Jan. 29, 2016 2015-16 Schedule | Give to LMU Athletics | Season Tickets | LMU on Facebook |
LOS ANGELES - Back-to-back weeks of facing the West Coast Conference co-leaders concludes Saturday when the Lions (7-14, 3-7 WCC) host San Diego (19-2, 9-1 WCC) in Gersten Pavilion. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will air live on theW.tv.
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LMU vs. BYU - Thursday, Jan. 28 @ 7:00 p.m. - Gersten Pavilion
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INSIDE THE LIONS
• LMU has dropped its last five straight, their first stretch of consecutive setbacks since opening the season with three straight losses.
• Senior Sophie Taylor leads the Lions with 11.9 ppg. Freshman Cheyanne Wallace is not far behind, averaging 11.8 ppg.
• Senior Deanna Johnson scored 15 points Thursday versus BYU, bringing her career point total to 955. She sits just 45 points shy of the 1,000-point club, which includes just 13 members in the LMU record book.
• Sophie Taylor added three rebounds to her growing career total on Thursday versus BYU. With 527 career boards, she is one of 15 Lions to surpass the 500-rebound mark and currently sits in 14th on the all-time list.
• The Lions shot better than 45 percent from the field on Thursday against BYU, marking the third time this season they hit that percentage mark. The game marked the first time the Lions shot 45 percent or better and suffered a setback, falling 82-75 to the Cougars. They beat UC Irvine (Nov. 28) shooting 51.5 percent and San Diego State (Dec. 10) hitting 53.2 percent.
ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO TOREROS (19-2, 8-1 WCC)
San Diego carries the league's best overall record at 19-2 and is tied atop the WCC standings (with BYU) with a 9-1 mark. The Toreros kept pace with BYU Thursday night with a 70-54 win at Pepperdine. Sisters Malina and Maya Hood lead USD in nearly every statistical category. The former averages 19.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg and has a team-high 51 three-pointers. The latter averages 15.2 ppg and 8.7 rpg. The duo had also combined for 110 of the team's 207 steals. The Toreros also get 9.9 ppg from Sydney Williams and 4.6 apg from Cori Woodward. They average +3.3 spg as a team and commit an average of 5.3 fewer turnovers than their opponents.
SERIES HISTORY
San Diego holds a 43-27 advantage in the all-time series. The Lions' last win was a 70-53 final at the Jenny Craig Pavilion in 2011. The Toreros have won the last 10 straight. Last year, USD won the home-and-home series with scores of 67-59 in Los Angeles and 68-49 in San Diego. On Jan. 23 of this year, USD took an 82-58 win over the Lions at the JCP.
MORE NOTES & NUGGETS
• LMU's overtime final against San Francisco on Jan. 14 was the first overtime game of the season. The setback dropped the Lions to 11-14 all-time in overtime games.
• The Lions picked up their seventh win of the season on Jan. 9 at Pacific, matching last year's season total of wins. • The seventh victory came 16 games into the season marking the fastest the Lions have reached seven wins since Head Coach Charity Elliott's first season in 2012-13 when it took them 14 games to achieve the feat.
• Sophie Taylor's career-high 17 rebounds at Saint Mary's on Jan. 7 are the most in a single game since Mackenzie Kerins hauled in an LMU record 25 on Jan. 25, 2014 at Portland.
• LMU's Jan. 2 win over rival Pepperdine marked three straight against the Waves and 7-of-8 during fourth-year Head Coach Charity Elliott's tenure.
• LMU's seven-point loss to Gonzaga on Dec. 23 was the closest final score against the perennial WCC power since Feb. 7, 2008 when the Lions won 75-60.
• LMU's 62-52 win over Portland on Dec. 21, 2015 was the 400th victory in the program's history, dating back to the 1981-82 season when they first began competing as an official intercollegiate program.
• LMU's road win at UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 4 came just eight games into the season (and the fourth road test of the year) marking the earliest the Lions have picked up that first road W during Head Coach Charity Elliott's tenure.
AMONG THE WCC RANKS
In West Coast Conference games played through Jan. 28, LMU ranks first in blocks per game (4.6), second in 3-pt FGs per game (6.4), fourth in steals per game (9.0), fourth in assists per game (14.0), fourth in rebounds per game (40.8) and fifth in scoring (67.2). Individually, Cheyanne Wallace leads the league in blocked shots (2.2 per game) while Deanna Johnson is second in free-throw percentage (85.3). Bree Alford is second in rebounding (8.9 per game) and second in field goal percentage (.504), Sophie Taylor is sixth in rebounding (8.3 per game) and Andee Velasco is fifth in assists (3.8 per game).
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