University of San Francisco Athletics

SAN FRANCISCO — West Coast Conference women's basketball returns to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center this week, as San Francisco hosts Northern California foes Saint Mary's and Pacific on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
 
GAME 17 INFORMATION
Date/Time: Jan. 17, 2019 – 7:00 p.m.
Opponent: Saint Mary's (9-7, 2-3 WCC)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
Tickets: https://bit.ly/2yJatoS
Live Video: https://bit.ly/2FvGicu
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2QRShCv
 
GAME 18 INFORMATION
Date/Time: Jan. 19, 2019 – Noon
Opponent: Pacific (10-5, 3-2 WCC)
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center
Tickets: https://bit.ly/2yJatoS
Live Video: https://bit.ly/2MeTzGW
Live Stats: https://bit.ly/2VV5b6v
 
USF AT A GLANCE

• The Dons (5-11, 1-4 WCC) have been in close game after close game for the past three weeks, but have come out on the wrong side of decisions. USF has lost four straight games after winning its WCC opener on Dec. 29 by double digits over San Diego, three by single digits.
   
• Even with the unfortunate results, the Dons are still playing in many aspects as one of the best teams in the WCC. San Francisco's offense is one of the best – as it has been all season – averaging 68.7 points per game (fifth in WCC) and shooting 44.9 percent (second in WCC). The Dons are also the fourth-best free-throw shooting team in the WCC at 73.1 percent.
   
• Senior guard Shannon Powell has proven herself as one of the WCC's most diverse players this season. She is the only player in the conference ranked among the top-12 in scoring (5th, 16.0 ppg), rebounding (12th, 6.0 rpg), assists (4.4 apg) and steals (2.1 spg). Only one other player comes close, and that's Pacific's Valerie Higgins, who ranks third in scoring, second in rebounding, first in steals, but 13th in assists.
   
• San Francisco's scoring defense has improved since late December. The Dons had given up at least 70 points in five straight games from Nov. 25 to Dec. 15 (going 1-4 in those games), but they have limited opponents to less than 70 points in regulation in five of their last six games. Santa Clara scored 71 points on Jan. 5, but it took overtime to reach that total after only scoring 60 in regulation.

ABOUT THE GAELS
Saint Mary's (9-7, 2-3 WCC) has lost three of its first five conference games, with all three losses coming against teams in the top-four of the standings – Gonzaga, BYU and Pacific. Most recently, the Gaels fell to the Cougars by just one point, 74-73, with a waning-minutes comeback falling just short after a game-winning 3-pointer was missed at the buzzer.
 
Saint Mary's sports a balanced offensive attack with five players averaging at least 9.3 ppg. Sydney Raggio (8.1 rpg) and Megan McKay (7.0 rpg) are two of the WCC's top-10 rebounders. Saint Mary's distributes the ball well with 16.0 assists per game, but it turns it over at an alarming rate with a -6.1 turnover margin thanks to 16.3 turnovers per game. Saint Mary's plays in high scoring games with the second-best scoring offense (74.4 ppg) and the second-worst scoring defense (72.0 ppg allowed) in the WCC.
 
ABOUT THE TIGERS
Pacific's (10-5, 3-2 WCC) only losses in conference play have come against first-place BYU and second-place Gonzaga. The Tigers have won four of their last six games and started this season with a 7-1 record, only falling to nationally ranked California on the road. They have been best at home with a 6-1 mark, but are just 4-4 away from the Spanos Center.
 
Three Tigers are averaging more than 14.0 ppg, led by do-all player Valerie Higgins' 16.5 ppg. Higgins is among the WCC's top-four in scoring (fourth), rebounding (second) and steals (first). The Tigers shoot free throws well (2nd, 75.5 percent) and are also a good overall shooting team at 41.6 percent from the floor, fourth in the WCC. Pacific takes care of the ball with the WCC's leading turnover margin at +3.4.
 
LAST GAME VS. THE WAVES
A huge first quarter for Pepperdine helped carry it through on Saturday afternoon, as San Francisco played even the rest of the way but could not chip into the big early deficit, as the Waves beat the Dons, 69-50, in a West Coast Conference game at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
Pepperdine burst out of the gate in the first quarter, hitting each of its first three 3-point attempts, including two off of San Francisco turnovers, to jump out to a 14-4 lead four minutes in. The lead would grow to 21-8 when Yasmine Robinson-Bacote hit her second trey and the Waves' fourth of the quarter. At the end of the first period, Pepperdine had ran out to a 31-13 lead by shooting 54.5 percent in the frame and scoring 12 points off of five USF turnovers.
 
UP NEXT
The Dons start a three-game WCC road trip next week that will wrap up the first half of conference play and start the second. USF travels to the Pacific Northwest to face nationally-ranked Gonzaga on Jan. 24 and Portland on Jan. 26. The Dons then head to the South Bay to face rival Santa Clara for the second time this year.