Broncos edged BYU, 64-63, in their WCC opener on Thursday night in Santa Clara... Morgan McGwire led the Broncos with 16 points against BYU, while Kalani Purcell grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds... rounded out nonconference play with a 60-46 win over New Mexico State in the Play 4 Kay Shootout in Las Vegas... went 1-2 in the tournament, losing to Oklahoma State (67-53) and South Florida (63-54)... went 5-6 overall in nonconference play... opened the season with three straight wins over Notre Dame de Namur (84-54), Chico State (83-68) and Idaho State (82-78)... junior Morgan McGwire (12.8 ppg) leads four Broncos averaging double figures in scoring on the year... the others include Emily Wolph (12.2), along with preseason All-WCC honorees Marie Bertholdt (11.3) and Lori Parkinson (10.5)... rank in the middle of the WCC in most offensive and defensive statistical categories, including field goal percentage (40.4 / 6th), scoring offense (65.0 / 6th) and scoring defense (65.9 / 5th)... picked to finish fifth in the WCC this year after finishing in third last year with a 23-8 overall record and 13-5 mark in conference action.
Series History with Santa Clara
Santa Clara owns a 52-36 advantage in the all-time series and has dominated off late, winning 14 of the last 16 meetings... USF's most recent victory in the series came with a 62-45 win at home on Jan. 17, 2015... then-freshman
Anna Seilund made her first career start in that game, scoring 12 points and making five steals... the Broncos won both meetings in 2015-16, including a 59-57 victory at USF that was aided by an administrative technical foul that awarded Santa Clara two free throws to start the game, proving to be the difference... the Dons won 14 of the first 15 matchups in the series, which started in 1976-77... USF hasn't won back-to-back games against Santa Clara since sweeping the season series in 1996-97... the Dons are 20-19 at home versus the Broncos.
Last Time Out
USF posted an 82-67 victory at San Diego on Thursday to open up WCC action as five Dons tallied double figures on a night that saw USF post its highest shooting percentage (56.7) of the season. Redshirt junior
Kalyn Simon led the way with a career-high 22 points, while senior
Rachel Howard chipped in with 20 points while dishing out four assists and junior
Michaela Rakova registered her second double-double of the year – and third of her career – with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Meanwhile,
Anna Seilund (10 points, game-high five assists) and
Nia Alexander (13 points) were the other Dons in double figures on the night. USF trailed 27-21 after one quarter but went on to hold USD to just five points in the second period before stretching its lead to double digits by halftime and never looking back.
Fan Guide
Promotions
Saturday's game is featured as one of seven Jesuit Basketball Spotlight matchups for the USF women this season. The Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS) is a nationwide effort to capitalize on basketball games between Jesuit schools and, through those games, bring greater positive awareness and exposure to Jesuit education and its shared mission. For more information visit
JesuitBasketball.com, follow @Jesuit_BBall on Twitter or visit
Jesuit Basketball Spotlight on Facebook.
Ticket Information
Individual game tickets for all USF home games this season are available on line at USFDons.com or by calling (415) 422-2USF. General admission tickets are available for as low as $10. All USFCA faculty, staff and students with a valid ID, and youth 12 and under enter free.
Parking Information
Parking is available for a daily use fee on campus in the Hayes-Healy garage (located along Golden Gate Ave. in between War Memorial at the Sobrato Center and the Hayes Healy dorms) and at the Koret Health and Recration Center lot (at the corner of Parker Ave. and Turk St.). Street parking is also available around campus, but visitors are reminded to take notice of signs displaying city parking restrictions for each street. Parking is typically available free of charge two hours prior to tip-off until one hour after the conclusion of the game in any campus lot, with the exception of designated green parking spots and the top of Hayes-Healy garage. Refer to the
USF Department of Public Safety parking webpage for most current regulations and for instructions how to purchase a daily use permit.
