By Jeff Faraudo
West Coast Conference columnist
 
Nearly a decade ago, when she was just getting started as head women’s basketball coach at the University of San Francisco, Molly Goodenbour wanted her program to create its own niche. Something that would separate the Dons from the crowd and perhaps provide an edge in the West Coast Conference.
 
She decided USF would go international.
 
Fast forward to this season where international student-athletes make up 41.4 percent of rosters across the West Coast Conference. It is the highest percentage of international student-athletes of any Division I conference. The NCAA average is 20.9%. In all, there are 71 international student-athletes in West Coast Conference women’s basketball.
 
Washington State’s roster includes players from eight different countries, Pacific and Oregon State each are represented by six different nations.
 
Goodenbour took that to another level as the Dons took a deep dive into the global recruiting pool. Goodenbour’s current roster features 11 players from outside the U.S., representing Argentina, Canada, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Slovakia and Spain, the latter having provided four players.
 
Over her 10 seasons, Goodenbour has welcomed 45 international players from 22 countries. Aside from Antarctica, which is not exactly a hoops hotbed, the Dons have brought in players from five continents.
 
And international athletes have arrived at USF with talent. Four of them earned first-team all-conference honors: Anna Seilund of Denmark in 2018, Ioanna Krimili of Greece in 2021, Debora dos Santos of Brazil in 2024 and  Freja Werth of Sweden in 2025.
 
Goodenbour recognized that USF was an ideal fit for international players and students. So the partnership was easy and mutually beneficial.
 
“Our university is always ranked in the top 10 of students from outside the U.S. We have systems in place for getting international students matriculated and resources for them, so that was already set,” Goodenbour said. “We have San Francisco, which is a great, diverse, international city.
 
"Then you’re playing in a league that has quite a few international players in it already. It’s not like you’re going to the middle of nowhere and you’re the only international player on the team. We had an opportunity to try to build on that.”
 
Candy Edokpaigbe, a sophomore guard from Naples, Italy, and transfer arrival this season, is the Dons’ latest high-level international contributor. She is third in the conference, averaging 16.7 points, and provides 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, and also leads USF in field-goal percentage, free throws attempted and made, and blocked shots. She twice has been named West Coast Conference Player of Week this season.
 
For Edokpaigbe, the move to USF has been seamless.  “I think it’s a really good spot. We have a bunch of students from all over the world, so we are actually connected to each other. We make each other a family group,” she said, recalling that the team gathered for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and green beans. “I didn’t know I was going to come here. But when I saw this opportunity, I just embraced it. I get to learn from other people’s cultures. It’s a cool spot. I really like it.”
 
She’s fallen in love with San Francisco, which she says feels similar in some ways to Seattle. “There are a lot of shops and a lot of things to do,” Edokpaigbe said. “I really like this place, also the people and the school. They really embrace me.”
 
And how does San Francisco compare to her hometown of Naples? “Way different cities,” she said. “I feel like San Francisco is more calm. Naples is all about chaos. You can see a person yelling in the streets. It’s totally different than San Francisco. But I love my city — the people, the weather. Also, I have a lot of friends and family so it’s part of my life.”
 
Edokpaigbe speaks fluent English so that hasn’t been a problem on the practice court or in the classroom. Goodenbour said language has rarely been an issue for international players.
 
“That’s the amazing part of it,” Goodenbour said. “They come over here and they’re going to a university in their second or third language. They’re getting A’s and B’s, they’re able to function really well in this university environment.”
 
In pretty much every way, the players USF has brought from overseas have transitioned nicely. “We’ve found we really enjoyed the players we were able to bring over here,” she said. “They’ve had good experiences, they’re intelligent, mature people, hard workers, really good teammates. They’re fun to coach.”
 
USF is 7-4 this season after a 61-55 victory over Sacramento State on Wednesday. The Dons, who have played a generally challenging schedule with three teams ranked in the top 60 of the NET, don’t play again until their conference opener vs. Oregon State next Sunday.
 
The Dons are a young team, with 11 newcomers to the program. Neither of the two returnees played a minute last season, both sidelined by injury.
 
Looking at losses to Seton Hall, Arizona State and Colorado State, Goodenbour hopes those experiences will pay dividends once conference play begins, “We’re not quite ready to beat those teams yet,” she said, “but that’s why we scheduled them.”
 
Edokpaigbe has been a consistent bright spot. The 6-foot-1 guard had a productive summer with the Italian U20 national team, averaging 13.9 points to help Italy finish third at the 16-team European championships.
 
She had just completed the Italian citizenship process, necessary even though she was born in Italy because her parents are from Nigeria. Once cleared to join the national team, Edokpaigbe still wasn’t sure how much she would play at the European tournament.
 
“I didn’t expect to start. I didn’t expect that the coach would give me responsibilities. I was really happy about it,” she said. “I played pretty well.”
 
Goodenbour is certainly happy about Edokpaigbe joining her team. “Candy’s awesome,” she said. “She is, first of all, a fantastic young woman. Ultra-competitive. And loves the defensive end of the floor. If you ask her, that’s her favorite part of the game. She gets a lot of energy out of that and she brings a lot of energy to that end of the floor.”
 
Edokpaigbe said her affinity for defense has been part of her basketball identity from the start. “I just like the idea that no one can score on me, frustrating the one I’m guarding,” she said. “It’s something that I’ve had since I was a kid and I’ve brought it with me on my journey.”