FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- Competing in an unfamiliar setting against a quality opponent, the USF Dons women's basketball team (9-2) came in to Moby Arena and knocked off the Colorado State Rams (6-4) 73-62 on Saturday afternoon. The Dons pushed their winning streak to seven consecutive games and remain perfect away from the Hilltop this season as they outscored CSU by 12 points in the second half.
 
Led by 27 points from Ioanna Krimili, the Dons defense was stellar throughout as they made a very potent offensive team uncomfortable throughout the game to hand CSU their first home loss of the year. Jasmine Gayles put together strong performance as well coming off the USF bench with her second double-double of the season with 23 points and 11 rebounds against the Rams.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• The Dons came ready to play on the road Saturday afternoon as their outside shots were falling and the defense was making life difficult on a Rams team that rarely gives the ball away. Ioanna Krimili nailed a couple of big threes early while Jasmine Gayles came off the bench and scored at the rim and from long distance to take some air out of the home crowd. USF continued their momentum throughout the remainder of the quarter as they held a 23-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.
• The Rams were able to claw back in the second quarter as they began the period on a 9-2 run to cut the Dons' lead down to two points with USF seeking to regain their footing. Debora dos Santos was able to stop the Rams' run with a turnaround jumper, while Gayles and Krimili each scored a pair of late buckets to head into halftime trailing 34-33.
• Coming out of the break, both teams took a couple minutes for their first shots to fall, as Krimili knocked down a pull up jumper before CSU pushed their lead back up to six ahead of the media timeout. Down in the second half, the Dons began their comeback with Debora dos Santos and Gayles each scoring key buckets that put USF up four. Leading by three with under a minute in the quarter, Jessica McDowell-White hit an open three to pad the lead before a Rams' lay up that gave USF the 54-51 with 10 minutes remaining in the game.
• USF wouldn't give up the lead throughout the fourth quarter as CSU was able to cut the deficit down to three but the Dons were prepared with a response. Gayles spearheaded the attack with a made three-point shot followed by sinking a pair of free throws that gave USF some breathing room up seven. The Dons' defense turned up the intensity as well holding the Rams to 31% shooting from the field in the quarter as Krimili scored the last eight USF points in route to the 73-62 road victory heading into conference action.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

• Krimili capped off her stellar week by scoring 27 points on 10-for-21 shooting to go along with four assists and a rebound playing in the high altitude. Ioanna also shot a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
• Gayles provided another tremendous spark off the USF bench with 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting while also grabbing 11 key rebounds on Saturday. Jasmine played 27 minutes and finished +16 for her team while she was on the floor.
• Continuing her strong work on the glass this year, dos Santos came down with 11 big rebounds while also scoring six points, coming away with three steals and dishing out a pair of assists against the Rams.
• Doing a little bit of everything for the Dons, Amy Baum scored seven points on two shot attempts while also grabbing five rebounds and handing out three assists against CSU.
• Tasked with guarding the Rams' point guard and leading scorer, Amalie Langer was instrumental in the victory with her defense as she also scored four points to go along with a rebound and an assist on Saturday. Langer also finished as +20 in her 24 minutes of game action.
• Distributing the ball at a high level and filling various roles for the team, McDowell-White did it all for the team in route to the victory as she grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists, knocked down a key three-point shot in the second half as well as blocked a shot and came away with a steal for USF against the Rams. 

POST GAME WITH THE DONS:

• To view our post game press conference with USF head women's basketball coach Molly Goodenbour, please click here.
• To view our post game press conference with Jasmine Gayles, please click here. 

UP NEXT:
The Dons now return home for the start of West Coast Conference play, as they welcome the Loyola Marymount Lions to the Hilltop on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 2:00 p.m. USF swept both meetings against the Lions last season including a 70-49 win at home last January.

TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE:
Single-game tickets for West Coast Conference basketball games are currently on sale at www.usfdons.com/tickets. 

Want to dress like the Dons? Rep USF today by visiting the all-new USF Dons online store at www.usfdons.com/shop.

FOLLOW US:
For updates and more information on the USF women's basketball program, follow the Dons @USFDonsWBB on Twitter, @USFDonsWBB on Instagram and @USFDonsWBB on Facebook.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561.