LAS VEGAS – The San Diego women's basketball program (9-21, 4-12 WCC) advanced to the second round of the 2024 WCC Tournament, downing Pepperdine (5-25, 1-15 WCC), 79-64 on Thursday afternoon at the Orleans Arena.
 
With the win, the Toreros advanced to the second round, where they will face No. 5 seed Pacific on Friday.
 
Harsimran Kaur led the Toreros with a career-high 21 points and eight rebounds, while Kylie Horstmeyer added 15 points in the win.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• With the two sides meeting for the third time, each side got off to strong starts on both sides of the ball.
• After coming off the bench following her brief injury hiatus, Horstmeyer didn't miss a beat, tallying a quick jumper and a three-pointer.
• San Diego ended the quarter on a 7-1 run to lead 17-13 at the first intermission.
• Pepperdine responded to lead 20-17, but that would be their last lead, as San Diego was able to create separation.
• A 13-0 run, led by a three-pointer from Jess Finney and four points from Kaur turned the tide in the Toreros favor.
• Kaur added four more points in the half to finish the first with 10 points and eight rebounds and give San Diego a 35-26 lead at the break.
• Pepperdine shaved the deficit to five early in the third quarter, but the Toreros remained composed and quickly reestablished a double-digit lead.
• The Toreros went on a 14-4 run to end the quarter and imposed their will inside, drawing several fouls and forcing the Waves into foul trouble that they couldn't recover from.
• San Diego was able to maintain an advantage between 10 and 15 points for much of the remainder of the game, while Kaur and Horstmeyer continued to stack up points.
• Veronica Sheffey, Finney and Kasey Neubert would ultimately all go into double figures before the win was secured.

 
TORERO TIDBITS

• The Toreros made a season-high 26 free throws in the win over Pepperdine.
• With eight rebounds on the day, Neubert (619) passed Marta Menuez for ninth on the Toreros all-time rebounding list. Next up is Patricia Brossman (660) in eighth.

 
NEXT UP
The Toreros continued action in the WCC Tournament, facing No. 5 seed Pacific on Friday at 12 p.m, at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. 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".