SAN BRUNO, Calif. – Senior guard Rachel Howard was named West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Dons to a pair of victories this past week, including a 77-72 win over first-place Gonzaga in which Howard tallied 23 points while matching her season high by going 5-for-9 from beyond the arc.
 
Howard scored 12 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter against the Zags and handed out a game-high six assists.
 
On Saturday against Portland, Howard scored 19, going 5-of-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from distance to help the Dons secure the season sweep of the Pilots.
 
Howard averaged 21 points over the two contests and shot 43.5 percent on the week as she moved into 13th place among USF's all-time leading scorers with 1,244 career points. 
 
Howard earns her first career player of the week nod while becoming the third Don to garner the honor this season, following Anna Seilund (Dec. 19) and Michaela Rakova (Jan. 2).
 
Howard and the Dons (15-12, 9-7 WCC) close out the regular season this week with a pair of home matchups against Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. on Thursday, followed by Senior Day on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Pepperdine where Howard will be honored along with fellow seniors, Hashima Carothers, Claudia Price and Raushan Gultekin.