SANTA CLARA/STOCKTON– After ending non-conference action with a pair of wins on their home floor, the San Diego women's basketball team (6-7, 0-0 WCC) are ready to get West Coast Conference play started with a pair of games in Northern California.

The Toreros will begin their 18 game conference slate by taking on Santa Clara (10-3, 0-0 WCC) this Sunday, December 28 at 1:00 p.m. from the Leavey Center. 

USD's will then head east to the Central Valley for a matchup with Pacific (5-6, 0-0 WCC) on Tuesday, December 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton. 

During last season's matchups with the Broncos and Tigers, the Toreros earned a regular season split as they took down Santa Clara on their home floor and picked up an overtime victory over Pacific for the team's first conference win of the 2024-25 season. 

WCC ACTION BEGINS 

• USD starts the second half of the season with a 6-7 overall record under first year head coach Blanche Alverson as they're just one victory away from matching their total from the 2024-25 campaign. 
• San Diego's taken care of business on their home court this season as they're 5-2 in the Jenny Craig Pavilion as they've earned victories over Bethesda, New Mexico State, Utah State, UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton. 
• Putting together a great stretch of play during non-conference action, senior guard Hallie Rhodes is averaging 10.3 PPG this season as she's competed in all 13 of her team's games while playing just under 30 minutes per contest.
• Excelling in her team's front court as a freshman, Ayla Williams has made her impact felt as well by averaging 5.1 PPG and 7.3 rebounds per contest and put together a pair of double-doubles in games against Binghamton and Utah State. 

ALL-TIME SERIES VS SANTA CLARA AND PACIFIC  

• Sunday's WCC opener in the South Bay will be the 89th all-time matchup between the longtime conference rivals as San Diego leads the all-time series 45-43 with the home team winning both games during the 2024-25 season. 
• After the Broncos won the first meeting on their home floor in January, USD bounced back in the next matchup to pick up a 63-57 victory on their home floor to earn the split. Kylie Horstmeyer scored 20 points against Santa Clara, while Truitt Reilly put together and 18 point and 18 rebound double-double in the JCP
• Tuesday's game in Stockton will be the 40th all-time matchup between the Toreros and Tigers as USD leads the head-to-head record 23-16 with Pacific winning two of three matchups last season. 
• San Diego picked up one of their most impressive victories in Stockton last February when they won 75-72 in overtime as Kylie Horstmeyer scored 26 points and Ava Ranson put together a 14 point, 10 rebound double-double in route to the road win. 

SCOUTING THE BRONCOS

• Santa Clara enters the second part of the season at the top of the conference standings as they've posted a 10-3 record and have won four of their five games at the Leavey Center. 
• First year head coach Loree Payne's squad is the only WCC program to earn double digit victories in non-conference as she came to the South Bay after eight seasons at Northern Arizona where she became the program's all-time winningest coach. 
• Graduate student forward Sophie Glancey joined Payne at SCU and has provided an immediate impact for the Broncos as she's the team's leading scorer 15.6 PPG while shooting 47% from the field. 
• USD will have their hands full trying to slow down Santa Clara's offense as they've averaged 82.2 PPG which leads all WCC programs to start the year.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS 

• Pacific enters conference play with a 5-6 record through non-conference play as they earned a victory over UC San Diego in their season opener, and put together a three-game winning streak with victories over Milwaukee, Jacksonville State and Sacramento State.
• The Tigers' leading scorer through non-conference play is sophomore forward Winner Bartholomew, who's averaging 13.1 PPG while shooting 48.3% from the field. Bathrolomew has reached double figures in scoring in her team's last seven games as a focal point of her squad's offense. 
• On the defensive end of the floor, Pacific has excelled this season at limiting their opponents from beyond the arc as they've allowed just a 27% shooting percentage from the three point line. 

HOW TO FOLLOW

• Both Sunday and Tuesday's conference games will be streamed on ESPN+ with live statistic links available through StatBroadcast (at Santa Clara) or via Sidearm Sports (at Pacific). Links to the broadcast and live statistics can be found via the San Diego women's basketball schedule page.