LAS VEGAS — With the fourth quarter just moments away, Kylie Ray grabbed a rebound and saw the game clock at five seconds left. She took three dribbles and sank a half court heave to give eleven-seed San Diego a 45-44 lead entering the final 10 minutes of its matchup against 10-seed Saint Mary's in the opening round of the 2026 West Coast Conference Tournament. 

And that fueled the Toreros to a 21-point fourth quarter and a 66-62 victory over the Gaels at Orleans Arena on Thursday afternoon, advancing USD to a second-round matchup with San Francisco.

"I think it just brought the energy," said Ray, who was named to the All-WCC Second Team. "I think it got the bench more involved because they're a huge help throughout the game, just helping us get going." 
 
As Ray recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, Hallie Rhodes scored seven of her game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter with nine rebounds, including a free throw to seal it with five seconds left. 

"She's been trying to get her legs back underneath her for the last couple games," Toreros women's basketball coach Blanche Alverson said of Rhodes, who returned a couple weeks ago from a leg injury. "I'm really proud of how she's fighting; fighting to get back how she was playing because before she got hurt, she was playing just like this. It's good to see her back with that kind of confidence coming into the tournament."

Rhodes scored three consecutive buckets for San Diego in the fourth quarter, all by driving to the basket with her left hand, including one to take a 59-57 lead with 3:03 left. 

On the possession before Rhodes' free throws, Lilly Amor, who played all 40 minutes, secured a block and then went on to make two clutch free throws to give the Toreros a 65-62 lead with 15 seconds left. 

"Huge free throws by Lilly," Alverson said. "The end of this game was so full circle for her to get that moment of having a big stop and getting to the free throw line and knocking those down. I hope she sees that pay off for her, because I thought that was a really big, cool moment for her."

As San Diego closed out the game scoring the final five points over the last 1:55, Rhodes and Amor were key in jumping out to a big margin. 

Amor got the 3-point barrage going, making her shot from long distance to get San Diego on the board. 

Then, Rhodes capped off a 12-0 Toreros run to take a 15-4 lead in the game's first five minutes by making two corner 3-pointers from both sides of the floor. 

"Saint Mary's runs a bunch of different zones, mix ups, and we just have to find different ways to score," said Rhodes, who posted her third 20-point performance of the season. "In the first half, the three was open for me. In the second half, they took that away and had to find other ways to score. We all did a great job navigating that zone scout-wise, with the coaching staff, and then with us on the court."
 
Ultimately, San Diego, which averages four 3-pointers per game, reached that mark within the first six minutes as Ray knocked down her first of three treys with 6:40 left to give USD an 18-7 lead. 

Later in the quarter, Jessica Ajayi grew USD's largest lead to 13 on a shot from long distance and the fifth of the first quarter. 
  
However, Saint Mary's did not go away. Malia Latu scored 19 points while Edie Clark scored 17 points and 11 rebounds. 

The Gaels also got USD into foul trouble as Ray, Ajayi and Ayla Williams each had three fouls as well as Olivia Owens, Dresha Moore and Eva Rusa with two fouls before halftime. 

Alverson was ready to go to her bench, even if that allowed Saint Mary's to cut into USD's lead, to save her players from potentially fouling out, which none of them did. 
 
"We had to try to protect us a little bit in the third quarter, which is why I think it got a little bit out of sync for us," she said. "But it did help us protect our team and our fouls, which I thought was helpful to be headed into the fourth quarter."

NOTABLE

• San Diego was 16-of-22 from the free throw line. The 16 made free throws are tied for their fourth-best mark this season. 
• In addition, the Toreros tied a season-high with eight made 3-pointers (Also: Jan. 31 at Portland)
• The Toreros also recorded five block shots, which tied for the second-best mark this season
• Amor, who scored five points and played all 40 minutes, made her two first throws of the season, which came in the final minute. This comes after missing her first two free throws against Arizona St. (November 13). 
• Amor also had a game-high four blocks, which is a new career-high
• Ray scored 19 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. 
• She also went 4-for-4 at the free throw line as the conference's leading shooter at the charity stripe. Ray also entered Thursday with the country's eighth-best free throw percentage. 
• Rhodes, who scored a game-high 22 points with nine rebounds, notched her third 20-point performance this season. She is averaging 12.5 points per game since returning on Feb. 19 at Pepperdine.
• Ruse registered eight points and five rebounds to have the Toreros' third-best mark in both statistical categories.

UP NEXT
With the win, the Toreros move on to the second round of the West Coast Conference Tournament where they will face No. 7 San Francisco Friday at 2:30 p.m. inside the Orleans Arena. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.