The Seattle University women's basketball team was outlasted 82-65 by San Diego Saturday afternoon at KeyArena at Seattle Center. Despite the lead being in range at several points in the contest, multiple Torero offensive runs proved to be the difference maker in the game.
In her first career start, sophomore Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) got SU off to an early lead with a layin off a dish from Talisa Rhea (Juneau, Alaska), twenty-one seconds into action.
The early burst would not swing the game momentum to the Redhawks' side, as it would be the only lead SU would hold in the contest.
The Toreros responded with a 14-6 run, but Seattle U would work to keep the game in range. At 14:42 freshman Renee Dillard-Brown (Seattle, Wash.) added a basket from the stripe and Brenda Adhiambo (Mombasa, Kenya) followed with a layin to make it a 14-11 game.
Their persistence began to pay off, as they continued to close in on USD's lead. With just over eight to play, sophomore Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) assisted on classmate Kacie Sowell's (Ventura, Calif.) basket below the hoop to make it a one-point contest, 20-19.
Sowell scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game, tallying 12 points.
Despite clawing their way back and making it a one possession game, San Diego continued to put distance between them and the Redhawks. Down the stretch in the final five minutes of the first half, USD's Morgan Woodrow added four points to headline a 10-3 Torero run.
She would go on to score a game-high 24 points.
After halftime, San Diego's lead would swell as high as 16 at 17:20, before the Redhawks put together another run to work to take control of the game.
Led by junior Daidra Brown (Seattle, Wash.), who scored seven consecutive points, SU managed to make it an 11-point game at 15:13.
She went on to score a season-high 17 points, going 6-for-10 from the field.
Her offensive surge was responded to by a USD 9-2 run to make it an 18-point game, 55-37, at 12:36.
For the next two minutes Seattle U held the Toreros off the board and a Rhea three-point play made it an eight-point game, 55-47.
The Redhawks would remain within range until the final four minutes of the game, as San Diego closed things out riding a 14-6 run.
In the game, USD shot 45.8 percent (27-for-59) from the field to SU's 42.0 percent (21-for-50). The Toreros outrebounded the Redhawks 41-31, tallying 19 offensive boards to make 24 second chance points.
"I think (today's game) showed we are inconsistent right now. We need to play with more consistency and it starts with the defense. (We) then need to be a little bit smarter on the offensive end," said head coach Joan Bonvicini.
"We need to really focus this week on us improving and getting better fundamentally," concluded Bonvicini on heading into next week's tournament.
SU will next host their annual Seattle U Thanksgiving Tournament from Friday, Nov. 25 to Saturday, Nov. 26. The Redhawks will open tournament action with San Francisco at 8 p.m.