Feb. 8, 2003

Box Score

(San Francisco) - War Memorial Gym has not been kind to USF so far this season and when the Lady Dons hosted Saint Mary's Saturday in West Coast Conference action, they looked for their first home victory since Nov. 29. A game-high 23 points from senior guard Katie Davis ensured USF would have to wait longer as the Gaels cruised to a 58-52 win.

San Francisco (8-14, 3-5 WCC) plummets to 2-8 at home, while Saint Mary's (9-12, 2-6) salvages a season split with the Lady Dons and earns their first league win of the season. USF could not overcome 24 turnovers and awful shooting from 3-point range finishing .083 (1-12) from long distance.

Saint Mary's led by two, 22-20 at the half before opening the second on an 8-2 run to take a 30-22 lead at the 17:33 mark on a 3-pointer from senior forward Julie Morris. They built it to a nine point lead with 12:55 left on a three-point play from Erika Urmonaite. USF clawed back into it on a pair of free throws by junior forward Carey Sauer to make the score 36-34 with 7:39 remaining, but Saint Mary's reeled off eight unanswered point to push the lead to 10 and USF would get no closer than five the rest of the way.

Sauer finished with her second double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds, with all of her points coming in the second half. Junior center Mary Jane Krueger made a huge impact in her first game since Jan. 2 scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes. Krueger was out with a staph infection in her knee. Sophomore center Leeane Jensen scored nine points and pulled down five rebounds for the Lady Dons.

Davis converted on a career-high five from long distance on nine attempts and added eight rebounds in 31 minutes. Senior guard Danielle Ferris finished with 11 points and five assists for the Gaels.

USF held a 42-33 rebound advantage and converted on 15-of-17 from the free throw line. Both teams connected on 18 field goals, but Saint Mary's hit seven 3-pointers on 24 attempts (.292). For the game, the Lady Dons went 18-52 (.340), while the Gaels were 18-55 (.327).

San Francisco looks for their elusive first WCC home win when they host Portland on Valentine's Day. Game time against the Pilots is set for 7:00 PM at War Memorial Gym.