San Francisco Dons women's basketball

San Francisco Dons
2024–25 San Francisco Dons women's basketball team
University	University of San Francisco
Head coach	Molly Goodenbour (9th season)
Conference	West Coast Conference
Location	San Francisco, California
Arena	War Memorial Gymnasium Chase Center (capacity: 5,300/19,500)
Nickname	Dons
Student section	Los Locos
Colors	Green and gold [1]
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1996
NCAA tournament appearances
1980, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2016
AIAW tournament appearances
1980
Conference tournament champions
1995, 1996, 1997, 2016
Conference regular season champions
1980 (NCAC) 1987, 1992, 1995, 1996 (WCC)

The San Francisco Dons women's basketball team represents the University of San Francisco in NCAA Division I women's college basketball. The Dons play in the West Coast Conference and their home games at the Sobrato Center's War Memorial Gymnasium, with occasional games played at Chase Center. ^{[2] [3]}

History

San Francisco began play in 1976. Their first postseason appearance was in the 1980 AIAW National Division I Basketball Championship, losing 92–58 to BYU in the First Round. They made appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 1995, 1996, 1997, 2016, with a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 1996. That year, USF (ranked as a 5 seed) beat Florida 68–61, and Duke 64–60 before losing to Connecticut 72–44. They have made the WNIT three times. They played in the NCAC from 1977 to 1982 and the NORPAC from 1982 to 1985 before joining the West Coast Conference in 1985. As of the end of the 2015–16 season, the Dons have an all-time record of 546–595. ^{[4] [5]}

The Dons saw a major restructuring in the offseason between the 2022–23 and 2023–24 seasons. Two of their graduate-level starters, Ioanna Krimili (presently the 3-point record holder at USF) and Kennedy Dickie, transferred to UC Berkeley and Portland respectively. The San Francisco Chronicle described the transfers as happening all across the West Coast Conference, both between schools and out of the conference. ^[6]

Molly Goodenbour abuse allegations

In 2022, a lawsuit was filed against head coach Molly Goodenbour with USF named as a secondary defendant by former players Marta and Marija Galic. The Galic sisters, both overseas student athletes from Croatia, allege that Goodenbour “archaic and abusive conduct”, highlighting an instance where Goodenbour refused to allow Marta Galic to go to the bathroom and thereby forcing her to urinate on herself in front of her teammates. Marija Galic additionally states in the filing that Goodenbour succumbed her to verbal and psychological abuse, causing her to suffer from nervous breakdowns, and that Goodenbour did not follow the proper concussion protocols.

Goodenbour and USF responded to the suit by denying an intent to cause the harm the sisters described. Both further argued that the bathroom incident described by the sisters never happened. Mike Vartain, a lawyer for USF, commented Goodenbour would never want a player to urinate their pants, and that no such prohibition on going to the bathroom without asking would exist. ^{[7] [8]}

The scandals revolving around Goodenbour, concurrent with abuse scandals surrounding Dons baseball coach Nino Giarratano, are credited with inciting the 2022 resignation of USF's athletic director Joan McDermott. ^[9]

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1995	#11	First Round	#6 Arkansas	L 58–67
1996	#12	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#5 Florida #4 Duke #1 Connecticut	W 68–61 W 64–60 L 44–72
1997	#11	First Round	#6 Southern Cal	L 55–68
2016	#13	First Round	#4 Stanford	L 60–85

AIAW Division I

The Dons made one appearance in the AIAW National Division I basketball tournament, with a combined record of 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1980	First Round	BYU	L, 58–92

AIAW Division II

The Dons made one appearance in the AIAW National Division II basketball tournament, with a combined record of 0–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1979	First Round	Niagara	L, 52–56

References

1. "Graphics Resources | University of San Francisco Marketing Communications" . Retrieved March 4, 2019.
2. "Tickets for Chase Center Doubleheader Now On Sale". University of San Francisco Athletics. 2022-09-02. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
3. "The Official Site of The University of San Francisco Dons Athletics". usfdons.com. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
4. "2016-17 Quick Facts (PDF) - University of San Francisco Athletics" (PDF). usfdons.com. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
5. "2016-17 WBB Record Book (PDF) - University of San Francisco Athletics" (PDF). usfdons.com. Retrieved 2025-01-20.
6. Ingemi, Marisa (2023-05-09). "USF women among mid-major teams losing talent in transfer-portal era". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
7. Kroichick, Ron (2022-06-11). "Twin sisters, former USF basketball players, allege 'abusive conduct' by head coach". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
8. "Gaw | Poe LLP Files Evidence Supporting Ongoing Lawsuit Against University of San Francisco Alleging Pervasive Abusive Conduct by Women's Basketball Coach Molly Goodenbour Against Student-Athletes". www.businesswire.com. 2022-04-18. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
9. "McDermott retires as USF athletic director amid scandals". Santa Cruz Sentinel. 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2023-05-30.

External links

• Official website