Athletics Roundup: Men's Basketball Gets Tune-Up Win; Women's Basketball Splits a WCC Pair

Braun Hartfield scored 20 points and Yauhen Massalski had his first double-double of the season as the University of San Diego men’s basketball team finished its nonconference schedule with a 93-67 win over Whittier College on Dec. 29 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

The win for the Toreros (7-8) was their 600th in 41 seasons at the Division I level.
 
Hartfield, who tallied 20 points for the second time in the last eight games, scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half. The redshirt junior was 5-of-6 from the field in the first half and finished shooting 83.3% from three-point range (5-of-6). He ended the game 7-of-11 (63.6%) from the field.
 
Massalski, starting for the second game in a row, scored a season-high 17 points and hauled in 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.
 
Alex Floresca and Finn Sullivan each scored a season-high in points with 14 and 13, respectively. Floresca scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half. Sullivan had a trio of three-pointers to go 5-of-8 from the field. He also had four assists and four rebounds.
 
The Toreros shot 57.6% overall from the field, its best shooting performance of the season and second time finishing 50% or higher.
 
USD's 38 field goals made were its most since it had 39 in a double-overtime game against Drake in December 2018.
 
The Toreros also had 25 assists on their 38 makes. Marion Humphrey led San Diego with a career-high seven helpers.
 
As was the case for much of the game, USD was impressive on the offensive end in the first half as it shot 17-of-30 from the field (56.7%). However, Whittier (6-4) made six three-pointers among its 15 makes to keep the game within seven, 45-38, at halftime.
  
In the second half, Whittier pulled within four at 45-41, but USD propelled out to a 14-0 run over a two-minute stretch midway through to help take a 20-point lead, 69-49, with 11:28 remaining.

The win continued a level of confidence the team can take heading into West Coast Conference play, which starts on the road Thursday night. The Toreros are 4-1 in their last five games and 5-3 in their last eight.
  
Men’s Basketball Schedule (through January 2020): USD at Loyola Marymount, Thursday, 7 p.m., Los Angeles; USD at Santa Clara, Saturday, 2 p.m., Santa Clara; USD hosts Gonzaga, Thursday, Jan. 9, 7 p.m., Jenny Craig Pavilion; USD hosts Pepperdine, Saturday, Jan. 11, 7 p.m., JCP; USD at BYU, Thursday, Jan. 16, 6 p.m. (Pacific), Provo, Utah; USD at Portland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 7 p.m., Portland, Ore.; USD hosts Santa Clara, Saturday, Jan. 25, 3 p.m., Jenny Craig Pavilion; USD hosts San Francisco, Thursday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m., JCP.

Women’s Basketball

The USD women’s basketball team is happy to get to the 2020 portion of its West Coast Conference schedule after splitting its first two WCC games in late December.

San Diego dropped its WCC opener on Dec. 28 in Malibu, 73-57 against Pepperdine, but rebounded on Dec. 30 with a 67-59 triumph over host Loyola Marymount. The results moved USD’s record to 7-6 overall, 1-1 in WCC play as the schedule brings the Toreros back to Jenny Craig Pavilion.

Against host Pepperdine, the Waves, up 49-44 after three quarters used a fourth-quarter surge behind Hannah Friend’s 10 points (she led all scorers with 27) to outscore the Toreros 24-13 and gain the victory.

San Diego had two players score in double figures, senior guard Madison Pollock with 18 points and eight rebounds. Leticia Soares added 10 points off of the bench and Myah Pace added seven points and four steals. Patricia Brossmann had seven rebounds. The Toreros got 18 total points off the bench.

But in Monday’s win over LMU, San Diego got a 20-point, nine rebound game from Pace. She was one of four players to finish in double figures as Pollock had 13 points and six rebounds, Sydney Hunter chipped in with 11 points and 12 rebounds and Jordyn Edwards had 10 points, four rebounds, six assists and three steals.

The Toreros jumped out to a 19-9 lead after the first quarter and led 33-29 at halftime. Both teams shot cold in the third quarter (both 3-for-13) as USD took a 41-36 lead into the final 10 minutes. San Diego outscored LMU 26-23 in the final frame on 9 of-14 shooting and making two 3-pointers to attain the win.

Women’s Basketball Schedule (through January 2020): USD hosts Portland, Thursday, 6 p.m., Jenny Craig Pavilion; USD hosts Gonzaga, Saturday, 2 p.m. (Family Day), JCP; USD at BYU, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2 p.m., Provo, Utah; USD at Saint Mary’s, Thursday, Jan. 16, 6:30 p.m., Moraga, Calif.; USD at Pacific, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2 p.m., Stockton, Calif.; USD hosts Santa Clara, Thursday, Jan. 23, noon, (Kids’ Day Out), JCP; USD hosts San Francisco, Saturday, Jan. 25, noon (Family Day), JCP; USD at Gonzaga, Thursday, Jan. 30, 6 p.m., Spokane, Wash.

USD Athletics

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