LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The University of San Francisco women's basketball team went a combined 1-for-26 in the second and beginning of the third quarter, the poor shooting was more than enough for BYU to take advantage as the second seeded Cougars defeated the Dons 88-55 in the semifinals of the UCU WCC Tournament on Monday.
 
USF's (15-10) season is likely over, but they will await the WNIT selection committee next Monday to be sure. If the Dons' season did come to a close Monday afternoon head coach Molly Goodenbour is excited for the future of the program.
 
"There is value in every experience that we have. Especially for such a young team," said head coach Molly Goodenbour following the loss. "We are only going to get better. This is going to force us to think in different ways about how to be effective as we do move forward. I think we have really, really good things coming for us."  
 
The Dons were led by Ioanna Krimili who overcame a brutal box and one defensive scheme to score a team-high 21 points.  Krimili had 11 in the first half and finished with 10 more late to give her, her 13^th 20-point performance of the season. The redshirt freshman was 4-for-11 from the field but 4-for-8 outside the arc.  
 
For the season, Krimili now has 88 made 3-point field goals which ties her for seventh most in a single season in WCC history with BYU's Brenna Chase who accomplished this feat in 2019. At 46.6 percent from beyond the arc, Krimili currently ranks fourth-best in a single season for 3-point field goal percentage.
 
Kia Vaalavirta finished second on the team with seven points coming off the bench. Jessica McDowell-White had six.  Lucija Kostic and Lucie Hoskova led the Dons with five rebounds each.  Amalie Langer had a game-high four steals.
 
BYU (18-4) advances to play Gonzaga in the WCC Championship game tomorrow evening. The Cougars finished with four in double figures. Leading the team in scoring was all-conference guard Paisley Harding who had a game-high 23 points.  Tegan Graham had 14 off the bench and Lauren Gustin and Shaylee Gonzalez scored 10 teach.  Gustin had a double-double with 10 rebounds along with her 10 points.
 
In the opening quarter the Dons struggled to get anything going inside but it did not matter as USF was 5-for-11 from beyond the arc. Abby Rathbun hit the Dons first shot and USF appeared to be off and running.
 
Defensively, the Dons were all over Gonzalez, the Cougars leading scorer, who was 0-for-4 from the field and had just one point on a free throw. Krimili had it dialed in from distance going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and the Dons led 19-15 after one.
 
In the second quarter the Dons offense completely stalled.  USF finished the second quarter 1-for-19 from the field. BYU, thanks to a 16-9 advantage on the glass, finished the half on a 10-0 run to go into the locker room leading 34-22. The Cougars were just 4-for-15 from beyond the arc in the first half, but 3-for-3 over the final eight minutes.
 
To begin the third quarter, BYU continued to hit shots, pushing their lead to 30 with under five minutes in the quarter. The Dons offensive continued to struggle to find any continuity, opening the half 0-for-7 from the field and 0-for-5 from 3-point range. Four free throws by Kostic was all the offense the Dons could muster through the first seven minutes of the second half.
 
After being outscored 49-13 in the second and third quarter, USF battled back outscoring the Cougars 23-21 in the fourth. USF emptied its bench and got valuable experience for everyone involved. For the game, USF shot 26.3 percent from the field going 15-for-57, they were 9-for-36 from beyond the arc.
 
BYU shot 52.5 percent from the field for the contest going 31-for-59.  In the second half, the Cougars shot 63.0 percent from the field going 17-for-27, including 6-for-11 from 3-point range.
 
The 32-team WNIT field will be announced Monday, March 15 after the NCAA Tournament releases its bracket.  The WNIT will be held in four regional sites: Charlotte, NC; Fort Worth, TX; Memphis, TN and Rockford, IL.