After trailing by 20, 39-59 with 12:15 remaining in the second half, USF mounted a furious second half charge, closing the gap to seven, 61-68 with 2:08 remaining, but could get no closer to Stanford who held on for a 75-64 victory Friday at War Memorial Gym in the season opener for both teams. Freshman forward Carey Sauer poured in a team-high 15 points to lead the Lady Dons and also pulled down eight rebounds in her first collegiate start.

USF trailed 40-24 at halftime and committed 13 turnovers in the first half. Neither team shot the ball well in the first half with the Cardinal holding a .361-269 advantage in the first period.

In the second period Stanford extended their lead, building a 55-34 advantage with 14:19 remaining in the game. The Lady Dons clawed back into the contest, slowly chipping away at the lead and reduced it to eight with 7:55 left. USF took much better care of the basketball in the second and only turned the ball over three times in the second while capitalizing on six Cardinal miscues.

Junior forward Rachel Mahar came off the bench in the second half and scored six points to go along with five rebounds in 16 minutes of playing time. Mahar also helped slow down Stanford's massive post presence of six-foot-six Carolyn Moos who scored a game-high 16 points.

Senior forward, Tashi Tasnadi also erupted in the second half with 10 points and five boards all in the second and freshman guard Lindsey Huff added 11 for the Lady Dons.

USF continues its early homestand when they host #8 Iowa State Tuesday, Nov. 23 at War Memorial Gym. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM.