Jan. 20, 2002

Box Score

(Moraga, CA) - Saint Mary's got outstanding performances from their post players and dominated inside en route to a 79-73 West Coast Conference victory against USF Sunday at McKeon Pavilion, five days after falling to the Lady Dons in San Francisco. USF (9-8, 1-3 WCC), were overwhelmed on the glass where Saint Mary's (8-8, 2-2) held a 44-30 edge, including a commanding 17-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

USF opened up strong and looked to be in position to complete their first sweep against Saint Mary's since the 1996-97 campaign. The Lady Dons led by as many as 11 points, 33-22 in the first half after a fade away jumper from senior guard Lindsey Huff at the 5:39 mark. The Lady Dons were clicking offensively and carried their first halftime lead of WCC play with a 41-35 margin at intermission.

Saint Mary's jumped out of the gate in the second and cut USF's lead to three, 45-42 on a three from junior guard Danielle Ferris with 16:41 remaining. Freshman guard Toni Russell answered right back with a three of her own at 15:56 to extend San Francisco's lead to 48-42. The Gaels continued to whittle away at the lead, riding the play of All-WCC seniors Jerkisha and Jermisha Dosty, who dominated the Lady Dons in the paint, especially in the second half. Saint Mary's seized the lead for good with 6:41remaining on a lay-up by Jerkisha to take a 65-64 lead.

Jerkisha finished with a 24 point, 12 rebound double-double and ripped down eight offensive boards, while Jermisha scored nine points top go along with 14 rebounds. Ferris, who earned the start today in place of the departed Corrie Mizusawa finished with 12 points, dished out three assists and committed just one turnover in 36 minutes and did an excellent job of handling USF's pressure which forced a season-low 11 turnovers.

San Francisco shot the ball better for the second straight game and finished connecting on .417 (24-57) for the game, but after shooting at a chilly .297 (11-37) in the first half, Saint Mary's shot at a .583 (14-24) in the second. Saint Mary's inside presence also translated into an advantage at the free throw line and the Gaels took advantage, converting on .706 (24-34). The Lady Dons were even more accurate, hitting on .850 (17-20) for the contest.

Huff led the Lady Dons with 17 points off the bench, including a rare four-point play after being fouled on a made 3-pointer. Huff was 2-of-3 from long range and dished out four assists in 31 minutes off the bench and led the team in rebounding for the second straight game with six.

USF's backcourt was in foul trouble from the beginning, but junior guard Lisa Whiteside managed to score 12 points in 22 minutes and junior guard Alicia Hernandez scored 11 points and went 3-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. Russell finished with nine points, to go along with five rebounds and four assists.

USF continues WCC play next weekend when they host Gonzaga and Portland in crucial home games. The Lady Dons play the Bulldogs on Friday and host the Pilots on Saturday. Both games are set to tip at 7:00 PM at War Memorial Gym.