SAN DIEGO – Competing in their first conference home game of the season, the San Diego women's basketball team (6-10, 0-3 WCC) battled back from an early deficit before ultimately falling to San Francisco (9-5, 2-1 WCC) by a 59-55 final score on Friday night at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. 

Kylie Ray put together another tremendous scoring night as she caught fire in the fourth quarter and scored a game-high 24 points against the Dons. She currently ranks second among all WCC student-athletes in points per game since conference play began last Sunday. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• USF began the game with an initial 5-0 spurt before Ray got her strong scoring game going by scoring a layup following a Dons turnover that made it a 5-2 score early. 
• Later in the quarter, Helen Holley got to work down low as she scored on a turnaround jumper that made it a 10-4 San Francisco lead. 
• Scoring the Toreros' final points of the quarter, Olivia Owens made a step back mid-range jumper as USD trailed 16-11 at the end of the first 10 minutes of play. 
• After San Francisco built a nine-point advantage, San Diego answered back with another Holley layup to make it a 20-13 game. 
• Later in the quarter, Ray got downhill after another USF turnover and took the ball coast-to-coast for a tough layup through the defense as the Toreros trailed 21-17 as they looked to draw closer. 
• Eva Ruse would score USD's final points of the quarter on a layup following a great pass from Ray as San Diego had work to do trailing 30-19 at the half. 
• Coming out of the locker room, San Diego started to attack the basket as Ayla Williams was fouled and made a pair of free throws that made it a 32-21 score early in the quarter. 
• After the Dons built their lead up to 14, USD started to claw their way back into the contest by going on a 9-1 run as Ray scored a layup, Jayden Rhodes knocked down a corner three and Hallie Rhodes converted an and-1 to make it a 42-36 game late in the quarter. 
• Scoring her team's final points of the quarter, H. Rhodes once again accelerated to the hoop and scored a driving layup as the Toreros got back into the contest by making the score 43-38 heading into the fourth. 
• USF was able to build their lead back up to double digits before Ray caught fire and made a pull up three that made the score 48-42.
• Following a 4-0 San Francisco spurt, Ray would knock down three consecutive shots from beyond the arc to send Jenny Craig Pavilion into a frenzy and forced the Dons into a timeout as their lead was trimmed to 54-51. 
• Later on, Owens made a great move to the hoop and scored a key layup that made it a one point game with under a minute to go. USF was able to stabilize and hold onto their lead as they picked up the 59-55 victory on Friday night. 

TORERO TIDBITS

• Ray put together another tremendous all-around game as she scored 24 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists and forced three steals against the Dons. 
• H. Rhodes scored seven points, pilfered a trio of steals and blocked a shot against USF on Friday night. 
• Playing a key role off the team's bench, Holley scored six points, corralled six boards and dished out a pair of assists in her 21 minutes of action. 

CATCHING UP WITH COACH ALVERSON

• "We've dug ourselves a hole the last couple of games and fought our way back which is great to see. Learning not to do that at the beginning is the next step for us and it's tough when we're competing in one of the best conferences in the country. We have some phenomenal coaches and phenomenal athletes and you have to be ready every single time." 

NEXT UP
The Toreros will be back at home this Sunday, January 4 at 2:00 p.m. when they host Saint Mary's (9-7, 0-3 WCC) as the team will be playing their fourth game in eight days. Ticket, live video and live statistic links for Sunday's game can be found via the team's schedule page.