Comeback Falls Short as Dons Drop Road Contest at Long Beach State

Tuesday, December 19

Long Beach, Calif.

4:00 p.m.

University of San Francisco

3-8,0-0WCC

Long Beach State

5-4,0-0Big West

Team	1	2	3	4	F
San Francisco	16	17	26	20	79
Long Beach St.	20	30	21	10	81

Photo by: Christina Leung

Comeback Falls Short as Dons Drop Road Contest at Long Beach State

12/19/2023 7:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. – The University of San Francisco women's basketball team (3-8) erased a double-digit deficit but came up short at Long Beach State (5-4), falling 81-79 in the final non-conference road game Tuesday afternoon at Walter Pyramid.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Long Beach State kicked off the game with a 5-0 run before Luana Leite put San Francisco on the board with a driving layup at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter.
The Beach continued to increase their lead in the following minutes and led by 14, 20-6, at the 2:49 mark. The Dons, however, recovered and closed out the first quarter on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to four, 20-16.
Debora dos Santos sparked the scoring run with a three-point basket, and Seynabou Thiam added five points in the quarter's closing minute to cap off the rally.
The green and gold kept the game close at the start of the second quarter as both teams traded baskets in the first four minutes. Leading by four, 33-29, the Beach closed the first half on a 17-4 run and led by 17, 50-33, at the halftime break.
Trailing by as much as 19 in the third quarter, San Francisco chipped away at the deficit late in the period. Down 66-47, the Dons pushed through and used a 12-5 run to cut the deficit to 12 heading into the final quarter.
The green and gold continued to fight and cut the deficit to single digits, 73-64 after Freja Werth connected on a three-point basket at the 8:04 mark. Werth's three sparked a 9-2 scoring run that trimmed the deficit to two, 75-73, midway through the fourth quarter.
The Dons eventually tied the game at the 3:25 mark after Jasmine Gayles connected on a three-point attempt, evening the score at 77. The Beach pulled ahead shortly after and survived one final possession as a Debora dos Santos final layup attempt to tie the game came up short.
Despite the loss, San Francisco erased a 19-point deficit and outscored Long Beach State 46-31 in the second half.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

Gayles led the team in scoring, finishing with a game-high 21 points. Surpassing the 20-point scoring threshold for the third time this season, Gayles increased her season average to 15.3 points per game. Gayles also added six rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
Leite reached double figures for the third-straight game with 18 points on 41.1 percent (seven-for-17) shooting. Being effective at the free-throw line once again, Leite shot 80 percent (four-for-five) from the charity stripe.
Recording a double-double for the third consecutive game, dos Santos put up 13 points and 15 rebounds in 28 minutes. Dos Santos, who leads the team in rebounding, is now averaging a double-double on the season with 12.7 and 10.2 rebounds per game.

POSTGAME WITH THE DONS:

To view the full postgame press conference with Head Coach Molly Goodenbour, please click here.

UP NEXT:
Following the holiday break, San Francisco returns home to the Hilltop at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 28 when it takes on Columbia at War Memorial at the Sobrato Center.

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

MERCHANDISE:
Want to dress like the Dons? Get your official San Francisco Dons gear from the University of San Francisco bookstore today! Click here to purchase.

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Coca-Cola - 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.