SAN FRANCISCO — Another closely contested matchup between two rivals went down Saturday, as San Francisco and the Santa Clara University women's basketball team marked the start of the West Coast Conference's second half with their second meeting in four weeks.
The 111th meeting between the familiar Bay Area foes would be decided by single digits for the 10th time in their last 12 meetings, as San Francisco used a key 12-3 run midway through the fourth quarter to break a tie and sweep the regular season series with a 74-66 win at War Memorial at Sobrato Center.
The Broncos (13-10, 4-6 WCC) twice hit game-tying 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the fourth quarter, first from Olivia Pollerd and again from Tess Heal to make it 58-58. But over the next 2 1/2 minutes, they failed to capitalize on USF's turnovers and cold shooting. The Dons went 0 for 3 from the floor, committed a turnover and even missed a free throw in the two minutes following Heal's game-tying trey at the 8:04 mark. But Santa Clara went 1 for 3 iteself and committed four turnovers while surrendering three offensive rebounds over the next 4 1/2 minutes, allowing USF to find its stroke and pull away.
The Dons (15-7, 5-5 WCC) hit three 3-pointers during their decisive run, two from Ioanna Krimili, who'd finish the game with 15 points and three assists. She also had a layup during the run, giving her eight of USF's 12 points in that span.
All three of Krimili's treys came during important runs for USF – her last two during that decisive run during the fourth quarter, and her first one during a 10-0 spurt during the first period that put San Francisco ahead by double digits. That opening quarter run handed USF the lead for the next two quarters, until Santa Clara finally tied it on two occasions to start the fourth, but they would never surrender the lead.
Lara Edmanson scored a season-high 17 points and had four rebounds, two blocks and an assist in the defeat. Defending WCC Freshman of the Week Tess Heal scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished three assists. Olivia Pollerd matched a career high with a team-best eight rebounds while also hitting two 3-pointers. Ashlee Maldonado was Santa Clara's third double-digit scorer with 10 points to go with four rebounds, two steals and an assist.
San Francisco was led by starter Kennedy Dickie and Jasmine Gayles off the bench with 17 points each. Dickie also had 12 rebounds for a double-double. Jessica McDowell-White scored 11 points, collected seven rebounds, tallied three assists and had a block.
Santa Clara returns home to Leavey Center next week to host the WCC's top-two teams in No. 17/20 Gonzaga and Portland on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Fans can purchase tickets and find all live coverage links on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
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