SAN DIEGO - The University San Diego’s basketball team (6-10, 0-3 WCC) continued to search for its first conference win Friday night, as a late push fell short in a 59-55 loss to the University of San Francisco (9-5, 2-1 WCC) at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
The Toreros, now 0-3 in conference play, cut the deficit to as little at one in the final minute but were unable to overcome a slow first half and a wire-to-wire effort from the Dons.
The Toreros struggled to find offensive rhythm in the first half, scoring only 19 points and shooting just 23.7%. San Francisco took advantage, building a 30-19 halftime lead behind balanced scoring and strong interior defense. USD had chances to pull out the victory but could not close it out.
“We've dug ourselves a hole the last couple of games and fought our way back which is great to see,” USD’s head coach Blanche Alverson said. “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."
The Toreros went on a 9-1 scoring run in the third to pull within six off a Hallie Rhodes driving layup, 42-36. USD shot 50% in the third. Kylie Ray ignited San Diego’s offense, attacking off the dribble and knocking down jumpers to fuel a 19-point frame.
Ray finished with a game-high 24 points while adding nine rebounds and five assists in a complete performance that kept the Toreros within striking distance. Ray is now ranked second among the West Coast Conference in points per game since conference play started almost a week ago.
Despite the surge, San Francisco maintained control, answering each run with timely baskets. San Diego trimmed the lead to five entering the final quarter, setting up a tense last 10 minutes.
The Toreros continued to apply pressure down the stretch. Olivia Owens converted a driving layup with under a minute remaining to pull San Diego within one, but the comeback stalled on the next possession. San Francisco's Mara Neira responded with a pull up jumper with 34 seconds left to restore a three-point cushion.
San Diego had chances late but came up empty on its final attempts, while the Dons sealed the game at the free-throw line.
“I think we’ve got to just continue to work on our execution down the stretch, even when things maybe don’t unfold the way you want them to,” Alverson mentioned about the final minutes of the game. “How do we play out of those broken plays?”
Alongside Ray’s performance, Hallie Rhodes scored seven, Helen Holly added six points and six rebounds, and Eva Ruse chipped in six points off the bench. Although the Toreros shot 34.8% from the field and 26.3% from three-point range overall, they shot 50% from the field and made five of nine threes (55.6%) in the second half.