Feb. 9, 2002

(San Francisco) - Junior forward Vilma Tamuleviciute enjoyed a great night in her second start and scored a career-high 12 points to lead USF to a 71-62 victory against Loyola Marymount in West Coast Conference women's basketball action Saturday at War Memorial Gym. With the win San Francisco (13-10, 5-5 WCC) beats the Lions (13-10, 5-5) for the first time in the last five meetings.

In the final box score, nearly every stat advantage was held by Loyola Marymount, except the most meaningful one: the final score. The Lady Dons committed a season-low eight turnovers, while fielding just an eight-player rotation for the second straight night. Eight was enough. After trailing by one, 32-31 in the first half, USF converted on .500 from the field in the second, outscoring the Lions 40-30 in the second half.

Tamuleviciute was a difference maker tonight for USF and pulled down six rebounds, dished out five assists and collected a pair of steals in 32 minutes of action. The junior college All-American connected on 5-of-12 from the floor and hit a pair of big 3-pointers. Senior guard Lindsey Huff scored a team-high 17 points off the bench and added five rebounds in 30 minutes. Sophomore forward Carey Sauer scored 13 points in 16 minutes of playing time.

San Francisco's frontline came through, especially in the second half led by sophomore forward Leeane Jensen who scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds in the second half alone, finishing with eight and seven. Freshman center Celeste Farmer added eight points and three rebounds in 16 minutes.

Senior guard Bryn Britton scored a game-high 22 points, while junior forward Kate Murray added 13 points and eight rebounds.

USF returns to action when they host Bay Area rival Santa Clara on Friday, Feb. 15. Game time is at 7:00 PM at War Memorial Gym.