Lady Toreros need a bit of luck to win big in Vegas

Last year, as a seventh seed, the USD women’s basketball team became the first team in league history to win three games in three days to make it to the finals of the WCC Tournament, where they finally fell to the Bulldogs of Gonzaga.  After splitting a pair of games on the road last weekend, this year’s Lady Toreros’ only hope of making the big dance is to break their own record and win four consecutive tournament games in this year’s conference tournament. Easy enough, right?
USD headed up the interstate to take on Loyola Marymount University last Thursday night, needing a win to keep their hopes up for a fourth place finish in league play and chance to earn a first-round bye in the WCC Tournament alive.  Down by 10 with less than seven minutes remaining, the Lady Toreros went on an 11-0 run that was capped by a jumper by Sam Child to give USD the lead at 65-64 with 2:56 to go.
“We always believe until the game is over that we are going to win,” junior forward Sara VanderHorst said. “Believing in ourselves and our teammates allows everyone to continue to fight every play of the game.”
That willingness to fight was exemplified over the game’s final minutes where, after exchanging buckets with the Lions, USD put the ball in star point guard Dominique Conners’ hands with fewer than 30 ticks left.  Conners got fouled and coolly sank both free throws to put the Lady Toreros back ahead, 69-68. Following a stop by USD, Morgan Woodrow was sent to the line with two seconds remaining where she also made both to extend the margin to three. That’s when things got really exciting.
Lions’ guard Renahy Young took the ensuing inbound and heaved a half-court prayer that went in and apparently tied the game at 71. However, an official review showed that Young released the ball too late and the Lady Toreros were able to escape with the thrilling victory.
Conners led all scorers with 28 points to go along with five rebounds, and senior forward Morgan Henderson chipped in with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
In Saturday’s final regular season game against Pepperdine in Malibu, USD started off sluggishly and allowed the Waves to score the first eight points of the contest. However, as they have done all season, the Lady Toreros battled back and actually found themselves up 29-25 at the break following a 13-4 run to close the half.
The see-saw battle continued after intermission, as both teams refused to let the other take control. After Pepperdine took a 52-49 lead on a Miranda Ayim lay up with 3:23 to go, Conners went on a personal 6-0 spurt to put USD up three with 1:37 left.
Pepperdine’s Jazmine Jackson knotted the game at 55 with a free throw, but Conners answered with yet another basket to put the Lady Toreros ahead 57-55 with 11 seconds remaining.  Ayim was the beneficiary of a questionable call on the other end, and she responded with two clutch free throws to send the game into overtime.
USD proved to be no match for Pepperdine in the extra frame, as the Waves capitalized on a multitude of Lady Torero turnovers to outscore USD 19-8 over the final five minutes. The final score, 76-65, might not reflect how tight the game was, but the closeness of the game doesn’t provide much solace to the USD players and coaches, who fell into fifth place.  Naturally, Conners was the game’s high scorer with 22 points, but she also had nine of the Lady Toreros’ astonishing 28 turnovers.
USD knows it will have to take much better care of the ball and be sharp in every facet of the game if they want to make another magical run in Las Vegas, Nev.  While the odds may be stacked against them, the team’s tendency to play all teams in the WCC toughly is something that gives the squad hope.
“Playing both St. Mary’s and Gonzaga so close in the second half of the league, we know what we are capable of doing,”  VanderHorst said.
That may be true, but after falling at Pepperdine, USD will now have to win back to back games to even earn the opportunity to play either Gonzaga or St. Mary’s.