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Dons Fight Early But Fall To Zags
Jan. 30, 2010
(Spokane, Wash.) - USF women's basketball held their own, until midway through the second half, against league-leading Gonzaga Saturday but it wasn't enough as the Dons fell 93-53 at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane. Three Dons scored in double-digits for USF, including a career-high 11 by Heidi Anton.
The loss dropped the Dons to 4-20 on the season and 0-7 in West Coast Conference action. Gonzaga, who is earning votes in the national polls improved to 18-4, 7-0 in league action.
San Francisco pushed Gonzaga in the first half, including taking a 9-8 lead at 16:09. Anton gave USF the advantage with an open three, but the Dons were unable to record another field goal until 5:13. During the drought, GU went ahead by as many as 15 points, but back-to-back three's by Rheina Ale and Brittany Brumfield helped bring the Dons back into it. San Francisco came within seven late in the half before the Zag's Courtney Vandersloot scored four in the final 30 seconds to give the Bulldogs a 42-29 halftime lead.
The Dons came out with a vengeance in the second half, closing their deficit to six points, 46-40 at 17:07. The turning point for USF was two costly fouls by Ale, causing the sophomore guard to foul out 15:27. Gonzaga took advantage of Ale and, eventually Brumfield, holding USF scoreless from 13:18 to 2:55. The Zags went on a 29-0 run during the Dons' drought to run away with the victory.
Ale finished with her ninth consecutive contest with 10-plus points, scoring a team-leading dozen points with six rebounds and two assists, despite playing just 21 minutes. For the season, the native of Carson averages 32.8 minutes per outing.
Anton's 11 points tied her career high, which included eight in the second half. Anton also added two steals, a block and three rebounds. Vania Singleterry added 10 points for USF, pulling down four boards and grabbing a steal.
Gonzaga was paced by Vandersloot with 20 points and 11 assists. Senior Heather Bowman added 11 points, becoming the Zags' all-time leading scorer in the process.
The Dons return home to War Memorial Gym this week as they host San Diego and Saint Mary's to open the second half of West Coast Conference action USF and USD will open the weekend Thursday at 7 p.m. Saturday, against Saint Mary's, marks the annual Think Pink game for the Dons, who will wear pink to raise money for breast cancer awareness. Tip against the Gaels is scheduled for 2 p.m.
