“Our defense in the second half was a lot better, but we made some mistakes and got behind,” said head coach Joan Bonvicini. “I thought Crystal [Allen] gave us some good minutes and Renee [Dillard-Brown] gave us energy off the bench. I think we need to be consistent, and it starts in practice – being physical and a little tougher.”
Taylor Proctor hit the first bucket for the Dons before USF jumped to an eight point lead, 12-4, two minutes into the contest. Back-to-back three’s by Kaylee Best (Seattle, Wash.) and Crystal Allen (Fort Worth, Texas) cut the Dons’ lead to just two, 12-10, by the 16:36 mark of the first half.
The Redhawks would trail by only two three more times over the next three minutes before Aundrea Gordon hit a three at 12:08 to start USF’s 6-0 run over the next minute.
Alexis Montgomery (Beaverton, Ore.) and Allen jumpers a minute apart would bring the Redhawks back within six two different times, last with just under seven minutes remaining in the opening half, but Proctor and Zhane Dikes hit back-to-back shots to extend USF’s lead to double digits, 40-29, by 4:03.
Best and Wilma Afunugo (Plano, Texas) brought the Redhawks within nine twice, going a combined 3-for-4 from the line, but the Dons would extend their lead to 11, 46-35, at the halftime break despite a Montgomery jumper at the buzzer.
The Dons would remain ahead by double digits following the halftime break until Afunugo’s layup at 15:51 brought the Redhawks within nine, 52-43. USF would keep a double digit lead for the remainder of the contest as they scored five quick points to jump back out to 14, 57-43, capped by a Gordon three.
Montgomery hit a three of her own with 1:46 remaining but it would be the final points of the contest as the Redhawks fell, 67-56, to San Francisco.
Montgomery (14 pts) and Ross (10 pts) led the Redhawks in scoring while Afunugo and Allen also posted nine points apiece to round out the top four. USF outrebounded SU, 40-35, also leading in steals, 10-8.
From the field, the teams were nearly equal, as San Francisco held the slight advantage, shooting 23-for-60 (38.3 percent) to Seattle U’s 22-for-58 (37.9 percent). The Dons also led from the line and behind the arc.
Seattle U continues their home stretch with the sixth of a seven game homestand on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m. vs. Montana.