Toreros falter versus Gaels

Early deficit proves to be too much for downtrodden USD women’s basketball team to overcome

Anderson Haigler / Sports Editor / The USD Vista

This certainly isn’t the way the University of San Diego women’s basketball team envisioned their 2018-2019 season playing out. The same Torero team that reached the championship game of the West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament last season has lost their last 11 consecutive games, with an overall record of 8-16 and a conference record of just 1-12 — good for last place in the WCC. This sudden drop-off in performance, however, has not been without explanation. Early in the year, the Toreros lost junior center Kat Olczak, sophomore forward Kendall Bird, and first-year forward Nicole Blakes to knee injuries. Then, near the midpoint of the season, sophomore guard Myah Pace, junior guard Ana Ramos, and first-year guard Karla Martinez suffered injuries as well. What remains is a short-handed roster that hardly resembles what the Toreros brought to the table at the beginning of a season in which they were picked to finish fifth in the WCC preseason poll, and a lack of depth on their available roster that has had a marked effect on their win-loss record.

Last Saturday, USD and their injury-riddled roster took on the Saint Mary’s College Gaels in an afternoon WCC matchup at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. It would not be a matchup in which the Toreros would fare well. Playing their second game in three days, USD simply couldn’t keep up with their competition, and suffered an 80-49 defeat at the hands of the third-place Gaels.

“We’re extremely depleted,” USD women’s basketball head coach Cindy Fisher said. “We only have seven scholarship kids available to play, and we’re playing against one of the best teams in the conference, if not the best team in the conference.”

Saint Mary’s was in control from the game’s earliest stages. In a contest that the Toreros never led, the Gael’s jumped out to a 16-2 advantage after just five minutes of play. USD struggled to slow down Saint Mary’s offense, allowing them to frequently drive to the basket with ease. Headlined by forward Jasmine Forcadilla, who scored a game-high 19 points, the Gaels cruised through the first quarter, making 10 of their first 12 shots from the field as part of a 12-0 run.

As the game progressed, so did Saint Mary’s lead. USD had their chances to score, but poor shot selection and turnovers only exacerbated their woes both on offense and defense. After turning the ball over 14 times and making just seven of 28 field goal attempts, the Toreros found themselves in a 44-17 hole at the half.

“We really struggled scoring the basketball,” Fisher said. “We had a lot of opportunities with easy buckets that we missed layups, and again, that goes back to fatigue.”

After the intermission, the Toreros seemed to reel the Gaels in a bit, scoring 32 points to Saint Mary’s 36. USD’s late surge, however, which was propelled by a team-high 10 points from first-year guard Aminata Dosso and nine points from junior guard Madison Pollock, proved to be too little, too late. With just seven total available players, USD’s tepid comeback effort was hampered by their lack of depth, and the effects of 180 minutes of basketball in one weekend began to show. Perhaps more importantly, the expansive lead the Toreros had allowed the Gaels to build was too great to overcome, and the Gaels managed to deal USD their 11th consecutive loss by a score of 80-49. 

Fisher spoke about her injury-stricken team’s performance after the game, emphasizing the effect of her team’s reduced bench.

“It’s tough to play a Thursday-Saturday when you have seven players really capable of playing in a game,” Fisher said. “I thought we ran out of a little steam. I thought they worked really hard, they try as best they can, I just thought fatigue really set in.”

Pollock found positives in her team’s performance despite the loss.

“I think we had a lot of energy and a lot of heart today, but our shots just weren’t falling,” Pollock said. “But that’s okay because we tried the best we could on defense, and defense creates offense. That’s what we tried to do tonight.”

She identified the Gaels’ successes shooting from the field as the main factor in their dominance.

“They’re just a team full of shooters,” Pollock said. “So we just have to try our best to stop them in that way. Saint Mary’s team overall was solid, so we had to figure out a way to stop them.”

Fisher mentioned that Saint Mary’s performance in the post also played a part in their large margin of victory.

“They’re very, very strong inside,” Fisher said. “Megan McKay and Sydney Raggio are two of the best posts in the conference, they’re very strong. And we just didn’t have an answer for them.”

The Toreros’ loss moves them to 8-16 on the year, and 1-12 in WCC play. Their last win came on Dec. 31. But throughout their 31-point loss, both the team’s starting lineup and bench appeared to be engaged in the contest, and showed no signs of hanging their heads or weariness of their sizable losing streak beyond the obvious physical toll of having only seven available players on their roster.

“(They’re) very resilient,” Fisher said. “They’re never gonna quit, they try as hard as they can. You just get a couple things going against you, you get a couple fouls called on a certain kid, they have to sit, and we just don’t have the numbers for that to happen.”

The Toreros return to the Jenny Craig Pavilion to continue WCC play versus Santa Clara on Thursday, Feb. 28 at 6 p.m.