USF (8-6, 2-1 WCC) at Saint Mary's (6-8, 1-2 WCC)
Saturday, Jan. 7 | 1 p.m.
McKeon Pavilion | Moraga, Calif.    
Series Record: 39-25 (Saint Mary's)
Last Meeting: Mar. 7, 2016 - WCC Tourn. Semis (USF 67-65)
Video: TheW.tv
Audio: Livestream.com/usf (George Devine, Play-by-Play)
Live Stats: SMCGaels.com (Neulion)
Complete Game Notes [PDF]
 
Opening Tip
USF (8-6, 2-1 WCC) looks to bounce back from a 61-46 loss at Gonzaga on Thursday evening when they travel across the Bay to take on Saint Mary's (6-8, 1-2 WCC) at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Gaels are also eyeing a positive follow up after falling at BYU, 70-65, in their last action.  
 
The Dons At a Glance...

• Suffered a 61-46 loss at Gonzaga on Thursday evening... Rachel Howard and Nia Alexander led the Dons with nine points apiece... in Alexander's first-career start, she went 3-for-5 from the field and 2-for-2 from three-point range... as team, USF shot just 32.8 percent (19-58) from the field, their third-lowest percentage of the season... attempted only five free throws, their second-fewest in a game this year.
• 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 held a 28-27 edge over the Zags in defensive rebounds on Thursday night... USF leads the conference in defensive boards (28.5 per game), but ranks ninth in offensive rebounding (10.9)... have held a rebounding advantage in just five of their 14 games so far.
• Nia Alexander has seen her playing time and production on the uptick of late... the freshman is averaging 10.4 points per game over the last five contests, fourth-most on the team... she also leads the team with 57.6 percent (19-33) shooting from the field over that span, including a team-best 5-of-7 (71.4) from the perimeter.
• 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.
• At 50 percent (18-36) from the perimeter, redshirt junior Kalyn Simon leads the WCC in three-point field goal percentage and ranks seventh in field goal percentage (50.5).
• Junior Anna Seilund has been a key asset at the free throw line this year in addition to her work on the defensive end... she ranks second in the WCC in free throw percentage (84.6)... over the last five games, Seilund is 15-for-17 (88.2) from the line and ranks second on the team, averaging 12.8 points per game...  she leads the team and ranks sixth in the WCC in steals (1.9 per game) on the year. 
• 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 fifth in the WCC in scoring (14.1 ppg)... with 980 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 57.0 points per game on the road where they are 2-5 on the year, compared with 75.2 points per game at home where they boast a 5-1 record.

 
Scouting Report
 
About Saint Mary's
The Gaels fell on the road at BYU, 70-65, on Thursday... their lone WCC win so far came in their opener against LMU (74-59)... are 2-4 at home this year... preseason All-WCC pick Stella Beck leads the Gaels and ranks sixth in the WCC at 13.5 points per game... Megan McKay (11.1 ppg) and Sydney Raggio (10.9) are the other Gaels averaging double figures... McKay sits at eighth in the conference averaging 7.4 rebounds per contest... picked to finish third in the WCC this year... head coach Paul Thomas is in his 11th year at the helm.  
 
Series History with Saint Mary's
Saint Mary's owns a 39-25 advantage in the all-time series... the Gaels have won 15 of the last 18 meetings... SMC won two of the three matchups last season, but the Dons won when it counted most, in the semifinals of the WCC Tournament... USF captured a 67-65 win in that game behind Taylor Proctor's 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists... the Dons' longest winning streak in the series was six in a row between 1994-95 and 1996-97, while SMC won eight straight between 2007-08 and 2011-12... USF's last win in Moraga came with a 65-63 decision in 2014-15... the Dons are 10-20 against the Gaels at McKeon Pavilion all-time... USF won the first four meetings in the series between 1985-86 and 1987-88... there has never been an overtime game in the series.
 
Last Year's Meetings With Saint Mary's
Saint Mary's won the first matchup, 78-68, at USF. Despite a furious fourth-quarter rally, the Dons couldn't scratch out the win. For the Dons, the night belonged to Hashima Carothers, who finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, to notch her first career double-double. The Dons trailed 73-51 with 3:02 remaining and methodically chipped away at the deficit. The Dons strung together 13 unanswered to cut the lead to nine with 56.6 seconds to play. USF sliced it to eight after a successful trip to the line for Zhane Dikes with 30.4 ticks on the clock, but the Dons could pull no closer. Rachel Howard added 14 points and three assists for the Dons, and after swishing three 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes Proctor finished with 13 points and five assists. Dikes posted a nine-point, eight-rebound, seven-assist night in the loss. Saint Mary's finished with a 12-for-24 effort from distance, with four women hitting multiple triples. SMC's Devon Brookshire and Devyn Galland finished with 19 and 15 points, respectively, combining to go 7-for-12 beyond the arc.
 
The second meeting saw Saint Mary's post a 72-59 victory at McKeon Pavilion in the regular season finale. USF was paced by a 20-point, 10-rebound effort for senior Taylor Proctor, while senior Zhane Dikes added 13 points, eight rebounds and a game-high three steals and Claudia Price finished with 13 points on 60 percent shooting in the game. The Dons started the game on a tear, with Proctor, Rachel Howard and Dikes connected from the outside to help the visitors to the early 9-2 lead. The change in momentum began from the outset of the second quarter, where Saint Mary's eventually closed the quarter on a 7-1 run with five of its points coming from the free throw line to edge out to the 34-33 halftime lead. The Dons entered the fourth quarter down five and cut the Saint Mary's lead to two after Price's layup with 6:52 to play. However, the USF offense went cold in the final minutes of the game, while Saint Mary's hit four of its last six attempts from the field and got to the free throw line four times.
 
The final meeting of the year came in the WCC tournament semifinal at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, where USF was paced by 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for senior Taylor Proctor in a 65-63 USF win. A beast in the second half in USF's two games at the tournament, 15 of her points came in the fourth quarter against Saint Mary's. Proctor swished a pair from the line with 7.1 seconds on the clock, sealing the outcome in favor of the Dons. Fellow upperclassman Zhane Dikes added 14 points and a game-high five steals. Her fifth and final theft of the contest at the most crucial time. Dikes teamed with Anna Seilund to force a Saint Mary's turnover on an inbounds with under 10 seconds to play. Dikes was fouled and sunk her first attempt from the line. She missed the second, but Proctor swooped in for the rebound and got immediately fouled.  She sunk both her attempts to stretch the lead to four, and give USF the cushion it needed to hold on for the victory.

Last Time Out
The Dons suffered their first conference loss of the year, falling to Gonzaga, 61-46, on Thursday night at the McCarthey Athletic Center. Rachel Howard and Nia Alexander led the with nine points apiece, while Michaela Rakova narrowly missed out on her third consecutive double-double after registering eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Neither team necessarily sparkled offensively on the night with USF shooting 32.8 percent compared to Gonzaga's 33.9 percent clip. However, Gonzaga went 15-for-23 from the free throw line, while USF had just five attempts, connecting on four of them. USF got out to a strong start by scoring the first six points of the game, demonstrating some slick ball movement and an up-tempo pace that put the Zags on their heels out of the gates. Gonzaga went just 3-for-18 from the field in the first quarter as the Dons moved out to a 12-7 lead. Both sides came out slow in the second half, but USF was able to hold off Gonzaga until Emma Stach connected on back-to-back threes that put Gonzaga up 32-27 with 4:25 left in the third quarter and gave the Zags their first lead of the game. Gonzaga proceeded to go on a 12-2 run from which USF never recovered.  
 
Up Next
The Dons return home to host BYU at 7 p.m. on Jan. 12 before traveling to Stockton, Calif. for a 2 p.m. matchup with Pacific on Jan. 14.