SAN DIEGO - The Toreros (3-3, 0-1) outscored Santa Clara (5-2, 1-0) 19-9 in the fourth quarter, but the late surge was not enough as San Diego fell 51-49 at home on Monday night.
 
Freshman Laura Erikstrup shined for San Diego, notching a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Toreros. Jordyn Edwards also tacked on six points and five assists, and Kendall Bird chipped in as well with nine points.
 
Led by Erikstrup's five offensive rebounds, San Diego did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 20 boards that resulted in 10 second chance points.
 
San Diego forced 19 Santa Clara turnovers while committing 17 themselves in Monday's game. The Toreros turned those takeaways into 12 points on the offensive end of the floor. Junior guard Steph Gorman led the way individually with two steals.
 
The Toreros got off to a slow start in the first and second quarters, scoring only 20 points combined in the first two periods to enter halftime down by five, 25-20. Erikstrup was key for the offense scoring seven in the first half.
 
USD's deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Toreros faced a 42-30 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. San Diego played well near the basket, scoring six of its 10 points in the paint.
 
The Broncos widened the gap to a 13-point advantage in the fourth before San Diego went on a 7-0 run, finished off by a layup from Erikstrup, to shrink the deficit to 45-39 with four minutes to go in the contest. The Toreros kept their comeback going as Ayanna Khalfani brought USD within striking distance after a baseline bucket to make it 47-42 with two and a half remaining.
 
Seniors Myah Pace and Edwards continued the late scoring onslaught for San Diego as Pace brought San Diego within two with under a minute to go. Edwards fired away from three with 12 seconds to go to tie it up at 49 a piece.
 
Santa Clara's Ashley Hiraki sealed the deal for the Broncos in the final seconds to secure the 51-49 win.
 
San Diego took advantage of six Santa Clara turnovers in the fourth quarter, scoring six points off of those takeaways.
 
The Toreros are back in action on Wednesday, when they'll take on San Francisco at 2 p.m. (PT).
 
This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.