MORAGA, Calif. — It seemed fitting Saturday that a turnaround that's took four weeks to evolve would be crowned by a win that took four years to get.
 
Truly proving to be well within their own groove as the regular season came to a close, the University of San Francisco women's basketball team won its third game in a row, beating East Bay rival Saint Mary's for the first time in four years with a 69-55 victory at University Credit Union Pavilion.
 
"We started out 0-9 in conference and then we tried to talk about learning from our experiences but not being defined by our experiences," said USF head coach Molly Goodenbour, "and I think this team really grasped that concept, because then we finished the last nine games 5-4, and that's a huge turnaround for us."
 
The Dons (12-18, 5-13 WCC) rolled into University Credit Union Pavilion Saturday having not beaten the Gaels (11-18, 6-12 WCC) since March 7, 2016, and not beaten them in Moraga since Feb. 26, 2015. But they also rolled in there with all the momentum, having won back-to-back games against top-five WCC teams while the Gaels had already lost four straight entering the game.
 
It was a slow start for San Francisco as Saint Mary's got out to as much as an eight-point lead in the first quarter. But the signs of the Dons heating up started showing towards the end of the opening period when they scored six of the last nine points and held SMC to 1-for-5 shooting with two turnovers.
 
"We just had bad matchups," said Goodenbour. "We didn't start out playing defense very well at all and then we switched our matchups a little bit. We got Leilah (Vigil) guarding (Sam) Simons and we got Mikayla with her length guarding (Madeline) Holland and I thought [Dolapo Balogun] came in and did a really good job on Simons as well.
 
"And I thought Kia really was great on (Taycee) Wedin. Wedin's so dangerous, anytime you leave her open she's going to knock down a shot, so, I thought Kia did a great job of chasing her around the whole game."
 
Wedin, the WCC's leading 3-point shooter, was only allowed four 3-point attempts in the game, making two. It was a tough second quarter for both teams, each shooting below 30% and combining for eight turnovers. But San Francisco still took advantage, erasing its five-point deficit and tying the game three times, even taking a lead, before Saint Mary's went into the break with a two-point lead.
 
The Dons' offense finally went off in the second half, scoring over 20 points in both the third and fourth quarters. USF took the lead for good in the third quarter, thanks in part to an 8-2 spurt that turned a two-point game into an eight-point San Francisco lead. Leilah Vigil (15 points, seven rebounds) and Lucie Hoskova (16 points) both went off in the second half. Vigil went 7 for 10 from the floor in the half and Hoskova made two 3-pointers while grabbing six rebounds.
 
"Just the way they stayed engaged and it's still meaningful to them," said Goodenbour. "After an 0-9 start, you could easily tank and be like, 'Ah, when are we gonna get done,' but these guys are excited to be playing, I think they're enjoying playing with one another and I think they're being competitive and now, to be able to reap some of the rewards from the hard work and the engagement that they've had this whole season is really nice for them.
 
"We talked about that going into the tournament now, they should feel good about themselves, they should feel like we're able to compete with anybody that we're on the floor with."
 
The 2020 WCC Championship Tournament starts on Thursday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. San Francisco will be the No. 9 seed facing No. 8 seed Santa Clara at noon on Thursday. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.