Dec. 20, 2008

Box Score

SAN DIEGO, CA - San Diego's Kiva Herman scored a game-high 27 points and Amber Sprague finished with 20 points and a career-high 19 rebounds as the Toreros edged visiting Cal State Fullerton, 65-62, on Saturday afternoon at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

The Titans fell to 3-6 overall with the loss, dropping their fourth straight in the series against USD. The Toreros improved to 7-5 overall on the year with the victory.

Sophomore Lauren Chow finished tied her season-high with 20 points for Fullerton, hitting six three-pointers for the second time this season as all but three of her field goal attempts came from behind the arc. Freshman Megan Richardson finished with 16 points - just two shy of her career best.

Fullerton led by seven points at 62-55 thanks to a 6-0 run over a three-minute span with just under four minutes remaining, but the Titans struggled down the stretch, going 0-for-4 from the field with two turnovers while San Diego used a 7-0 run to tie the game and three free throws (one by Sprague and two from Morgan Woodrow) in the final minute that gave the Toreros the lead for good.

In a game that featured four ties and 13 lead changes, the Titans closed the first half strong to carry a one-point, 34-33, lead into the lockerroom at halftime after going scoreless for four minutes and without a field goal for more than five.

Chow had a pair of three-pointers while Jasmine Scott added two more buckets to give Fullerton the advantage at the buzzer. The Titans led by as many as eight points early-on thanks in part to a quick 7-0 run that broke a 4-4 tie.

Fullerton held that advantage for most of the period, shooting just under 50 percent from the floor at one point, but then lost its touch as San Diego erupted for a 12-4 run to gain its first lead of the game, 23-22, with just over seven minutes to play.

Sam Child also finished in double figures for the Toreros with 12 points to go with nine boards as USD had only five players notch a point on the day.

San Diego shot 43 percent from the floor to Fullerton's 36 percent while the Toreros racked up 18 free throw attempts (making 10) to just six for the Titans.

Cal State Fullerton is off for the next 10 days until taking the court on Dec. 30 at 7 p.m. against Columbia University at Titan Gym.