SAN FRANCISCO — Leilah Vigil wasn't going to let this one get away.
 
Scoreless for a 4 1/2-minute stretch and seeing its double-digit lead over visiting Loyola Marymount disappear in the waning minutes of the game, the University of San Francisco women's basketball team leaned on the person it had leaned on all afternoon – Vigil.
 
Having already bookmarked a career day, Vigil put the icing on the cake with eight seconds left, driving right, splitting two defenders and laying in the go-ahead basket that would turn out to be the game winner in a 70-68 West Coast Conference victory at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
 
"We have a lot of things to learn about end-of-game situations, but it's nice to be able to learn things from a win, instead of have to learn them by losing," said USF head coach Molly Goodenbour, who's team has now won two of its last three games after dropping its first nine WCC contests. "Being able to keep poise and keep composure, we went for a long stretch – six, seven possessions – without scoring in the fourth quarter and that was when Loyola was chipping away, chipping away.
 
San Francisco (9-15, 2-10 WCC) held double-digit leads in all four quarters Saturday, its largest a 13-point advantage 3 1/2 minutes into the third. But as has been the case for much of the season playing with an injury depleted roster, the Dons began to waver late with four players who had already seen at least 30 minutes.
 
Loyola Marymount's (7-19, 3-10 WCC) defense locked down midway through the fourth after a Vigil layup – two of her career-high 27 points on the day – gave the Dons a 10-point lead with six minutes left. The Lions forced USF to miss six straight shots and shut them out for more than five minutes of game time. Vigil and Kia Vaalavirta made free-throws with less than a minute to play, but a layup and a 1-for-2 showing at the line by Vaalavirta left it a three-point contest with 20.6 seconds left.
 
That's when Aspyn Adams, who had a career night when the Dons and Lions faced off last month in Los Angeles, hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to play.
 
"To our credit though, we dug in and Leilah's basket, obviously a huge basket at the end, and we made free throws tonight, 20 of 25 from the free-throw line, Leilah was 13 of 15 from the free-throw line. So, we made enough good things happen to overcome some of the not-so-good things that we did," said Goodenbour.
 
San Francisco held the Lions to just 26.7% shooting in the first quarter while getting out to a 19-9 lead. A 10-0 run to close the second made it a 12-point game at halftime (37-25), and a 10-5 run at the end of the third put the lead back at 12 heading into the final frame.
 
"I'm just really happy for us to be able to get a win," said Goodenbour. "The best things about these guys is they've stayed engaged to this point. It'd be really easy to look at our season and say, 'Oh, what does it matter? You're gonna have a losing season,' but every day they come and they compete in practice and they listen and they try to get better, and they willed themselves to get a win today.
 
"I think they'll continue to compete and play real hard through the end of the season, which is why they're so much fun to coach."
 
Along with her career-high 27 points, Vigil also pulled down 13 rebounds for her WCC-leading 10th double-double of the season. Battery mate Mikayla Williams was only one point and one board from also notching a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Lucie Hoskova chipped in 16 points and six rebounds, and Dolapo Balogun hit two 3-pointers for the second time in three games (both USF victories) while scoring seven, collecting four rebounds, dishing three assists and swiping a steal.
 
"Leilah's been, probably the last two or three weeks, she's been really consistent for us," said Goodenbour. "She's been really focused at practice, she's been really consistent in games, she's done a much better job of finishing, she's always been really good at rebounding.
 
"I think she's playing with more confidence. She's kind of settling into a rhythm about herself and feeling like every night, 'This is what I'm capable of doing,' and then actually going out there and doing that. It's not easy to do that. She gives us a double-double almost every night, so I hope she can just continue to enjoy the season and come out and play hard every night, and if she can give us numbers like tonight, that's even better."
 
San Francisco travels to the Pacific Northwest next week to face WCC leader Gonzaga on Thursday and Portland on Saturday. Fans can find all live coverage links on USFDons.com.