Dec. 17, 2002

Final Stats

(San Francisco) - USF built a reputation for losing close ballgames during the 2002-2003 season, with narrow losses against top-25 opponents. Tonight against Southern Mississippi, the Lady Dons simply lost ugly, falling 53-44 in non-conference women's basketball action Tuesday at War Memorial Gym. San Francisco (2-7) drops their fifth straight game just in time to leave on a season-long eight-game road trip, while the Lady Golden Eagles (6-3) made the Transamerica flight pay off with a big road victory.

For the fourth straight game, USF opened up on fire, building a 11-2 lead with 17:45 remaining after back-to-back 3-pointers by junior forward Carey Sauer, followed by a pair of free throws by junior center Mary Jane Krueger. Southern Miss was not impressed and reeled off 10 unanswered points to take an 12-11 lead with 13:15 left.

San Francisco went on a 11-5 run to take a 23-17 advantage with 9:45 remaining, but then fell apart, committing turnovers on six of their next seven possessions without managing a single shot. In all, the Lady Dons went 8:27 without scoring a single point, until freshman guard Joy Hollingsworth made a pair of free throws with 1:18 remaining at the 1:18 mark. The Lady Golden Eagles took the lead in the contest for good with 3:12 remaining in the half, 24-23 on a 3-pointer by La'Tasha Sumerall.

USF's offensive woes weren't over once the second half started with them trailing 29-27. The Lady Dons did not score in the first 4:24 of the final 20 minutes, trailing by nine, 27-36. In all, USF managed just 17 second half points.

Sauer once again led the way for USF with a game-high 17 points on 7-of-11 from the field, while sophomore guard Toni Russell added 12 and dished out six assists, but scored just two second half points.

Senior forward Dana Jones scored 11 points off the bench for Southern Miss, while junior guard Lana Lewis added 10 points. The Golden Eagles shot at a .619 (13-21) clip in the first half, finishing at .526 (20-38) for the game.

San Francisco could not overcome woeful offensive execution and poor shooting, finishing the game a frigid .348 (16-46) and made just seven field goals in the second half. For the second time this season, the Lady Dons bench failed to score a single point and pulled down just five rebounds in 45 minutes of playing time.

USF takes to the road for their next eight contests and plays their final game before the Christmas holiday, Friday, Dec. 20 in Seattle against the Huskies of Washington. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 PM at the Bank of America Arena. The contest will be televised live on Fox Sports Northwest and will be broadcast twice on Dec. 21 at 3:00 AM and 10:00 AM.