Jan. 17, 2009
Box Score
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - The University of San Diego women's basketball team saw its season-high six-game wining streak come to an end Saturday evening with a 78-61 loss to Loyola Marymount University in a West Coast Conference game at the Gersten Pavilion.
With the loss, the Toreros fall to 12-6 overall and 3-1 in the WCC. With the win, the Lions improve to 12-5 overall and 2-1 in the WCC.
Senior center Amber Sprague led the team with 23 points on 7-for21 shooting from the floor. The second USD player in double figures was Kiva Herman, who had 19 points and Sam Child was the third Torero in double figures with 10 points. As a team, USD shot 39 percent form the floor and was out rebounded 46-32.
In the first half, the Toreros came out hitting on all cylinders and opened the game with a 6-0 run that was ignited by an Emily Hatch jumper, and capped on a pair of Herman free throws with 17:20 to go in the first period.
The Lions then responded with a 6-0 run of their own to tie things up at six with 14:43 to go in the first half. After a Sam Child jumper ended the LMU run, the Lions then put together 8-0 run to take a 14-8 lead with 12:14 to go.
Child then hit back-to-back jumpers to pull the Toreros back to within two at 14-12 with 9:40 remaining in the first half. Another 8-0 LMU run then gave the Lions back the momentum and a 22-14 lead with 7:20 to go. The Lions would then outscore the Toreros 22-13 over the final seven minutes of the first half to take a 44-27 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Lions quickly build their lead up to 19 points at 50-31, but a Sprague jumper then sparked a 7-0 San Diego run to pull the Toreros back to within 12 at 50-38 with 15:26 to go in the game. But that s as close as the Toreros would get as the Lions went on a 6-0 run to regain the momentum and never looked back a they went on to claim the win by a final of 78-61 win.
The Toreros will return to action on Saturday as they head to the Bay Area to take on travel partner Saint Mary's College in a 2 p.m. game. A
