April 14, 2008
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The University of San Diego women's basketball team celebrated their successful 2007-08 season with an awards banquet this past weekend and here are the team's award winners from this past season.
Defensive Player of the Year- Amber SpragueMost Improved - Kiva HermanMost Valuable Player- Amanda RegoMaggie Dixon Award- Kaila Mangrum
The Toreros, who opened conference play 0-5, finished strong in the second half of play as they went 7-2 down the stretch to finish in a tie for third in the WCC and earn the No. 3 seed in the WCC Tourney by nature of sweeping Loyola Marymount during the season.
The Toreros opened play in the WCC tournament by holding off a strong Portland rally for a 61-57 win. Amber Sprague posted a double-double with ten points and 13 rebounds while freshman Sam Child added 14 points for the Toreros. Senior Amanda Rego dished out nine assists. The Toreros led most of the game, but Portland game on strong late as they took a one point lead with 1:16 to go, but Morgan Henderson and Child each made a pair of free throws to give USD back the lead for good.
In game two, the Toreros squared off against No. 2 seed Santa Clara. Junior forward Kiva Herman scored a team-high 23 points to help propel the team to a thrilling 72-66 win. Henderson put the Toreros up three, 69-66, with a jumper on the baseline with just 16 seconds left on the clock. Henderson then blocked Elizabeth Doran's three-pointer with six seconds to go to end the SCU scoring threat. The rebound then fell into the hands of Amber Sprague who was fouled. Sprague hit one free throw, then missed the second but Herman came down with the offensive rebound and hit a pair of free throws after being fouled to seal the victory for the Toreros.
In the championship game, the Toreros stunned top-seeded Gonzaga to improve to 3-0 all-time in WCC Championship games. Henderson paced the USD offense as she scored a team-high 20 points on an impressive 6-for-8 performance from beyond the arc. Four other USD players were in double figures as Herman scored 16 points, Sprague added in 14 and both Rego and Child added in 10 points apiece, with Rego dishing out a game-high 12 assists and pulled down seven boards. As a team, USD shot 46 percent from the field and were out rebounded 36-31.
After the Bulldogs came back from a 17-point first-half deficit to pull within one at 62-61, San Diego then began to show its championship composure. Herman hit a pair of free throws with 1:57 to go to give USD back a three point lead at 64-61, then Herman hit a jumper in the paint to push the lead to five at 66-61, and San Diego never looked back as they held on to claim the win.
The Toreros then headed to Stanford to compete against California in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and fell to the Golden Bears 77-60. Child led the team as she scored 14 points and Henderson added 13 for San Diego.
In the NCAA Tournament, the Toreros squared off against California in the first round and fell to the Golden Bears 77-60. In the game, Sam Child scored 14 points and Morgan Henderson added 13 for San Diego. The Toreros turned the ball over 14 times in the first half of their first tournament game since 2000 and dropped to 0-3 all-time in tourney play.
