"I thought we had a good first half, especially playing on the road," said head coach Joan Bonvicini. "We played smart and hard, and had good three-point shooting."
It was another tale of two halves for Seattle U, who had their best first half performance of the young season. The Redhawks were able to hold onto the lead for nearly six minutes in the half and when they went down by six, they responded immediately and brought the game within a possession. Junior captain Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) was an integral part in SU's strong first half efforts. The point guard had nine points, a pair of steals and a defensive board, and orchestrated the offense.
At 17:14, down by four, senior Tatiana Heck (Lynnwood, Wash.) kicked off the Redhawks' first half offense spurt. Her jumper ignited a 5-0 Seattle U run, with Salena Dickerson (Federal Way, Wash.) making her behind the arc basket to give SU their first lead of the game. Kerfoot then added a jumper, which USD's Dominique Corners countered with a basket of her own. Freshman Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) responded with her first three-pointer of the season, and Kerfoot would keep the Redhawks lead at four with a jumper and basket from downtown to give SU a 15-11 lead at 14:15.
After establishing a four point lead, Seattle U kept the Toreros scoreless for the following minute-and-a-half, but during that time they were unable to capitalize on their solid defensive efforts. The Redhawks were unable to get on the board, going 0-for-1 during that time span. San Diego's Sam Child ended the scoreless period after being fouled and sent to the free throw line, where she made her pair of free throw shots. Nya Mason would then go on to tie the game at 12:46, 15-15.
Kerfoot would quickly reestablish the Redhawks lead, as she was fouled and sent to the charity stripe. She made both her free throw baskets, eventually going 2-for-2 from the line in the contest. USD would follow by tying the game and with 11:28 left in the half they turned up their offensive efforts.
The Toreros would take a five point lead heading into the 10 minute mark, but a three-pointer from SU's Dickerson made it a possession contest again. It would continue to play out with Redhawks responding to USD's points, until inside five minutes when Corner's guided the Toreros to their largest lead of the half, 30-24. Four consecutive points from freshman Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) and five points from Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.) would be enough to send Seattle U into halftime down by a possession, 34-33.
The Redhawk three-point shooting was on point in the first half, as they shot 66.7 percent (4-for-6) from beyond the arc, to USD's 14.3 percent (1-for-7). They also forced San Diego to commit 10 turnovers, which they converted into five points.
In the final half in regulation momentum quickly went in favor of the Toreros, as they took a 12-0 run in just over four minutes of play. Seattle U's offense was rushed and they were unable to find fluidity under their basket, until Kerfoot drove in the ball to set up a Redhawk 6-1 run.
"USD came out and picked up their intensity in the second half and we let their run get to us. We called some timeouts to make some adjustments, but we didn't have the toughness at that point in the game. We needed to be mentally tough because there's going to be runs in basketball games, but we need to have a toughness within our team and play together a little more," commented Bonvicini.
At 13:25 Carley Butcher (Pitt Meadows, B.C.) made it a seven point contest, but Seattle U could not maintain their offensive momentum. San Diego would counter by allowing SU to only score eight points in nearly 10 minutes of action. While the Redhawk offense was on their heels, the Toreros took complete advantage of their stymied play and established as high as a 28 point lead, which Seattle U was unable to respond to.
In the game, Sowell made her second consecutive start, leading the team in rebounds with seven. Kerfoot would be the team's top scorer for the second straight game, going 4-for-11 from the field and scoring 11 points. Transfer Brown would also score in double-figures for the first time in Redhawk career, going 4-for-9 from the field, tallying 10 points, three defensive boards and a team-leading five steals in 26 minutes of work.
"We are going to play a lot more in practice this week and get back and have a good tournament. We want to take care of business and get into the win column," concluded Bonvicini.
The Redhawks will return home to host the Seattle U Thanksgiving Tournament. They will open on Friday, Nov. 26, with Montana State in an 8 p.m. contest in the Connolly Center. SU will close out the weekend with either UALR or Bowling Green the following day dependent on results from day one of tournament action.