MORAGA, Calif. — The San Francisco women's basketball team finished with another strong fourth quarter performance Saturday, but a veteran-laden Saint Mary's team shot comfortably at home to get an early lead and rode that to an 88-63 West Coast Conference victory at McKeon Pavilion.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Like Thursday's road contest at Pacific, San Francisco (6-19, 2-12 WCC) won the fourth quarter, scoring its most points of any quarter on the day. Lucija Kostic tallied eight of her 14 points in the last period. The Dons outscored Saint Mary's (18-8, 11-4 WCC) 10-6 to start the fourth and held the Gaels to their lowest points output of any quarter at 16 points. SMC shot just 33.3 percent (6 for 18) in the last frame despite still shooting 53.2 percent for the game.
   
• It was multiple runs in the first quarter that got the Gaels out ahead big early. Saint Mary's went on three different runs of at least 6-0 in the first quarter alone, getting out to a 25-9 lead. The Gaels scored 22 or more points in each of the first three quarters while holding USF to 16 or less. Saint Mary's shot 73.3 percent in the first quarter and 63.6 percent in the first half. San Francisco slowed them to just 41.4 percent after halftime, but SMC's lead only dipped below 20 points twice early in the third quarter.
   
• San Francisco cut its turnovers number from Thursday by more than 10 and had less turnovers than Saint Mary's (15-13), but the Gaels capitalized big on the few turnovers USF committed. SMC scored 21 points off of the Dons' 13 giveaways, and had 16 points off of just 6 USF turnovers in the first half. San Francisco also won the offensive rebounding battle Saturday, beating the Gaels there, 11-10.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 50: Saint Mary's hit six 3-pointers in the game, but its most damage was done inside the paint, where the Gaels scored 50 points. In a 25-point win, SMC outscored the Dons by 20 down low, 50-30.
• 53.2: Saint Mary's shot 53.2 percent Saturday, the seventh time this season a USF opponent has shot 50 percent or better. SMC also did it on Jan. 17 at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center, shooting 53.7 percent.
• 81.8: San Francisco shot 81.8 percent from the free-throw line with 18 free-throws, tied for its second most in a game this season. It was the fifth time this season USF shot over 80 percent from the line, and first since Jan. 10 at Loyola Marymount.

COMING UP

• San Francisco returns to The City next week for its final home games of the 2018-19 season. The Dons host Pacific Northwest foes Portland on Thursday and nationally ranked Gonzaga on Saturday. Senior Day festivities will take place before Saturday's game. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.