Dec. 27, 2014
Box Score PORTLAND, Calif. - Five different Toreros scored in double figures, paced by junior guard Malina Hood's 17, and the University of San Diego women's basketball team shot a outstanding 74.1% from the field in the second half, to run way with a 87-66 win over the University of Portland in its West Coast Conference opener Saturday evening at the Chiles Center.
With the win, the Toreros improve to 10-1 overall, move to 1-0 in the WCC and have now reeled off six consecutive wins. With the loss, the Pilots fall to 2-10 overall and 0-1 in the WCC.
Hood scored her 17-points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including hitting three 3-pointers in pacing the USD offense. Cori Woodward scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, while going a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, and she had three assists. Maya Hood had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, while leading the team with seven rebounds. Aubrey Ward-El also had a career-high this evening with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and Sophia Ederaine was the final Torero in double figures, as she had 10 on 4-of-8 shooting from the field. As a team, USD shot 59.3% from the field, and were out rebounded for only the second time this season, 34-33.
The Pilots hung around early in the first half and were only down 8-6 after senior guard Jasmine Wooton hit a short jumper from the key. Moments later the deficit was still just two after Wooton knocked down another shot from in the paint.
However, a Ward-El lay-up then sparked a 13-2 San Diego run over the next seven minutes to give the Toreros a 13-point edge at 23-10 with 7:25 to go.
The Toreros would then maintain the lead over the remainder of the period, and led by as many as 15 on a Woodward 3-pointer with 1:32 to go, before the Pilots closed out the frame on a 5-0 run to go into the break trailing USD 36-26.
The shots then began falling for San Diego in the second half, and the lead quickly stretched to 54-34 on a Maya Hood free throw with 15:01 left. The lead would soon grow further, as USD would lead by as many as many as 27 on a Maya Hood free throw with 10:13 to go, and the Pilots never got closer than 20 points for the remainder of the game.
Portland's Cassandra Brown scored 23 points and Cassandra Thompson registered a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, but the Pilots were held to just 34% shooting in game.
The Toreros will return to action on Monday, as they remain in the Pacific Northwest and head over to Spokane, Wash., to take on the defending WCC champion Gonzaga University Bulldogs in a 6 p.m. game.
