USF (8-5, 2-0 WCC) vs. Gonzaga (9-4, 0-2 WCC)
Thursday, Jan. 5 | 6 p.m.
McCarthey Athletic Center | Spokane, Wash.   
Series Record: 37-25 (Gonzaga)
Last Meeting: Jan. 30, 2016 (USF 71-52)
Video: TheW.tv
Audio: Livestream.com/usf (George Devine, Play-by-Play)
Live Stats: Gametracker
Complete Game Notes [PDF]
 
Opening Tip
USF (8-5, 2-0 WCC) looks to keep their momentum going to start West Coast Conference play as they travel to Spokane, Wash. to take on preseason-WCC favorite Gonzaga (9-4, 0-2 WCC) on Thursday afternoon with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. from the McCarthey Center. The Dons topped Santa Clara at home, 77-68, this past Saturday, while Gonzaga dropped a home contest to Pacific, 65-63.   
 
The Dons At a Glance...

• Opened WCC play with a pair of wins, an 82-67 road win at San Diego and a 77-68 home victory over Santa Clara... started conference play 2-0 for the first time since 2007-08 when they Dons defeated San Diego and Portland... USF ended up finishing 5-9 in WCC play that year.
• The Dons swiped a season-high 13 steals against Santa Clara on Saturday... as a team, USF ranks second in the WCC in steals (114) and steals per game (8.8)... individually, Anna Seilund ranks eighth in the conference with 1.92 steals per contest.
• Junior Michaela Rakova was named WCC Player of the Week and National Jesuit Player of  the Week after recording back-to-back double-doubles in wins over San Diego (11 pts. / 12 reb.) and Santa Clara (21 pts. / 13 reb.)... she now leads the team with three double-doubles on the year and has four in her career... her 13 field goals en route to a career-high 26 points in the season opener versus Sacramento State is tied with San Diego's Maya Hood for the most in a game in the WCC this season.
• 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 San Diego, besting her previous high of 20 points at Fresno State on Nov. 30... at 50 percent (18-36) from the perimeter, Simon leads the WCC in three-point field goal percentage and ranks eighth in field goal percentage (50.5).
• 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 Anna Seilund has been a key asset at the free throw line this year in addition to her work on the defensive end... 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 fourth in the WCC in free throw percentage (84.6)... over the last five games, Seilund leads the team averaging 16.0 points per game... she leads the team and ranks eighth in the WCC in steals (25). 
• 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 (14.5 ppg)... with 971 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 averaging 58.8 points per game on the road where they are 2-4 on the year, compared with 75.2 points per game at home where they boast a 5-1 record.

 
Scouting Report
 
About Gonzaga
The Zags dropped both conference games this past weekend, losing 79-69 at Pepperdine and 65-63 at home to Pacific... prior to that they had won six straight to close out nonconference play... snuck into the AP Top-25 at No. 25 back in the third week of the season... preseason all-conference pick Jill Barta ranks second in the WCC in scoring (17.2 ppg)... Kiara Kudron is the only other Zag averaging double figures (10.2 ppg)... another preseason All-WCC honoree, Elle Tinkle, averages 8.5 points per game and 5.2 rebounds... as a team, the Zags rank at or near the top of most statistical categories in the WCC, including scoring defense (1st, 57.6 ppg), field goal percentage defense (1st, 36.5) and three-point field goal percentage (2nd, 33.9)... picked to win the conference this year... are 6-1 at home.     
 
Series History with Gonzaga
Gonzaga owns a 37-25 lead in the all-time series... the Dons and Zags split last year's meetings with Gonzaga winning, 68-47, in Spokane, while USF took a 71-52 decision at home... USF's win last year snapped a 21 game losing streak to the Zags that stretched back to the 2006-07 season... Zhane Dikes led the Dons with 20 points in that game, while Taylor Proctor added 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds... USF and Gonzaga endured a four-overtime marathon on Feb. 7, 2015 in which the Zags claimed a 91-84 victory... USF's longest winning streak in the series was nine in a row between the 1994-95  and 1997-98 seasons... the Dons won 15 of 17 matchups between 1994-95 and 2001-02... Gonzaga won the first-ever meeting, 57-36, in 1987-88... USF is 9-21 on the road against the Zags.          
 
Last Year's Meetings With Gonzaga
In the first meeting of the year, a 68-47 Gonzaga win, USF managed just 28.8 percent shooting on the night, its worst shooting effort of the season. Conversely, the Bulldogs were firing on all cylinders, hitting on 54.2 percent of its attempts from the field and going 10-of-19 from 3-point range in the Thursday night tussle. The Dons were led by the senior duo of Zhane Dikes and Taylor Proctor, who combined for 26 of USF's 47 points. Rachel Howard and Michaela Rakova added eight apiece for the USF offense. Dikes finished as the Dons leading rebounder with seven boards. USF started slow as Gonzaga scored the first five points of the game. The lead grew to 15-7 after back-to-back buckets for Bulldogs player Jill Barta to close the first period. By the halftime break, the Dons found themselves down by 12 with the score at 32-20, its lowest point total in a half of the season. USF rallied to close the gap to eight with 4:04 to play in the third quarter. Proctor dished to Dikes for the layup to set the score at 36-28 in favor of Gonzaga, and the Dons could get no closer.
 
The second matchup fell in USF's favor as the Dons scored the first bucket of the game and never trailed to earn a big 71-52 win. Zhane Dikes got the Dons going early and finished with a game-high 20 points off a combination of strong drives to the rim and hot shooting from beyond the arc. But Taylor Proctor might have been the standout player of the game doing just about everything for the Dons with 16 points, and game-highs of 9 rebounds and 6 assists to perfectly complement Dikes' scoring aggression. In the first half, the Dons shot an impressive 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc that helped them build a comfortable 42-22 lead after Dikes hit a driving floater in the lane to close the first half. Anna Seilund led the way in the first half, scoring 10 of her 13 points on the strength of 3-for-3 shooting. However, the real story throughout the game might have been the Dons' defense, which held the Bulldogs to just 28.1 percent shooting from the field in the game. Gonzaga's starting backcourt of Emma Stach and Georgia Stirton were held without either an assist or point in the first half and Stach committed four turnovers in the first 20 minutes. In the second half, Shelby Cheslek – Gonzaga's leading rebounder and one of the WCC's most efficient scorers – was held without a point.
 
Last Time Out
The Dons overcame a slow start to improve to 2-0 in West Coast Conference play with a 77-68 overtime win over Santa Clara on Saturday afternoon from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. Junior Michaela Rakova filled up the stat sheet with her second double-double in a row, registering 21 points and 13 rebounds. Rachel Howard and Anna Seilund each added 16 points and four assists apiece. Santa Clara (6-7, 1-1 WCC) came out of the gates hot, connecting on 4-of-7 three-pointers en route to a 22-10 first quarter lead. Meanwhile, USF got out to a slow start on their end, shooting just 18.8 percent (3-16) in the opening period. The second quarter proved a reversal of fortunes as USF took advantage of a four-minute scoreless drought by the Broncos to cut into Santa Clara's lead early in the second quarter, going on a 6-0 run that brought them within seven. USF continued to rally back in the third quarter as Rakova's three – her first of the season - tied it at 34-34 with 8:58 in third quarter. Alicia Roufosse stepped up and knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Dons their first lead of the game at 36-34 shortly after. With both teams wrangling for momentum, Howard hit two free throws with 1:40 remaining that allowed the Dons to take a 46-44 lead into the final period. The Dons held the lead for the majority of the fourth quarter, building up a game-high nine-point advantage after a Rakova jumper with just over three minutes left. But Santa Clara's Emily Wolph, who came into the game tied for second in the WCC for most three-pointers made, helped dissolve that lead by hitting two of her game-high six triples in the final two minutes, including one with 1:02 on the clock that brought Santa Clara within two. Lori Parkinson went to the line for the Broncos with 13.7 seconds left and sunk both to make it 64-64 and force overtime. From there, USF took control, outscoring Santa Clara 13-4 in the overtime period.
 
Up Next
The Dons travel across the Bay for a 1 p.m. tilt at Saint Mary's on Saturday.