SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- With the entire non-conference slate behind them and a new year approaching, the USF Dons women's basketball team (11-3, 1-1) are back in action this Saturday afternoon as they will head south to take on Bay Area rival the Santa Clara Broncos (10-5, 1-1) at noon on Dec. 31 from the Leavey Center. 

USF enters Saturday's matchup on a two game winning streak and as a team have won nine of their last 10 games in what was a very successful non-conference season for the Dons. Heading into WCC action, USF is yet to lose away from the Hilltop as they picked up two key road wins in the non-conference schedule over CSUN and Colorado State as well as defeating San Diego State at the Chase Center earlier in December. 

SANTA CLARA GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Saturday Dec. 31, 2022 / 12:00 p.m.
Opponent: Santa Clara Broncos (10-5, 1-1)
Site: Leavey Center / Santa Clara, Calif.
Watch: WCC Network
Listen: Dons Radio Network (George Devine and Jessica Blodgett)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

DONS AT A GLANCE:

• Leading the way for the Dons this season has been the consistently phenomenal scoring of Ioanna Krimili, who currently leads the WCC by averaging 18.1 PPG while also ranking fourth in the country with 41 made three-point shots on the season. In last season's three matchups against Santa Clara, Krimili was able to average 18.7 PPG against the Broncos while helping USF pick up a pair of victories.
• Following an uneven offensive start to the season, the Dons have caught fire heading into the bulk of WCC play as they lead the conference by averaging 74.1 PPG, and a key reason for the high scoring total has been the tremendous work from USF on the offensive glass as they have averaged a league-high 13.9 offensive rebounds per game.
• The depth of the Dons has been a key part of their success in the non-conference season as USF's bench has provided a tremendous spark for the team with two players averaging double figures in scoring, as Jasmine Gayles is averaging 12.4 PPG and Debora dos Santos is putting up 11.9 PPG and is top five in the WCC with 7.1 rebounds per game. 

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS:

• Santa Clara has had a strong start to the 2022-23 season as they've posted a 10-5 record that included non-conference victories over South Dakota, Washington and Nevada as well as splitting their first two WCC games by defeating LMU and falling short against Pepperdine on their home floor.
• Leading the way for the Broncos this season has been the stellar play of freshman guard Tess Heal, who leads Santa Clara with 15.9 PPG on a highly efficient 53% shooting percentage in her first collegiate season. Heal's strong play has led to her being selected as the WCC's Freshman of the Week fives times in the first seven weeks of the season. 
• In last season's two victories over Santa Clara, the Broncos' guard Ashley Hiraki performed well in both of the games to make life difficult on the USF defense as she scored 12 points on the Hilltop and followed that up by putting up 17 points at the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas. 

SERIES HISTORY:

• Saturday afternoon will mark the 40th time the Dons and Broncos have faced off since the 2005-06 season with Santa Clara currently holding the 25-14 advantage despite USF winning the last two meetings. The Broncos won last year's matchup in the South Bay by an 83-78 score despite Gayles setting a new career-high with 28 points last January. 

TRACK THE ACTION:
Live streaming for Saturday's game against Santa Clara will be through the WCC Network and live statistics can found through StatBroadcast. A radio broadcast will also be available through the Dons' Radio Network as well. To find links for both broadcasts and live statistics can be found through the team's schedule page. 

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.