SAN DIEGO -- San Diego's defense led to high offensive production on Thursday night as the Toreros (8-6, 2-1 WCC) won their WCC home opener 74-55 against Portland (7-6, 0-2 WCC). Madison Pollock was near perfect in the contest shooting .833 from the field.
 
"They were really locked in defensively, and they did everything we asked," said head coach Cindy Fisher. "Our defense created our offense, and we capitalized on a lot of transition buckets."
 
The Toreros had four players score in double figures, led by Pollock, who had 20 points (10-for-12) and six assists. Myah Pace added 20 points to tie her career high, while tacking on seven rebounds and four steals. Senior center Leticia Soares was also efficient with 17 points and two steals off the bench.
 
Senior Patricia Brossmann added to the offensive potency for San Diego with 11 points shooting 5-for-7 on the evening. Brossmann, Soares and Pollock combined to shoot 74 percent from the field.
 
San Diego shared the ball well in Thursday's game, racking up 24 assists on 32 made field goals. Pollock's six assists led the Toreros, and Jordyn Edwards also chipped in with five assists of her own.
 
San Diego's defense forced 26 Portland turnovers, while committing 15 themselves in Thursday's game. The Toreros turned those opportunities into points on the offensive end of the floor, outscoring Portland 25-8 off takeaways. Edwards led the way individually with five steals.
 
The Toreros started off strong, putting together a 17-16 lead heading into the second quarter. San Diego capitalized on eight Portland turnovers in the period, turning them into five points on the other end of the floor.
 
USD continued to battle with the Pilots and was able to increase its lead to enter halftime with a three-point edge, 32-29. The Toreros were potent in the paint in the second scoring eight of 15 points near the basket.
 
The Toreros dominated out of halftime, pushing their advantage to 38-33 before going on a 16-0 run, punctuated by a basket from junior Sydney Hunter, to expand their lead further to 54-33. San Diego would end the third quarter on a 20-2 run which lasted nine of 10 minutes in the period.
 
San Diego's offense continued to push the Pilots going on a 10-0 run with three minutes to go in the contest to extend their lead to 72-48. The Pilots narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Toreros still cruised the rest of the way for the 74-55 win. San Diego took advantage of six Portland turnovers in the quarter, scoring six points off of those takeaways.
 
The Toreros are back in action on Saturday, when they'll take on No. 17 Gonzaga at 2 p.m. (PT) inside Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
This article was created with the help of technology provided by Data Skrive.