Feb. 4, 2006
Box Score
(Los Angeles, Calif.) - The USD women's basketball overcame a slow start against the first place LMU Lions and battled back hard in the 2nd half, but still came away with a tough 61-58 road loss. The Toreros fall to 7-15 overall and 2-7 in league play, while the LMU Lions improve to 14-8 on the season and 8-1 in the WCC standings. USD's Kiva Herman made two free throws with five seconds left to pull to within 61-58, and Kelly Winter had a trey at the buzzer to send the game to overtime, but it was off the mark. San Diego was paced by Tiara Harris (16 points), while LMU received 16 points from Rachael Ziemann off the bench. The Toreros return home next Saturday to host the USF Dons in a 1 pm contest.
The LMU Lions jumped out to a 21-6 advantage early in the game in building their commanding 36-19 halftime lead. San Diego struggled from the field making just 7-of-30 shots (23.3%) in the first 20 minutes. It was all San Diego in the 2nd half as they outscored the Lions 39-25 and almost pulled off the upset. USD totaled 11 steals against the Lions, and also took care of the ball themselves, just turning it over 11 times to LMU's 21.
Besides Harris, Polly Dong chipped in with 11 points, 6 assists and 4 steals, and Sabine Loewe totaled 10 points and 6 rebounds. For LMU, the Lions also got a double-double effort from Ashlee Dunlap (10 points, 11 rebounds). USD's success at the free throw line helped them get back in the game as they converted 18-of-24 (75%).
