Feb. 4, 2010

Box Score

(San Francisco) - Rheina Ale posted her 10th consecutive game with 10-plus points Thursday as the San Francisco women's basketball team fell to San Diego 67-52 at War Memorial Gym. Ale finished the game with a team-high 12 points.

With the loss, the Dons fall to 4-12, 0-8 in league play, while the Toreros improve to 13-9 overall, 5-3 against West Coast Conference opponents.

USF posted a strong showing in the first half, coming back from an early 10 point deficit to come within two at 5:47. San Diego jumped out to an early lead, but seven straight points from Vania Singleterry brought the Dons back into it, tying the score 7-7. Down 23-13 at 10:02, USF opened a 10-3 run to come within a pair. USD held onto to hold the Dons to just two points over the remainder of the half to take a 32-26 lead into the locker room.

San Francisco was unable to overcome the deficit in the second half, falling behind by as many as 20. The Dons held within seven of the Toreros until a 13-2 by San Diego put USF away for good. The difference in the half came in the paint, as the Toreros outscored the Dons 16-4 down low over the final 20 minutes.

Ale led USF on the evening with her dozen points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. The game marked the 17th time in the past 19 games that the sophomore guard has led San Francisco in scoring.

Singleterry finished the contest with nine points, seven in the opening four minutes, while Katy Keating added seven off the bench.

Freshman forward Whitney Daniels paced the San Francisco defense with six rebounds in her third career start in the Green and Gold.

San Francisco will take the court again Saturday as they host Saint Mary's in the annual Pink Zone game. Fans are encouraged to join the Dons and Lions in the unified effort to raise breast cancer awareness by wearing pink to the game. As part of the event, USF and SMC will sport pink shooting shirts during warm-ups. The USF coaching and support staff will recognize the event by wearing pink, while the officials will use bright pink whistles. The Women's Basketball Coaches Association began the WBCA "Pink Zone", formerly known as "Think Pink", in 2007 as an initiative to raise breast cancer awareness in women's basketball, on campuses and in the community. In 2007, over 120 schools unified for the effort, helping to make the inaugural year a success.

Saturday's tip is slated for 2 p.m.