Jan. 16, 2002

Box Score

(San Francisco) - USF spent the first 30 minutes of Wednesday's West Coast Conference game against Saint Mary's College looking for a defensive stop. In the final 10 minutes of the contest, the Lady Dons got them in bunches and used a 24-10 run during the same span to seize a 74-67 win against the Gaels at War Memorial Gym. USF (9-7, 1-2 WCC) beat Saint Mary's (7-8, 1-2) for the first time since 1998.

After trading baskets in the early going, Saint Mary's jumped to a nine point lead, 24-15 at the 8:41 mark and led by as many as 12, at the 4:33 mark 35-23. USF went on a run to close the half, but a late 3-pointer at the buzzer by junior forward Katie Davis gave the Gaels a 42-35 halftime lead.

Once the second half started, Saint Mary's wasted little time extending their lead and looked to be in control, leading by nine, 55-46 with 11:45 remaining. Then USF rediscovered defense and the Lady Dons, spurred on by freshman point guard Toni Russell, applied relentless pressure. Saint Mary's made only three field goals in the final 10 minutes of action.

With USF clinging to a 70-67 on a pair of free throws by Russell, the San Francisco native got a steal on the ensuing inbounds play to seal the victory for the Lady Dons. Russell finished with 15 points, and went 10-of-12 at the free throw line to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Sophomore forward Carey Sauer also had a big day, scoring a game-high 19 points, including 3-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. Senior guard Lindsey Huff also chipped in 14 points and pulled down a season-high eight rebounds.

Saint Mary's held just 35-34 edge in rebounding despite a huge height advantage, but after shooting .516 (25-56) in the first half, went cold in the second converting on .360 (9-25) to finish at .446 for the contest. After a pair of poor shooting outings, USF shot at a .456 clip (26-57), including and made half of their 30 attempts from the floor in the first half.

Senior forward Jerkisha Dosty scored a team-high 17 points and her twin Jermisha tallied a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds. Junior forward Julie Morris added 12 points for the Gaels.

In a quirk of the league schedule, San Francisco faces Saint Mary's on Sunday in Moraga. Last season the Lady Dons were the only visiting team to beat the Gaels in McKeon Pavilion and have a chance for their first sweep since the 1995-96 season. Game time is at 3:00 PM and the game will be televised live locally on KRON Channel Four.