SAN DIEGO – The San Diego women's basketball program (7-19, 3-10 WCC) could not complete a second half rally, falling 66-57 to Santa Clara (22-7, 10-4 WCC) on Thursday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Kylie Horstmeyer led the Toreros with 12 points, while
Kasey Neubert tallied a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The two sides got out to an even start, as the Toreros were propelled by Dylan Horton in the opening quarter.
- Horton tallied eight of the team's first 14 points to give San Diego a 14-12 lead through the first seven minutes of the game.
- San Diego would shoot a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range in the opening quarter.
- Santa Clara was able to generate a bit of momentum to take a 21-16 lead the end of the first quarter.
- A sluggish second quarter put the Toreros in a hole, as San Diego shot 18.75 percent from the field and would score just eight points to trail by 12 at halftime.
- The tide began to turn in the third quarter, as a Santa Clara lead of 17 began to melt away.
- A 10-0 run by San Diego helped cut the lead to 45-39, as a pair of three pointers from Horstmeyer and Maddie Vejsicky helped shave the deficit.
- The lead continued to sway from a double-digit lead for Santa Clara to competitive, as the Toreros cut the lead to just four points off a free throw and jumper from Veronica Sheffey with 2:12 remaining.
- However, a basket from Santa Clara's Tess Heal and a miss on the other end forced the game into a free throw-heavy finale, with the Broncos securing the game at the line.
TORERO TIDBITS
- With five assists on the day, Sheffey (134) took over sole possession of fifth on single season top-10 in assists. Next up is Cori Woodward (137) in 2015-16 in fourth.
- The Toreros finished with a season-high nine three pointers in the loss. That's the most by the program since Feb. 10, 2022 against LMU.
NEXT UP
The Toreros will conclude their 2024 home slate, welcoming Saint Mary's at 2 p.m., on Saturday for senior day. The game will be streamed via ESPN Plus. To stay up to date with Toreros women's basketball, follow the team on Instagram & Twitter by searching "USDwbb".
