Jan. 8, 2009

Box Score

(San Diego) - Senior guard Shay Rollins tied a career-best with 23 points, but it wasn't enough as the USF women's basketball dropped a hard fought 69-62 game to the University of San Diego at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in San Diego. The game marked the West Coast Conference opener for both the Dons (4-11 overall, 0-1 WCC) and the Toreros (10-5 overall, 1-0 WCC).

After San Diego took a 5-0 lead to open the game, San Francisco went on a 10-3 run to take a 13-8 lead at 14:03. The Dons held onto the lead for a majority of the remainder of the half, not turning the lead over to the Toreros until 4:55 on a jumper by Emily Hatch, giving USD a slim 27-26 advantage. USF took no time to regain control of the lead thanks to a jumper by Rheina Ale at 4:34. San Francisco held onto the lead, taking a 34-31 edge into the locker room at half time.

USD opened the second half with an 18- 4 run, including four straight free throws to open the stanza, taking a game-high 12 point lead at 14:56. The Dons began to chip away at the deficit, narrowing the Toreros lead to four, 57-53 at 7:16. San Diego then took advantage of costly USF fouls to extend its lead back to 10.

For the game, the Dons held a 48-43 rebounding advantage, including an overwhelming 27-11 offensive rebounding edge. San Francisco outscored San Diego 18-13 on second chance points, but the Toreros earned the victory by outscoring the Dons 24-10 in the paint.

Rollins rattled off a dozen points in the opening half, en route to leading USF with 23 total points, marking her 21st consecutive double-digit scoring effort. In addition, the contest was the sixth game this season in which the Alameda native posted 20 or more points. Rollins also pulled down six rebounds, while dishing out four assists.

Freshman guard Vania Singleterry posted a career-high 17 points in her first start for the Dons since November 25. Singleterry added eight rebounds and a team-high two blocks.

In addition to Rollins and Singleterry, freshman guard Rheina Ale posted double-figures for San Francisco with 11 points, three rebounds, a steal and two assists. Senior center Necolia Simmons scored eight points for the Dons and led the team with nine rebounds, seven offensive. Starting forward Nnenna Okereke added a point, while forward Donnisha Taylor was the lone Don to score off the bench, adding two points, four rebounds and an assist.

San Diego was paced by three scorers in double-digits, including Amber Sprague with 22, eight of which came at the charity stripe. Dominique Chambers scored 18 and Kiva Herman added 10 to cap the Toreros' scoring leaders.

USF continues West Coast Conference play Saturday in Moraga, Calif with a 2 p.m. tip-off at Bay Area rival Saint Mary's. San Francisco will then return to the Hilltop next weekend to host Portland and Gonzaga in the Dons' WCC home opening weekend.