SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Returning to their home floor after a tough game in their conference opener, the USF Dons women's basketball team (10-3, 1-1) got back on track as they defeated the Pepperdine Waves (6-6, 1-1) by a 73-63 final score on Monday afternoon.
The Dons received another tremendous performance from
Ioanna Krimili as she scored 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field while also grabbing six key rebounds against a good rebounding team in the Waves. Coming off the bench and providing a strong impact on both ends,
Loren Christie had a good performance scoring 10 points and collecting five rebounds in her 23 minutes played.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- USF got off to a fast start on their home floor on Monday afternoon as they raced out to a quick 10-1 run thanks to a pair of Krimili triples followed by lay ups from Kia Vaalavirta and Jessica McDowell-White that forced the Waves into an early timeout. Pepperdine was able to cut their deficit down to one point before the Dons regained their footing with a 7-0 run of their own thanks to a made three from Amy Baum and a lay up from Debora dos Santos as USF held a 21-12 lead at the end of the quarter.
- Building their lead in the second quarter with timely scoring and stout defense, the Dons bench was able to get going as Christie and Jasmine Gayles each scored a couple of buckets that helped USF take 32-19 lead midway through the quarter. The Dons were able to build their lead all the way up to 19 points following a dos Santos' made lay up and following a made free throw from Pepperdine, USF went into the locker room holding a 41-23 lead.
- The Waves came out looking to find their way back into the game as they started the second half on a 6-0 run before the Dons were able to stabilize the game following a three-point make from Gayles and a pair of made free throws from Christie. Pepperdine was able claw back further as their shots started to fall with the Dons holding a 55-44 lead heading into the fourth.
- Pepperdine continued their comeback attempt throughout the final quarter but the Dons were prepared with a rebuttal. After the Waves had cut their deficit down to seven points, Krimili knocked down a key midrange jumper to push the lead back up to nine with six minutes remaining in the game. With their lead down to six the Dons were able to attack the basket and knock down free throws as a pair of makes from Gayles and Krimili got the Dons back up 11 late in the game. USF was able to clutch up on the defensive end in route to their first WCC win of the season by a 73-63 final score.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:
- Krimili had yet another tremendous game for her team as she scored 33 points on 13-for-20 shooting from the field and 5-of-10 from three point land while also grabbing six rebounds and coming away with three steals against the Waves. Ioanna following her stellar game was able to reach 1,490 points for her career which puts her now sixth all-time in program history for career points.
- Christie had a great afternoon on both ends of the floor as she played 23 minutes and scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds while shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
- Scoring in double figures yet again, Gayles was able to pour in 11 points on Monday as she went 3-for-4 from three point range in her 23 minutes off the Dons' bench against Pepperdine.
- Doing a great job of setting up her teammates and initiating the offense, Baum scored five points and dished out six assists while also coming away with a steal in her 18 minutes against the Waves.
POST GAME WITH THE DONS:
UP NEXT:
The Dons will wrap up their non-conference schedule this Thursday afternoon at home as they take on the Northern New Mexico Eagles (3-12) at 2:00 p.m. from War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.
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.
