March 4, 2004
The University of San Diego women claimed an 87-81 double-overtime win over St. Mary's in the opening game of the West Coast Conference basketball tournament Thursday afternoon in Santa Clara. Lindsay Helvey scored a career-high 28 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range to help the 8th-seeded Toreros upset the 5th-seeded Gaels. Sophomore classmate Tiara Harris poured in a career-high 24, making good on all eight free-throw attempts and knocking down 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc. San Diego moves on to face 4th-seeded Portland tomorrow at 12pm.
St. Mary's (15-14) saw its season end despite rallying from a 30-23 halftime deficit to push the game into extra sessions. The Gaels had three players reach double figures in scoring, including Evynn Van Burger (24), Brianna Wynn (16) and Monica Mertle (15). St. Mary's had split the season series with San Diego, allowing USD its lone conference win, a 53-45 Torero decision on January 22.
San Diego (7-21) breaks a 10-game losing streak it brought into post-season play. USD must win three more games to emerge as the WCC Tournament Champion and earn the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. USD will next play Friday at 12pm against 4th-seeded Portland (13-14).
All-WCC First Team member Marta Menuez scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for USD Thursday. The senior from Bodega, California was 8-of-11 from the floor, helping San Diego shoot 42% as a team. USD's 87 points is the highest total for the Toreros since a 96-74 rout of Nevada on November 22.
