Feb. 28, 2002

Box Score

(San Diego) - USF captured their sixth consecutive victory and a second straight trip to the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals, grinding out a 65-63 victory against a determined Loyola Marymount team in first round action Thursday in the Jenny Craig Pavilion. With the win, the Lady Dons (18-10) continue their hot streak and have now won eight out of their last 10 outings, none more important to the win against the Lions (15-13). The win also avenged last season's 73-65 loss to LMU in the tournament semifinals.

Junior guard Alicia Hernandez enjoyed career days at the 2001 edition of the WCC Tournament and came up big for San Francisco once again today. Hernandez made a huge impact pouring in a team-high 18 points to power USF, while senior guard Lindsey Huff added 16 points on 6-of-12 from the field, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range. With her big day off the bench, Huff moved into 13th place on the USF career scoring leader board with 1,096, passing former teammate Sarah Wanless (1996-2000), who scored 1,086 during her tenure on the Hilltop.

USF traded baskets with the Lions for most of the contest. The Lady Dons, led by seven briefly in the first half, but could not extend the margin further despite multiple opportunities. USF built a six-point advantage, 24-18 with 5:39 in the first on a pair of free throws by Hernandez, who went 5-for-5 at the stripe, but LMU stormed back. The Lions scored six unanswered points and held San Francisco scoreless for 3:30.

LMU took a one-point lead, 30-29 on 3-pointer by sophomore guard Raeleyn Self with :38 remaining, but sophomore forward Carey Sauer scored on a reverse lay-up and freshman center Celeste Farmer scored on a baby hook with :06 remaining in the half to give the Lady Dons a 33-30 halftime lead.

Opening up the second half, neither team could score as the Lady Dons and the Lions scored a combined two field goals in the first five minutes of action. USF found the keys to the Jenny Craig Pavilion rims first, going on an 8-2 run to take a 43-36 advantage on a three from Huff. A pair of Hernandez free throws gave San Francisco its biggest lead of the game, 45-37 with 12:59 left.

Then Adrienne Slaughter woke up for LMU. Slaughter scored 11 points - all in the second half and nine in the final nine minutes - to help Loyola tie the score at 49 with 8:21 remaining. USF took the lead on another Huff three with 6:50 left, 52-49. LMU cut the lead to one on the next possession, but the Lady Dons recovered thanks to a three-point play by Sauer to make the score 57-53 with 4:12 left. USF was able to thwart the remaining Lions down the stretch.

LMU was playing without the services of two-time All-WCC senior guard Bryn Britton, who tore a knee ligament in her final WCC regular season contest last week. Britton was averaging 15.5 points per game on the year. Junior forward Kate Murray picked up the slack, tossing in a game-high 19 points 9-of-17 in 38 minutes.

USF's victory was even more remarkable considering the complete lack of productivity from their starting lineup, who scored just 15 points and 18 rebounds. The Lady Dons benefited from outstanding bench production, led by Huff and Hernandez. Farmer enjoyed a strong night with 12 points on 5-of-5 from the field, while junior guard Lisa Whiteside pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Sauer finished with nine points.

USF converted .350 (7-20) of their 3-point attempts and went .833 (10-12) from the free throw line and every one was important and helped offset 20 turnovers, compared to just 10 committed by the Lions.

USF plays top-seeded Pepperdine in the tournament semifinals Friday at 6:00 PM at the Jenny Craig Pavilion searching for their first victory against the Waves this season. The Lady Dons also look to repeat the magic of last year when they shocked Pepperdine 78-73 in the first round of the 2001 WCC Tournament, after losing both battles during the regular season.