Chelsey Gipson's 18 points in the fourth quarter highlighted the Lion's victory over USD as they extend their conference record to 2-1. The Toreros couldn't keep up with LMU's fantastic offensive performance and could not breakthrough a tight Lions defense. The Toreros would ultimately fall to the Lions, 69-52.

The match was fairly even during Q1. There were several lead changes as the Lions and Toreros went back and forth throughout the quarter. LMU's tight player-to-player defense limited the Toreros scoring and forced several turnovers in the first. Gabby Green had a phenomenal start, scoring 9 of the Lions 16 points in Q1. A beautiful play between Cierra Belvin and Green ended the first as Belvin threaded the ball between a swarm of opponents to find Green for a layup. The quarter ended with the Lions on top, 16-12. 

Both teams lacked offensive rhythm in a low scoring second quarter. However, the Lions were still able to extended their lead to as high as 6, the highest margin of the game so far. A stellar 22 points in the paint set the Lions apart from the Toreros as the half came to an end. Going into halftime, the score was 26-22, Lions in the lead.

The Toreros closed the gap at the beginning of the third quarter, bringing the margin down to only one point. The Lions answered with a 6-0 run to extend their lead to seven points. A great defensive effort from the Lions held the Toreros to a three minute scoring drought near the end of the quarter, during which the Lions were able to pull away. Solid team play up and down the floor from LMU allowed them to hold onto a 43-36 lead going into the final quarter. 

The Lions achieved their first double-digit lead of the game at the beginning of Q4. Gipson's hot shooting in the fourth extended the Lions lead and kept the Toreros at bay. Including three 3-ptrs in a row, Gipson scored 18 points in the fourth quarter alone. The Lions ended the game with a 69-52 victory.

The key to the victory was a great offensive performance from the Lions. LMU nearly doubled the Toreros point total in the paint, outscoring them 44-26 at close range. Gipson saw a season and career high 26 points after a phenomenal fourth quarter. Green also had a great match, flirting with a double-double with 18 points and 9 rebounds. The Lions also had an outstanding defensive performance. The Lions were able to keep the Toreros key offensive player, Patricia Brossman to only 6 points, 7 below average. Bree Alford put up 7 defensive rebounds (9 total) to help the Lions get back on offense. 

Head Coach Charity Elliott attributes the victory to "great energy and toughness by the entire team" as they "kept fighting and played with great passion." Hopefully the team will carry this fire over to their next game at BYU. Coach Elliott knows that "BYU is always a tough place to play" and believes the team will need to "be ready to battle and compete for 40 minutes."  The Lions face the Cougars on Saturday, Jan 5 at 1 pm.