 |  |
Dons Streak Snapped
Feb. 20, 2010
(San Francisco) - The University of San Francisco women's basketball team snapped a 17-game losing streak Saturday with a 58-52 victory over Santa Clara University at War Memorial Gym. The 17-game losing streak, the longest in school history, was brought to a halt thanks to 17 points from sophomore Rheina Ale.
With the victory USF improved to 5-24 overall, 1-11 in West Coast Conference play. Santa Clara dropped to 3-24 overall, 1-11 against conference foes.
In the opening half, San Francisco and Santa Clara played tight, with no team having more than a six point lead, as the teams traded the lead six times. The Broncos utilized a three-point basket at 9:20 to go up 20-19 and spark an 11-4 run to finish the half. Vania Singleterry led the Dons in the opening 20 minutes with six points, as Santa Clara led 29-23 at halftime.
The Dons came out firing in the second half, posting a .480 shooting percentage. Santa Clara went up by nine at 17:27, but the Dons rallied back to take 40-38 lead at 11:49 on a lay-up by Donnisha Taylor. The lay-up was the start of an 15-2 run for the Dons, who went up by as many as 10. The Broncos came within four twice in the final minutes of the contest. San Francisco held strong, though, taking the 58-52 victory. USF's defense played a key role in the final 20 minutes, holding SCU to just 10-of-31 shots from the field, including 0-of-8 from beyond the three-point line.
Ale led the Dons with her 14th consecutive game with 10-plus points. The sophomore posted five points in the first half, before erupting with 12 in the second. The Carson native added a block and three rebounds.
Singleterry finished the night with nine points and three boards, an assist and a steal. Freshman Whitney Daniels and Katy Keating each added eight. The eight points by Daniels marked a career-high.
Daniels paced the defense with five rebounds and two steals. Taylor also posted five boards - all in the in second half.
Lena Gipson led Santa Clara with a game-high 21 points and 15 rebounds. Alyssa Shoji joined Gipson in double-digits with 12 points.
San Francisco will return to the court Thursday as they host Portland at 7 p.m. Saturday, the Dons will close out the regular season hosting league-leading Gonzaga at 2 p.m. Prior to the tip against the Zags, USF will honor its lone senior, Nnenna Okereke, as part of Senior Day.
