Jan. 29, 2009
Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Three players scored in double figures paced by senior forward Kiva Herman's team-best 17, but it wasn't enough as the University of Portland dealt the Toreros their third consecutive loss, 74-68, Thursday evening in a West Coast Conference game at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
With the loss, the Toreros fall to 12-8 overall and 3-3 in the WCC. With the win, the Pilots improve to 11-10 overall and 4-2 in the WCC.
Herman paced the team with her 17 points on 7-for-20 shooting from the floor. Morgan Henderson was the second Torero in double figures as she had 16 points, shooting 6-for-12 from the floor and going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Amber Sprague was the final USD player in double figures as she had 14 points on 4-for-10 shooting and she pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds. As a team, USD shot 40 percent from the floor and were out rebounded 32-28.
In the first half, the Pilots shot a blistering 64.3 percent from the floor as they jumped out to an early 7-2 run over the first three and a half minutes of action. A Henderson jumper then ignited a 6-2 USD run that was capped on a Sprague jumper to pull USD back to within one at 9-8 with 14:46 remaining in the first half.
The Pilots then went on a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 18-10 advantage with 11:43 remaining. Portland would eventually build up their lead to as many as 15 at 29-14 on a Lauren Angel jumper. A Dominique Conners lay-up and a three-point play by Sprague would pull San Diego back to within 10 at 29-19 with 6:41 to go in the first half, but that is as close as USD would come as the Plots were able to build their lead back up to 15 points to go into the break with a 45-30 advantage.
In the second half, the Pilots shooting didn't cool off as they quickly built up their lead to 18 points with 18:22 to go. But a Herman jumper ignited a 13-2 San Diego run that was capped on a Henderson 3-pointer to pull the Toreros back to within seven at 50-43 with 14:28 to go. The Pilots refused to go away as they used a 5-0 spurt to regain a double-digit lead at 55-43.
San Diego would pull back to within nine on several occasions, but were not able to overcome the Pilots hot shooting, as Portland claimed the victory 74-66, handing USD its third consecutive loss.
San Diego will return to action on Saturday as they host Gonzaga University in a 2 p.m. game inside the friendly confines of the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
