Nov. 25, 2008
Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Three University of San Diego women's basketball players scored in double figures, paced by senior forward Kiva Herman's 18, to led the Toreros (3-2) to a thrilling 63-60 non-conference win over cross-town rival San Diego State University (2-2) Tuesday evening at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
SDSU's Jerica Williams drained a three-pointer with 17 seconds remaining in the game to pull SDSU back to within one at 61-60. After timeout, a bit of wildness occurred, as the Toreros turned the ball over on the inbounds, but the Aztecs couldn't control the ball either as they dropped it out of bounds with 12 seconds left, to give the possession back to USD. The Aztecs then fouled Morgan Henderson, who in turn hit a pair of free throws to put the game at its final of 63-60.
"I thought the team played with a ton of heart and a ton of energy tonight," said head coach Cindy Fisher. "I thought we were very, very composed in the second half and we ended up only having four turnovers in the half against that pressure defense."
Herman scored her game-high 18 points on an impressive 9-for-11 performance from the field. The second USD player in double figures was Amber Sprague, who had 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the floor to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Freshman Dominique Conners scored a career-high 10 points on 3-for-7 shooting and recorded four steals. As a team, the Toreros shot 45 percent from the floor and out rebounded the Aztecs 39-28.
In the first half, the Aztecs took advantage of several USD miscues and jumped out to a 9-5 lead over the first four minutes of action. However, back-to-back USD jumpers by Sam Child and Herman pulled USD even with SDSU at 9-9 with 14:11 remaining in the half.
The two teams then sea sawed back and forth over the next six minutes, and with the score at 15-14 in favor for the Aztecs, a Morgan Woodrow jumper sparked a 9-3 San Diego run that was capped on a pair of Sprague free throws to give USD a 23-18 lead with 6:47 remaining in the half.
The Aztecs then answered back with a 5-0 run to again pull even with the Toreros at 23-23 with 4:14 to go. San Diego State would then outscore USD 11-7 down the stretch to take a 34-30 lead going into the break.
In the second half, a Herman jumper started a 6-2 San Diego run that was capped on another Herman jumper to knot things up at 36 with 15:52 remaining. USD then went on a 6-1 run to give themselves some breathing room and a five-point edge at 42-37 with 13:07 to go.
After the Toreros would build up their lead to as many as eight at 48-40 on a pair of Sprague free throws with 9:23 remaining in the game, SDSU then began to chip away at the lead and regained the lead at 56-55 on a Jene Morris lay-up with 3:19 to go. The two teams then sea sawed back and forth a bit over the next two minutes.
Then with USD leading 59-57, Conners took the ball the length of the floor and laid it up and in to give San Diego a 61-57 advantage with 32 seconds left, setting up the dramatic finish.
San Diego will return to action on Friday as they host Seton Hall in a 7 p.m. Gamer at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
