SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- Following a winning regular season and a top three finish in the WCC, the USF Dons women's basketball team (17-15) is back in action as they will host the first round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament on Thursday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center. 

The Dons will welcome the Air Force Falcons (18-13) of the Mountain West to the Hilltop for a postseason meeting and just the second ever matchup between the two programs. USF is led by the WCC's leading scorer during the 2021-22 season as redshirt sophomore guard Ioanna Krimili averaged 19.6 PPG this season as she made consecutive All-WCC first teams following another stellar season leading the Dons. 

AIR FORCE GAME DETAILS:
Date/Time: Thursday, Mar. 17, 2022/5:00 p.m.
Opponent: Air Force Falcons
Site: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center (San Francisco, Calif.)
Watch: WCC Network (George Devine)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast

RETURNING HOME:

• USF will get at least one more home game in the 2021-22 season thanks to hosting the opening round of the WNIT. The Dons did a tremendous job of protecting their home court during the regular season as they posted a 9-3 record at War Memorial including an undefeated record against non-conference opponents.
• The Dons will be one of seven WCC women's basketball teams playing in the postseason as BYU and Gonzaga are in the NCAA Tournament, Saint Mary's will play in the Women's Basketball Invitational while San Diego and Portland join the Dons competing in the WNIT.
• Leading the promise of the present and future of the program, freshman forward Claudia Langarita really excelled during the stretch run of the season as she won back-to-back freshman of the week awards to close out the regular season as she averaged 10.3 PPG in her first season at USF and led her team with an impressive 49% shooting percentage.
• Despite lacking prototypical size in their front court, the Dons received great play throughout conference play from junior forward Kennedy Dickie who was sixth in the WCC with 6.8 rebounds per game as her effort on the boards and the passing lanes helped anchor USF's interior defense this season.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS:

• Air Force pieced together an 18-13 season that good was enough for the fifth best record in the Mountain West. In their conference tournament, the Falcons defeated fourth seeded Nevada before eventually falling short to top seeded UNLV.
• Thursday's game will be a historic game for the Air Force program as they will be participating in their first postseason game in team history. Head coach Chris Gobrecht is in her seventh season leading the Falcons' program and this was the best year yet for the coach who's had previous head coaching stops at Washington, Florida State and USC.
• Leading the way for the Falcons is senior forward Riley Snyder who led her team at 15.5 PPG this season to go along with 3.4 rebounds per game and she shot 41% from the field. Also making her presence felt on the inside is fellow senior forward Haley Jones who grabbed a team-high 9.1 rebounds per game this season.
• USF and Air Force had four mutual opponents this season including Colorado, Nevada, Cal State Fullerton and San Diego with mixed success for both teams against those teams.

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.