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SAN FRANCISCO – Propelled by
Taylor Proctor's sixth double-double of the season and an eventual game-winner by
Taj Winston, the San Francisco women's basketball team downed Loyola Marymount 80-79 on Senior Day at War Memorial Gym.
With 3.4 seconds on the clock and the game knotted at 78-all, USF junior
Taj Winston collected the offensive rebound and powered in the putback to put the Dons up by one. But the game wasn't over, as USF was assessed a technical for celebrating on the floor with time remaining on the clock.
"The goal was to try to use as much clock as possible so they had as little on the clock as possible, and maybe some time for an offensive rebound which is thankfully what Taj was able to do," head coach
Jennifer Azzi said of the final offensive play for the Dons. "On the one hand, our bench was great tonight so to have that kind of love for each other, you kind of can't get mad about it. But it's a lesson for them, and thankfully Ramirez missed a free throw. You've got to learn from it; don't do it, but at the same time to see that kind of love and excitement, that matters."
Loyola Marymount senior Hazel Ramirez stepped to the line and swished her first attempt. The second caromed off the rim and left the Dons with the slim lead, but the Lions with the game's last possession.
Mackenzie Kerins tried to inbounds with a mid-court hurl that was intercepted by
Zhané Dikes to ice the game and give the Dons the first regular-season sweep over Loyola Marymount since the 2008-09 season.
USF was led by Proctor's 19 points and 12 rebounds, as the Dons finished with four double-digit scorers in the contest. To go along with the game-winner, Winston finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and one vital offensive rebound. Dikes posted a 12-point outing and a team-high five assists in the win.
"Taylor this season has really come into her own as a basketball player," Azzi noted. "She loves it. She's in the gym early. She works. And the thing that I've been most impressed with her is her sustainable work level has gone up. I know that when she's our leading rebounder I would guess 80 percent of the time we win. We talked about it before the game is that she has to rebound. I think when she rebounds, it puts less pressure on her offensively so she can just play."
Loyola Marymount raced out to the early lead, holding an 11-point advantage on the Dons midway through the first half. USF battled back and took the lead heading into halftime as the Dons scored the final six points of the period. First,
Paige Spietz hit her layup in traffic to put the score at 43-41 as the junior from Brimfield, Ill., earned a trip to the line.
After Spietz missed the free throw try, Proctor nabbed the offensive rebound and swished a jumper to tie the contest. Loyola Marymount's Deanna Johnson came up short for the Lions and
Hashima Carothers scooped up the loose ball and gave it up to Proctor. The sophomore from Colorado Springs, Colo., found a streaking
Bryn Stark for the last points in the half with USF holding a 45-43 advantage.
The second half again saw the visitors build up a lead, as a Ramirez steal and fastbreak layup put Loyola Marymount up 58-51 with 14:01 to play. Despite a six-point spurt from the USF offense to close the game to a one-point affair, two straight three-pointers by Loyola Marymount's Sophie Taylor again extended the Lions lead.
With less than five minutes remaining in the contest, the Dons made strides to chip away at the deficit. Winston's athletic shot followed by a successful and-1 opportunity with 4:19 to play put the score at 72-71 in favor of Loyola Marymount. Two minutes later, Winston received a pass from
Aundrea Gordon to go in for the layup and again make the difference one point. After a free throw by Proctor that knotted the score at 74 apiece,
Alexa Hardick swished a Senior Day three from the baseline, her third of the contest, to make the crowd erupt with glee.
"She hit huge threes, and that's certainly her value on the court," Azzi said. "It spreads the floor for us and the one by the baseline was really the one that kind of catapulted us forward because we were down most of the game. I'm proud of her and she's just been through this thick-and-thin with us, building the program. She's made my day so many times when I walk by the gym and see her in there shooting, and know how much she loves it so I'm really happy for her to come out this way."
Hardick, USF's lone senior, finished with nine points on 3-for-3 shooting from long range in a game witnessed by a surprise visitor in the stands. Her father, Tom, shocked Hardick and left the crowd misty-eyed as he appeared during the day's Senior Day festivities.
Johnson hit a jumper with 50.7 seconds on the clock to knot the score for the ninth and final time of the day, and Loyola Marymount had the shot to get back on the high side after the Dons committed a turnover on the inbounds play with 42 seconds of game action remaining.
A Lions miss was scooped up by Winston and the Dons called timeout to set up the eventual game-winning play. Dikes drove for the layup that missed its mark before Winston's follow hit pay dirt.
"It was a good shot, it was a good follow and that's what Taj is in there for, to get that o board," Proctor said with a laugh and a smile.
USF earned 16 second-chance points in the contest, off 11 offensive rebounds. The Dons held a 10-point advantage on the glass, and outshot the Lions 58.9 percent to 47.1 percent in the offensive-minded game. Loyola Marymount finished with five double-digit scorers as Johnson posted a game-high 22 points, and Kerins finished with a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.
After sweeping Pepperdine on Thursday, the Dons close out the regular-season slate with two wins for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
USF concludes the regular season with an overall mark of 11-18, and a 6-12 record in league play. Loyola Marymount finishes at 9-20 (6-12 WCC). Bay Area foe Santa Clara also finishes the season at 6-12 in WCC action. Despite the tie in the WCC standings, by virtue of tiebreakers, Santa Clara earns the seventh seed in the upcoming WCC Championships, with USF moving to eighth and Loyola Marymount sliding into the ninth seed.
USF and Loyola Marymount will face off for the third time of the season in the No. 8 versus 9 matchup on the first day of the WCC Championships. The Dons and Lions are slated to tip at 2 p.m., Thursday at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
