Kylie Ray and teammates
Thomas Christensen
60
LMU (CA) LMU 12-8,6-3 WCC
69
Winner San Diego SD 8-14,2-7 WCC
LMU (CA) LMU
12-8,6-3 WCC
60
Final
69
San Diego SD
8-14,2-7 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
LMU (CA) LMU 15 16 16 13 60
San Diego SD 12 17 19 21 69

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | By Breven Honda | Freelance Writer

Ray Shines Again in Home Win Over LMU

Kylie Ray scores 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists in USD’s 69-60 victory over the Lions

SAN DIEGO — Saturday at the Jenny Craig Pavilion marked San Diego women's basketball's only home game in a 25-day stretch. 

As a result, the Toreros made sure to take advantage of being at home for the West Coast Conference matchup against Loyola Marymount. 

A 16-1 run from the end of the third quarter and into the fourth propelled USD to a 69-60 win over the Lions. 

"We've been some road warriors right now," USD head coach Blanche Alverson said. "One of the biggest things in this league is you've got to try to protect your home floor. This is a great league. It's tough to win on the road, so when you get home, you have to take every opportunity. Really pleased with our team effort, our buy-in and just our collective groups. I thought it was a great team win today."

Despite trailing by as many as eight points in the third quarter, San Diego (8-14, 2-7 WCC) got rebounds and took advantage of a couple of turnovers late as sophomore guard Kylie Ray led the Toreros on that big run in the second half. 

Ray, who scored 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists, made jumpers on each of USD's final three possessions to end the quarter. She then extended her own 6-0 run with a 3-pointer before dishing the ball to senior guard Jayden Rhodes with her second trey off the day to give USD a 54-47 lead with 8:55 left against the Lions (12-8, 6-3 WCC)  

"Kylie is an outstanding scorer. We know it's a matter of time to get her going," Alverson said of Ray, who scored 20 of her 26 points in the second half. "She kind of had a rough first half, and then being able to come out of halftime and get herself going is really important. Most of the time, when she takes shots, we think they're going in. So for her to be able to take over and get in that space it's really important. Her team feeds off that energy as well."

The sophomore guard, who also knocked down 13-of-14 at the free throw line, added that USD's critical second-half run was not only because of herself. 

"I credit my teammates for getting me the ball," Ray said as her team also faced a one-point lead going into the fourth quarter Thursday at USF. "The past few games we've learned a lot in staying locked in on those last 10 minutes, and just playing hard and competing throughout the whole (game) no matter what happens." 

In addition to Ray, USD got a double-double from sophomore forward Eva Ruse, who made a crucial layup to give the Toreros a two-possession lead, 62-58, with 1:37 left. 

Ruse, who scored 12 points and added 12 rebounds, said the double-double was led by her teammates as Ray and senior guard Hallie Rhodes combined for 12 assists. 

"A huge part of it is those assists from teammates seeing me," Ruse said. "They draw so much attention that half of the time I was left wide open, that's a huge credit to them. And then rebounding, It's a battle down there, and really just it's who wants it more and I think everyone boxes out and does their job." 

The Toreros biggest challenge against LMU was facing their press defense as they collapsed on passes, both on inbounds and missed baskets. 

However, despite the tough press, USD committed just two of their 19 turnovers in the final 10 minutes. 

"It creates a lot of chaos and I think it's super disruptive," Alverson said of the press. "We talked about it at halftime, but we needed to come back in after the game and have less than 20 turnovers. And we did that. We had 13 at half, and we only had six in the second half. So for us to be able to come out and do that is really important."
 
LMU was led by Jess Lawson, who had 23 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.  

Up next, the Toreros head back on the road for a two-game trip to the Beaver State. San Diego plays at first-place Oregon State on Thursday with tip-off slated for 6 p.m. Then two days later on Saturday, USD will travel up the state to face Portland at 5 p.m. Both games will be available to stream live on ESPN+. 

TORERO TIDBITS
  • USD edged LMU in rebounds (39-33), points in the paint (30-22), fastbreak points (24-11) and bench points (17-9) 
  • San Diego shot 49.1% overall (26-of-53), marking their second best shooting performance of the season and highest since facing Bethesda (CA) (November 3)
  • The Toreros also recorded 16 assists, which is tied for the second-most in a game this season (Also: New Mexico St., November 16)
  • With her game-high 26 points Saturday, Kylie Ray notched her second straight 20-point game performance and her eighth of the season
  • Ray, who leads the conference in free throw percentage, scored half of her points at the charity stripe, going 13-of-14. The 13 made free throws for Ray is a new season-high. 
  • Eva Ruse recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds Saturday for her second of the season and first since Jan. 4 against St. Mary's. 
  • Hallie Rhodes netted 12 points and seven assists against the Lions, marking her fifth consecutive game with at least 10 points. The seven assists is a new season-high.
  • Jayden Rhodes, who had eight points, recorded a co-game high +16 in efficiency, along with Olivia Owens
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