Shorthanded USF opens WCC play against St. Mary’s
Head coach Molly Goodenbour’s USF teams have absorbed an inordinate number of injuries over the past two seasons. Whether a freshman can or cannot overcome a foot ailment weighs heavily on how well the Dons will fare in WCC play this season.
USF hosts St. Mary’s in a conference opener Saturday afternoon. A foot problem has sidelined freshman guard Ioanna Krimili for the past three games. She will not play Saturday, and her status beyond that is uncertain.
“If we don’t get Krimili back, we don’t have a point guard,” Goodenbour said in a phone interview this week. “Sometimes we’re playing with four forwards on the floor or five forwards on the floor.”
Krimili, who’s from Greece, leads the Dons in scoring at 15.6 points per game. Forward Mikayla Williams, a grad transfer from UC San Diego, is averaging 14.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Considering her roster has been diminished considerably, Goodenbour feels pretty good about USF owning a 75 record.
“Even with our limited rotation right now, I’d like to finish in the top half of the conference,” Goodenbour said.
“That’s, I think, a realistic goal for us.”
That “limited rotation” has forced Goodenbour to use 5foot6 senior Rojeen Sharifi, who had been the team manager for the past threeplus seasons before Goodenbour added her to the roster for a game against Cal State Northridge on Nov. 16.
Said Goodenbour: “I told her, ‘I’m not going to treat you like a manager. I’m going to treat you like any other player, so get yourself in that mental place where you’re prepared to play and help us if you do go in.’
“She is a good kid. I’m going to have to play her. She’s really not that bad. You can get a few minutes out of her. She’s all right.”
Sharifi has appeared in eight games, scoring nine points, seven of which came in a 7354 loss at Washington on Dec. 20.
The best news for Sharifi: Goodenbour has put her on scholarship for the second semester.
St. Mary’s: The Gaels’ streaks of postseason appearances (10, all WNIT) and 20win seasons (eight) appear in jeopardy as St. Mary’s has dropped six of its 11 nonconference games.
Sophomore Sam Simons leads the Gaels in scoring at 14.9 points per game. Junior Emily Codding is averaging 14.7 points and a teamhigh 8.5 rebounds per game. Junior guard Madeline Holland averages 11.3 points and six assists.
Santa Clara: The Broncos (65) carry a twogame winning streak into their conference opener against Pacific (74) at the Leavey Center on Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Bill Carr’s team has four players averaging between nine and 12 points per game: senior guard Tia Hay (12), junior guard/forward Merle Wiehl (11.9), junior forward Ashlyn Herlihy (11.5) and senior forward Lauren Yearwood (9.6).