LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Late in the fourth quarter Lucija Kostic needed just four more assists and four more steals for the ultra-rare quadruple double. In the end, she settled for a double-double in a sterling performance as the University of San Francisco women's basketball team outlasted a gritty seventh-seeded Saint Mary's team, 69-63, in the quarter finals of the UCU West Coast Conference Tournament.
 
USF (15-9) finished with four players in double figures. But it was the play of Kostic that stood out. The redshirt sophomore was 6-for-6 from the field, finishing with a season-high 13 points.  She also grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds for the double-double.  To cap off the strong performance, Kostic added eight assists, six steals, and three blocks.
 
She was joined in double figures by Lucie Hoskova who had a game-high 18 points and was seemingly the Dons other answer when a big bucket was needed. Ioanna Krimili finished with 15, and Jessica McDowell-White had 10.
 
The Gaels (7-19) looked like a totally different team than the one the Dons soundly defeated a month ago on the Hilltop.  Saint Mary's had four players in double figures led by Madeline Holland and Brianna Simonich's team-high 13.  Amy West added 12 and Taycee Wedin had 10.
 
Saint Mary's scored on its first possession but the Dons quickly went on an 8-0 run, showing no signs of ill effects of the time off from the double bye. The Gaels meanwhile looked tired early from their game the day earlier.  SMC went 0-for-6 on their next six shots and the Dons harassed them on every possession.
 
A layup by Amalie Langer on the Dons second to last possession of the quarter gave USF a 10-point advantage, up 20-10 which is how the quarter ended. USF was getting early contributions throughout the lineup with all eight players who saw action scoring a bucket, but Lucija made the immediate impact, she was 3-for-3 from the field with three boards.
 
In the second quarter Saint Mary's came to life.  USF went on a scoring drought late in the half and the Gaels capitalized, briefly tying the contest at 31 with 1:41 to play.  But USF responded. Kostic hit the Dons final two buckets, the last coming prior to the buzzer to give USF a 35-31 lead at the intermission.
 
The Dons shot 43.8 percent from the field in the first half and was 3-for-9 from beyond the arc.  The Gaels who were cold in the opening half were 3-for-4 from beyond the arc in the second quarter.
 
In the third and early fourth quarter, the Gaels made the Dons sweat.  The second half featured six lead changes.  The Dons had been leading for over 27 minutes when Saint Mary's retook the lead with 3:26 in the third with USF mired in a three-minute scoring drought.
 
A three by Marta Galic and a layup by Hoskvova had USF leading 46-45 entering the fourth quarter, but the Dons could not put the Gaels away.  With 6:46 left in the contest Holland got free for a layup and had the Gaels out front 49-48 – their last lead of the contest.
 
McDowell-White got a layup on the Dons next possession and after some sloppy play, Langer ended up with a steal that led a three from Krimili that was the dagger.  USF pushed their lead to as much as 11 late in the fourth and held on to win.
 
Krimili finished with 10 of her 15 in the fourth quarter going 4-for-5 from the field and hit two momentum turning threes. For the game, she finished 3-for-5 from beyond the arc and now has 84 for the season which is tied for 11^th most in a single season in West Coast Conference history.
 
The Dons will return to action on Monday when they take on No. 2 seed BYU at 2:00 p.m.  Monday's game will be televised on NBC Sports California, BYUtv and streamed on the WCC Network. George Devine will have the Dons radio broadcast on the Dons Audio Network.