Final Stats

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - San Francisco used a furious fourth-quarter comeback to snap the LMU's women's basketball four-game win streak, 79-72, Saturday afternoon at Gersten Pavilion.

With LMU (11-12, 6-6 WCC) leading San Francisco (13-10, 7-5 WCC) 57-51 at the end of the third, the Dons outscored the Lions 28-15 in the fourth, using 13 points from the free throw line to overcome a 10-point deficit. LMU went up 61-51 to start the final frame before the Dons reeled off a 12-2 run to tie it up midway through the frame. The Lions reclaimed the lead twice before San Francisco's Rachel Howard nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 34.6 seconds left, and the Dons iced the game from the free throw line.

Jackie Johnson led the Lions with 21 points, marking her fourth straight game scoring at least 20 points, and added seven rebounds and five assists. Andee Velasco contributed 15 points and six assists. Raychel Stanley notched a career-high 11 points on an efficent 5-of-6 shooting clip.

GAMEDAY STORYLINES

• The first quarter set the tempo for the game as both teams went back-and-forth, exchaning the lead 11 lead and tying it up twice, though the Lions were able to come out with a 25-23 edge.

• LMU shot 55.6 percent while the Dons connected on 52.9 percent from the floor. Johnson led the way with 10 points in the first quarter on 3-of-4 shooting.

• Stanley and Velasco hit the opening two baskets of the second, while Johnson and Cheyanne Wallace kept the momentum going as the Lions pushed ahead 36-29 midway through the second. San Francisco reeled off a 10-0 run to take the lead, 39-36, with just under two minutes left until Velasco hit her third 3-pointer to tie it up at 39-39 at the half.

• The Lions opened the third with a 12-2 run to its largest lead of the game at 51-41. The Dons made it a one-possession game, 54-51, after a 10-3 run before Mackenzie Cast connected from beyond-the-arc in the closing seconds of the quarter, thrusting the Lions out to a 57-51 advantage at the end of the third.

• Stanley started the fourth with two straight jumpers from the elbow, reclaiming a 10-point advantage for the Lions at 61-51. San Francisco rode an 8-0 run to come within one possession before Johnson hit two free throws to stop the streak and make it a two-possession game, 63-59.

• The Dons tied it up at 65-65 before Leslie Lopez-Wood drilled a 3-pointer to put the Lions in command, 68-65. The Dons hit a pair from the charity stripe before Howard hit a step-back 3-pointer with 34.6 ticks left, making it a 70-68 game. From there, the Dons would ice it from the charity stripe, capping a 25-for-31 day at the line to seal their eighth straight decision over LMU.

FROM COACH ELLIOTT

• "The last four games we've had multiple people step up, contribute, fight and add some things. Raychel I thought did a really good job, but we didn't have enough people just chipping in with four points, six points, eight points. Defensively, we just weren't very tough tonight."

• "We knew they were going to come in here ready to play. We were getting good shots, I felt like we missed some shots that we normally make, we weren't getting many second opportunities."

• "You can't give up 39 points in the first half, that's playing no defense, you can't take anything for granted. We've got to go back to work, we've got a tough week next week on the road."

• "San Francisco came ready to play and I don't think we had enough players that were ready. What does that mean? I mean mentally ready to battle, knock shots down when we need them. To me, that was really the difference."

UP NEXT

LMU will begin a two-game road swing next week, starting with a 6 p.m. matchup at Gonzaga on Thursday, Feb. 9.

TICKETS

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