University of San Francisco Athletics

SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco women's basketball team wraps up its three-game road trip Wednesday when it travels to the state capitol to face Big Sky Conference member Sacramento State at 7 p.m.
 
GAME 8 INFORMATION
Date/Time: Dec. 5, 2018 – 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: Sacramento State (3-1, 0-0 Big Sky)
Site: Sacramento, Calif. (The Nest)
Live Video: https://bit.ly/2O04E2d
Live Audio: http://bit.ly/2OOiKjs
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2Ed8X5D
 
USF AT A GLANCE

• The Dons (2-5) have dropped four straight contests, but they held first half leads in three of them. Three of those defeats came by single digits, and they outshot their opponent in two of them and outrebounded them in two others.
   
• San Francisco has shot 40 percent or better in five of its seven games and currently ranks second in the West Coast Conference with a 44.1 percent team field goal percentage.
   
• USF has outrebounded its opponent in four games, and in two others was outrebounded only by single digits. The Dons have the third-best rebounding defense in the WCC, limiting opponents to 35.0 boards per game.
   
• The Dons have been good at creating turnovers this season. They have the third-most steals in the WCC at 65 and are third with 9.3 takeaways a game. Guards Marta Galic and Shannon Powell both have 11 steals to lead the team. Three other Dons are averaging at least 1.0 steals per game.
   
• Youth has played a big part in the Dons' game so far this year. Three true freshmen (Julia Nielacna, Lucija Kostic, Kia Vaalavirta) rank among the top-five in minutes played for USF. Four true freshmen (Kostic, Vaalavirta, Marta Galic, Abby Rathbun) have already made multiple starts in the first games of their collegiate careers.

ABOUT THE HORNETS

Sacramento State (3-1) grabbed an 86-80 home win over the University of Antelope Valley on Saturday, which followed a big 109-107 win over Big Ten Conference member Illinois on Nov. 24 at the Cal Poly ShareSLO Holiday Beach Classic. The Hornets have tangled with one other WCC team this year, suffering their only defeat, 113-97, versus Pepperdine on Nov. 23. Sacramento State has yet to lose at home with a 2-0 record so far.
 
Hannah Friend is the Big Sky Conference scoring leader and No. 3 in the NCAA at 25.0 points per game. That has helped the Hornets become the nation's highest-scoring team at 95.0 points per contest. But they also have the NCAA's worst scoring defense, allowing 96.2 points per game. All that high-powered offense have allowed the Hornets to grab the most rebounds per game in the whole country, averaging 51.5 boards per game. That includes an NCAA-best 23 offensive rebounds per game.
 
LAST GAME VS. THE VANDALS
 
San Francisco had everything going on both sides of the ball Saturday during the first half, but host Idaho flipped its strategy at halftime and came out with a big comeback, overcoming a double-digit USF lead to win, 70-63, in a non-conference matchup at Memorial Gym. Idaho took its first lead of the game 81 seconds into the fourth quarter on a running layup from Mikayla Ferenz, and it would never trail again. That bucket was part of a 19-4 run that gave Idaho a double-digit lead at 64-54 with three minutes to play. At game's end, the Vandals would outscore USF 44-24 in the second half alone. Though Idaho shot just 36.4 percent in the second half, they made good on their free throws, going 18 for 20 from the free-throw line.
 
COMING UP
 
The Dons return to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Dec. 15 to host two-time defending Big West Conference champion UC Davis. The game will serve as USF's final home non-conference game before coming back to The City to start WCC play on Dec. 29. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.