SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco returned the favor to visiting Loyola Marymount Saturday with their first meeting one month ago in mind. The Dons dominated the backboard, outrebounding LMU by nearly 20, but a big performance by Chelsey Gipson helped the Lions stave off the Dons in a 73-66 West Coast Conference victory at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.


 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Gipson scored a game-high 27 points Saturday – including 15 in the third quarter alone – to lead Loyola Marymount (14-10, 8-5 WCC). When San Francisco (6-17, 2-10 WCC) had battled back and whittled down the Lions' 12-point halftime lead to just one at 52-51, it was Gipson who hit a corner 3-pointer before the third quarter buzzer sounded to put LMU back up by four.
   
• Gipson went 4 for 5 with two 3-pointers and a perfect 5 for 5 from the free-throw line during the third period's 10 minutes. But Gipson wasn't the only one who had a big performance on Saturday. USF's Nia Alexander posted her first career double-double with a career-high 20 points and career-high 11 rebounds. She had five boards just in the third quarter and was also big in the second half like Gipson, scoring 13 of her team-high 20 after halftime.
   
• The Dons scored the first three points of the game, but LMU answered with an early 12-1 run and never relinquished the lead after that. The Lions led by 12 at the break and by as much as 15 in the third, but once again San Francisco showed its growth this season with a strong second half push. The Dons cut LMU's 15-point third-quarter lead down to one by outscoring them 23-9 over a 6 1/2-minute stretch. USF grabbed six offensive rebounds during its run and got points from six different players – including seven from Alexander.
   
• LMU grew its lead back up to by as much as 14 again in the fourth quarter, but still San Francisco persisted. The Dons sliced back into the Lions' lead to make it a five-point game on two different occasions, but LMU went 6 for 10 from the free-throw line in the final 2 1/2 minutes to hold off the Dons.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 21: The Dons grabbed a season-high 21 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Loyola Marymount on the offensive end, 21-7. That was the exact same margin in offensive boards that the Lions held in the two teams' meeting on Jan. 10.
• 43: San Francisco tied a season high with 43 total rebounds. The Dons pulled down 43 boards on two other occasions this season, grabbing 43 versus San Diego on Dec. 29 and in the season opener versus San Jose State on Nov. 9. All three occurrences were at home.
• 53.8: Loyola Marymount shot 53.8 percent (7 for 13) from 3-point range. In contrast, the Dons were just 4 for 20 from deep (20 percent).

COMING UP

• San Francisco takes a short road trip next week to its Northern California neighbors, facing Pacific in Stockton on Thursday and East Bay rival Saint Mary's in Moraga on Thursday. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.