SAN DIEGO – Wrapping up non-conference play, the San Diego women's basketball team (6-7, 0-0 WCC) won its third straight game at home with a scrappy 56-55 victory over Cal State Fullerton (5-6, 2-2 Big West) on Saturday afternoon in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

In a game that featured tough defense and turnovers on both ends of the court, the Toreros came out shooting from behind the arc going into halftime, with seven total three-pointers as Jayden Rhodes and Olivia Owens led the charge with two a piece.

Owens delivered clutch free throws towards the end of the game as she ended the afternoon leading the team with 13 points and finishing second in rebounds with nine.

Sophomore forwards Dresha Moore and Helen Holley played crucial minutes off the bench, as Moore pulled down a team-best 10 boards while Holley scored seven points and collected five rebounds against the Titans. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Getting the action going on Saturday, Lilly Amor knocked down a mid-range jumper and a corner three for the first five Torero points to tie the game at 5-all.
• Kylie Ray hit a smooth spin-move creating space for a mid-range jumper just outside the paint for her first points of the game to make it a 7-5 Torero lead.
• Later in the quarter, Owens put up her first points of the game after driving to the basket for a layup and earning an and-one to bring the USD deficit down to one point at 11-10. 
• Ending the first 10 minutes of action, Hallie Rhodes went coast-to-coast for a layup to tie the game at 16-all at the end of the first quarter.
• Coming off the bench and getting some minutes with her twin sister, J. Rhodes hit back-to-back long-range shots from beyond the arc to give San Diego a 22-19 lead.
• The three-point shot continued working for the Toreros as they hit three straight with Owens knocking one down to extend the lead to 25-19 midway through the second quarter.
• Holley joined the three-point party with one of her own as the Toreros went on a stretch of knocking down four three-pointers in as many attempts to give USD a 30-23 lead. 
• Closing out the first half, H. Rhodes hit a sneaky juke move off an inbound pass to clear the path for an easy layup with the San Diego defense also limiting Fullerton to making only one of their last nine field goal attempts heading into the locker room up 32-23.
• After the Titans opened the second half with four straight points, Ayla Williams powered through the tough defense and got in the paint and responded with four points of her own to make it 36-27 San Diego. 
• The Titans would then put together a run to bring the USD lead down to a pair before Owens made two free throws to push the Torero lead back to four at 38-34.
• Despite a cold spell offensively late in the quarter, the Toreros kept the lead by playing solid defense as they led 41-38 with 10 more minutes left in the game.
• Coming off the bench for the Toreros, Moore opened up the fourth quarter with a three-pointer and then a layup from Holley netted consecutive field goals to make it 46-42 San Diego.
• With the score tied at 50-50 with less than two minutes left in the game, H. Rhodes grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled on her put-back earning the and-one to put USD back up by three. 
• After CSUF tied the game, Owens hit a crucial three-pointer to regain the lead for the Toreros and make it 56-53 with 45 seconds left on the clock.
• With four seconds left in the game coming off of a Fullerton timeout, USD put together one last defensive stand as H. Rhodes blocked the Titans' shot at the buzzer to cap off the 56-55 victory in the team's final game before WCC action begins.

TORERO TIDBITS

• The USD women's basketball team has now matched its regular season win total from the 2024-25 regular season with six, including an impressive 5-2 record on their home floor.
• Moore came off the bench and played 22 minutes as she pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds and finished +3 for the game.
• Owens had her fifth double-digit scoring game of the season with 13 points on the night, and H. Rhodes put up her sixth double-digit scoring of the season with 12 points on Saturday.

POST GAME WITH THE TOREROS

• To view tonight's post game media session with student-athlete Helen Holley and head coach Blanhce Alverson, please click here.

NEXT UP
USD women's basketball now focuses its attention on conference play, as they start off with a two game road trip starting at Santa Clara (9-3, 0-0 WCC)on Sunday, December 28 at 1:00 p.m. from the Leavey Center. Live video and live statistics links for Sunday's matchup with the Broncos can be found via the team's schedule page.