Feb. 25, 2010

Audio highlights from Podcast Center.

Box Score

Los Angeles - Junior Renahy Young's half-court three at the buzzer was waved off as being released too late as LMU was denied overtime in a 71-68 defeat to San Diego in a West Coast Conference game Thursday night at Gersten Pavilion. With the loss, the Lions (12-15, 5-8 WCC) are assured of being the sixth seed at next week's Zappos.com West Coast Conference Tournament in Las Vegas while the Toreros (15-12, 7-6 WCC) sweep the season series.

A physical game throughout, the outcome came down to the referees' judgment as a matter of milliseconds separated a USD win and LMU forcing overtime. Trailing by three with 2.3 seconds left, Young took the ball from under her own basket and advanced it up the left sideline with a defender on her hip. Right as she reached halfcourt, Young let loose a desperation shot. To add to the suspense, the ball hit the backboard and front of the rim twice each, then hung on the rim before falling through. Quickly the referees convened and, after a minute's delay and no instant replay available, waved off the shot to give USD the victory.

Young led the Lions with 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting, adding four assists and a pair of steals. With three three-pointers on the night, Young moved past her total from last year for eighth place on the LMU single-season list while also jumping into fourth place on the career record chart. Sophomore Alex Cowling added 16 points, eight rebounds, and four steals to jump into third place on the LMU single-season scoring charts with 465 points this season. Senior Jenna Sybesma came off the bench with 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists and senior Lisa Helmers chipped in eight points and six boards.

LMU shot 49.2% (30-for-61) from the floor and 38.9% (7-for-18) from long-range but was on the low side of an enormous free throw discrepancy. The Lions attempted and made just one foul shot while USD went to the line 17 times, sinking 13 (76.5%).

Dominique Conners led all scorers with 28 point, adding seven steals and five rebounds. Morgan Woodrow contributed 17 points and Morgan Henderson a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds for USD, who shot 57% in the second half to overcome a three-point halftime deficit. The Toreros shot 44.8% (26-for-58) overall and 33.3% (6-for-18) from distance while holding a 34-31 rebounding edge.

The Lions trailed 10-6 before rattling off an 11-0 run as they scored on six straight possessions from four different sources to take a 17-10 lead with 12 minutes to play in the first. The game was quite physical and the refs were letting the two teams battle so LMU obliged, pounding the ball inside to the tune of 22 of its first 33 points in the paint. Sybesma in particular was providing a spark off the bench, scoring six quick points to add to 10 early points from Cowling as LMU increased its advantage to 33-21.

Cowling's fast start pushed her past Nicole Gaines (1996-97) for fourth place on the LMU single-season scoring list and halfway to current Associate Head Coach Lynn Flanagan's (1990-91) second-place total of 469. Still, San Diego used hot outside shooting to stay close, knocking down five three-pointers and getting six straight points from Conners during a 9-0 run to cut back to 33-30 with 2:57 left.

Conners had 16 at the break but LMU shot 47% in the first half and got a boost from its bench as the Lion reserves, led by Sybesma's eight, outscored the USD bench 11-0 to give LMU a 35-32 halftime lead.

Young and senior Kavita Goss both moved up a slot on the LMU career three-point list coming out of the half. First, Goss connected on a three from the wing, her second of the game, to jump over Kate Murray (1999-2004) into sixth place. Two minutes later, Young stepped back for her second triple to pass Bryn Britton (1998-2002) for fourth all-time.

Those threes, along with one from Helmers, helped the Lions maintain their lead and Young knocked down her third trey of the half from the right wing to give LMU some breathing room, 58-51 with 9:34 remaining. LMU's lead went back into double figures thanks to back-to-back buckets from junior Melanie Ysaguirre but an 11-0 Torero run put the visitors in front. Two straight jumpers from Henderson, a Woodrow three, and a steal and layup by Conners cut it to 64-63 with 4:03 to play.

The final three minutes featured five lead changes. Sam Child got a jumper in the lane to fall for a one-point USD lead but LMU answered right back through Cowling's long baseline two. Conners put USD back on top with a jumper in the lane, only for Young to twist in the lane, scooping her layup in off the glass for a one-point LMU advantage with 50 seconds left. At the other end, Conners ran the clock down before getting fouled on penetration. She made both with 23 seconds remaining to nudge USD ahead for good. After LMU used its last two timeouts to set up a play with 15.6 on the clock, the Lions inbounded to Goss, who fed Young. Young couldn't get any penetration so she dished to Helmers, who bobbled it slightly before getting off an off-balance jumper that went over the backboard and back to USD. On the inbounds, LMU fouled Woodrow, who made both for a three-point LMU lead with 2.3 seconds left. Out of timeouts, Young took it halfway and then threw up her 40-footer, only for the refs to deem that the ball was still in her hand as the buzzer sounded.

The Lions close out the regular season on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they host Saint Mary's. Saturday will be Senior Day and LMU will pay tribute to its five graudating seniors - Maggie Burkett, Aleyse Evans, Kavita Goss, Lisa Helmers, and Jenna Sybesma - in a pregame ceremony.