Game 31: No. 2 Saint Mary's (24-6) vs. No. 6 USF (19-11)
Monday, March 7 | 2 p.m. | Orleans Arena, Las Vegas (7,471)
WCC Gamecenter | Watch: BYUtv | Stream: TheW.tv | USF Audio
USF Postseason Media Guide | Complete game notes (PDF)

The Dons will host a pregame tailgate Monday at 12 p.m., two hours prior to the tipoff. The event, free and open to the public, takes place outside the main entrace of the Orleans Arena.

#OneTeam • Follow the #DonsInVegas

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The San Francisco Dons advanced to the WCC semifinals for the second straight season after knocking off No. 2 San Diego 84-80 in an overtime contest on Thursday. Senior Taylor Proctor banked in a 3-point shot with 0.7 seconds to play in regulation, and the Dons outscored the Toreros 11-7 in the bonus period to earn the victory. 

Rachel Howard finished the game with a team-high 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, and a 5-of-6 effort from three. Proctor added 24 points – all of which came in the second half of the action – and seven rebounds in the win.

What 2 Watch 4

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The matchup between the Dons and the Gaels features two of the most productive point-scoring offenses in the league, with each in the nation's top 50 in scoring, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage and free throw percentage. Saint Mary's leads the WCC in all four categories, with  USF ranking second or third.

By the Numbers (NCAA rank in parentheses)

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• When the Dons have the ball •
USF Scoring Offense - 72.3 (45) | Saint Mary's Scoring Defense - 67.5 (248)
USF Field Goal Pct. - .432 (44) | Saint Mary's FG Pct. Defense - .380 (101)
USF 3FG Pct. - .365 (19) | Saint Mary's 3FG Pct. Defense - .322 (239)
USF Free Throw Pct. - .752 (25)

• When the Gaels have the ball •
Saint Mary's Scoring Offense - 75.0 (25) | USF Scoring Defense - 66.9 (237)
Saint Mary's Field Goal Pct. - .460 (14) | USF FG Pct. Defense - .392 (158)
Saint Mary's 3FG Pct. - .383 (8) | USF 3FG Pct. Defense - .346 (323)
Saint Mary's Free Throw Pct. - .782 (5)

Comparison (USF/SMC):
Scoring Margin: +5.3/+7.5
Rebounds/Game: 38.1/42.7
Assists/Game: 15.5/15.3
Turnovers/Game: 17.3/17.4
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 0.9/0.9
Steals/Game: 8.5/5.3
Blocks/Game: 2.9/3.0

Dons in the WCC Championships

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USF sports a 19-19 all-time record in the WCC Championships, and the Dons are riding a string of four consecutive seasons with victories in the WCC tournament. 

Last year, the Dons advanced all the way to the championship round, upending the No. 3 Pacific Tigers and No. 2 San Diego before falling to eventual champion BYU. Rewarded for their efforts, the Dons earned a berth in the WNIT, their first time in a postseason tournament since 2001-02.

Since the post-season tournament found a home in Las Vegas in 2009, USF holds a 5-7 record at the Orleans Arena.

All-Time Versus

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The Dons face off with the Toreros in Las Vegas for the second straight year, and then have the potential to meet up with conference foes Saint Mary's, Loyola Marymount or Portland in the semifinal round in the tournament bracket.

School - Record (Last)    
BYU - 0-1 (2015; L 65-76)
Gonzaga - 2-2 (2014; L 68-81)
Loyola Marymount - 4-4 (2014; W 63-62)
Pacific - 1-0 (2015; W 74-64)
Pepperdine - 3-2 (2013; W 80-48)
Portland - 4-0 (1997; W 65-59 OT)
Saint Mary's - 2-1 (1998; L 62-70)
San Diego - 3-2 (2016; W 84-80, OT)
Santa Clara - 0-7 (2012; L 58-62)
OVERALL - 18-19

Sowing Seeds

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The Dons have recorded back-to-back seasons as the No. 6 seed. In last year's tournament USF posted a 2-1 record en route to the WCC Finals.

Seed     Record (Years)        
No. 1 ... 3-0 (1995)
No. 2  ... 7-1 (1992, '96, '97)
No. 3  ... 0-0
No. 4  ... 1-2 (2002, '03)
No. 5  ... 1-1 (2001)
No. 6  ... 2-4 (1998, 2000, '05, '15)
No. 7  ... 2-6 (2004, '06, '07,'08, '09, '10)
No. 8  ... 2-5 (1999, 2011, '12, '13, '14)
No. 9  ... 0-0
No. 10 ... 0-0

WCC History

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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 five post-season tournament bids, advancing to the 1995 NCAA First Round, 1996 NCAA Sweet Sixteen, 1997 NCAA First Round and the 2002 and 2015 WNIT First Round. This season, USF is hoping to be rewarded for another banner year with the first back-to-back postseason bids since the '90s.

A Season of Success                  

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The Dons have been on a steady upward trajectory during the Azzi Era, rising from taking over a program with five total wins and one WCC victory in 2009-10, to finishing with the most WCC wins in well over a decade.

The last time the Dons:
Posted back-to-back winning seasons - 1996-97
Averaged 70 points per game - 1994-95
Averaged 15 assists a game - 2000-01
Won nine WCC games - 2001-02
Started the season 9-2 - 2014-15
Had a seven-game winning streak - 1996-97
Had a 30-point game performance - 2011-12
Had two 30-point games in a season - 2007-08

USF in the Rankings

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The Dons find themselves sitting pretty in both the West Coast Conference and NCAA rankings as a team and individually. 

The Dons are in the top three in the WCC in scoring offense (72.3 ppg/2nd), field goal percentage (.432/2nd), 3-point field goal percentage (.365/3rd) and free throw percentage (.752/2nd). USF is also near the tops in the league in assists (15.5 apg/2nd) on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, the Dons are second in defensive rebounds (26.2) and third in defensive rebound percentage (.697) in the WCC. 

Nationally, USF rates 12th in free throws made (459), 25th in free throw percentage, 19th in 3-point field goal percentage, and 42nd in assists per game, 

Individually, All-WCC First Team selection Taylor Proctor dots the conference and NCAA lists in a plethora of categories, including points per game (18.2 ppg - 4th WCC/56th NCAA), rebounding (8.3 rpg - 5th WCC), field goal percentage (.485 - 4th WCC), assists per game (3.4 - 8th WCC) and blocks per game (1.1 - 3rd WCC). Also of note, Rachel Howard enters the semifinals shooting 41.6 percent from 3-point range, good for third in the league and 25th in the NCAA, and Zhane Dikes' 134 made free throws rates third in the conference and 33rd in the country.

On the Offensive

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Under the tutelage of one of the best point guards to play the game, the Dons have improved their offensive output and team mentality of sharing the ball and assisting the shooter. 

In the year previous to Azzi's arrival on the Hilltop, the Dons shot .338 from the field, .308 from 3-point range and averaged 9.8 assists per game. Currently, the Dons are connecting on 43.2 percent of their attempts, and hitting threes at a rate of 36.5 percent, and USF is second the WCC in assists per game with 15.5.

70 - The Magic Number

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The Dons are 16-1 on the season when scoring at least 70 points, with the loss coming at the hands of Utah Valley in a 94-88 overtime game on Nov. 23.

NCAA Active Career Leaders

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Taylor Proctor currently stands as one of 16 women in the NCAA with at least 1,500 points and 800 rebounds. She is joined on the senior-laden list by defending NCAA Player of the Year Breanna Stewart (UConn), Shereesha Richards (Albany), Jillian Alleyne (Oregon), Courtney Williams (South Florida), Jillian Alleyne (Oregon), Nathalie Fontaine (Ball State), Joy Adams (Iona), Erika Livermore (Fairleigh Dickinson), Brittney Martin (Oklahoma State), Talia Walton (Washington), Ruvanna Campbell (Ill.-Chicago), Kerry Kinek (Lehigh) and Katie Healy (St. Bonaventure). Michigan State's Aerial Powers, Nia Coffey of Northwestern and Nina Davis (Baylor) are the three juniors to join the list.

She ranks 36th among active Division I scoring leaders (1,726 points). She also lands in the top-50 among active players in field goals (629/38th) and double-doubles (25/39th). Fellow senior Zhane Dikes rates 16th in NCAA Division I in career free throw attempts (599) and 19th in makes (434).

USF Record-Setters

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The senior duo of Taylor Proctor and Zhane Dikes both grace USF's 1,000-point scoring list of 21 women as well as the 20-member 500-rebound club. Dikes notched her 500th rebound in USF's final non-conference game of the season against San Francisco State. 

Along with her distinction on the points and rebounds lists, Dikes became the USF all-time leader in minutes played in USF's game at Santa Clara on Jan. 23. She is averaging more than 33 minutes per game in her career wearing Green and Gold, and passed Rheina Ale ('08-12 - 3,755 minutes) and men's minutes leader Angelo Caloiaro ('08-12 - 3,781 minutes) to earn the new school record. She also earned distinction as the program's leader in career free throws made with 427 and counting.

Proctor leapt to second in career rebounding in USF's game against Loyola Marymount, and she stands in third on the all-time scoring lists. She is one of five women to rate in the top-10 in both categories. In the Dons' game at Pacific, she joined career-leader and Legend of the Hilltop Mary Hile-Nepfel as the second woman to reach the top five in both points and rebounds.

Individually, Rachel Howard etched her name in the record books after swishing seven 3-pointers at Long Beach State. The seven triple mark in a game ties Andrea Kagie (at San Diego, 02/08/97) and Amy Touli (Northwestern State, 12/19/92).

On the Air

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Listen to longtime voice of the Dons, George Devine, behind the mic all season long. Devine is in his 20th season as the play-by-play voice of USF women's basketball.

Watch all home games on theW.tv/live, in partnership with Silver Chalice/Campus Insiders. Get in on the action for both home and away contests at usfdons.com/LIVE. Catch all the action, any time, anywhere at theW.tv!

Jumping Ahead

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Should the Dons advance to the final round in Las Vegas, USF will face the winner of No. 1 Saint Mary's versus No. 4 Santa Clara. The championship contest takes place on Tuesday at 1 p.m., from the Orleans Arena. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Get Connected

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Fans can follow the Dons in a variety of ways:
- Via the departmental Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat with the username donsathletics.
- Through the USF women's basketball team-specific Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
- On YouTube at USFDonsAthletics, where fans can view video segments online
- On Comcast SportsNet California in USF Athletics' monthly show, "Behind the Mask"
- With previews, recaps, videos, features and more as seen on USFDons.com