Feb. 14, 2008
Box Score
PORTLAND, Ore. - Behind Amber Sprague's season-high 30 points and game-high 12 rebounds, the University of San Diego women's basketball team won their fourth consecutive game with a 62-52 West Coast Conference game over the host University of Portland Thursday evening at the Chiles Center.
With the win, the Toreros improve to 13-10 overall, move to 4-5 in the WCC and have now won their fourth consecutive game. With the loss, the Pilots fall to 14-10 overall and 4-6 in the WCC.
Sprague led all scorers with her third 30-point game of her career, as she shot an impressive 12-for-18 from the field and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Junior forward Kiva Herman was also a huge offensive help for the Toreros as she scored 20 points on a 7-for-13 performance from the field. Amanda Rego recorded another double-digit performance in the assist column as she dealt out 11 assists. As a team, USD shot 45 percent from the field and out rebounded the Pilots 38-27.
Over the first 13 minutes of action, it was a pretty even battle with each team taking their turn with the lead and neither team having a lead bigger then four. Then with the score at 19-18 in favor of the Toreros with just 7:07 remaining in the half, San Diego began to take control of the momentum. A Sam Child lay-up then ignited an 11-0 USD run that was caped off on a Amber Sprague lay-up to give the Toreros a 12-point lead at 30-18 with just 2:43 remaining in the half. The Pilots were able to get the lead down to eight at 32-24 going into the break.
In the second half, the early going was a sea saw battle with the Pilots closing the game to five at 31-36 with 16:09 to go. But the Toreros then responded with a 8-0 run that was sparked on a Sprague lay-up and capped on a Herman jumper to give USD back a 11-point advantage at 42-31 with 12:52 remaining in the game.
The Toreros never let up and maintained the lead for the majority of the second half. The Pilots made one last effort to get close to USD as they closed the game to five points at 55-50 on a Laiken Dollente jumper with 4:05 to go. But the Toreros refused to be denied their fourth straight win, as they out scored the Pilots 7-2 over the remaining four minutes to claim the win.
The Toreros will put their four four-game winning streak on the line on Saturday as they head to Spokane, Wash. to take on the first-place Gonzaga University Bulldogs in a 2 p.m. WCC game at the McCarthey Athletic Center.
