Women’s basketball ready to run it back
Toreros aim to build on impressive 2019-2020 season
Eric Boose / Sports Editor
The University of San Diego women’s basketball team was seconds away from a conference championship last season. Had the Portland Pilots not hit a last-second shot in overtime, the Toreros would have won the West Coast Conference tournament and carried momentum into March Madness. But the Pilots hit the shot. And the Madness never happened, not for anyone.
After coming so close last year and having their spring and summer disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Toreros are finally back in the gym, getting ready to make another run for the postseason. As is the nature of college basketball, head coach Cindy Fisher will have to put together this year’s run without some key players from last year.
“We lost five seniors last year, and three of them were post players who played a lot of minutes for us,” Fisher said. “I think that is the biggest difference in our team this year, our guard play is pretty experienced and pretty veteran, but I think the new faces in the program and the new players who will be out on the court is really the difference in the team.”
San Diego’s veteran guards are a trio of seniors — Jordyn Edwards, Syndey Hunter, and Myah Pace — all of whom featured prominently in last season’s run to the conference tournament finals. Fisher explained that all three guards, especially Pace, have taken on a leadership role as the team’s most prominent veterans. Pace led the Toreros in scoring and steals last season, averaging 11.9 points and 3 steals per game. Last week, Pace was named to the preseason All-WCC team, the only Torero selected.
“It’s definitely an honor, returning from last season I feel like there’s multiple players, especially our returning guards, we all could have been on that preseason list,” Pace said. “And that is part of my focus, we put in the work, we shocked a lot of people last season, so I really want to be a great leader for my teammates and for my teammates to get the recognition that they deserve going through this season.”
Pace also said that her selection to the all-conference team did not put any pressure on her.
“I think that our team dynamic, there are so many strengths all over the board, so as long as I take care of doing what I can to help my team, everyone will do what they individually do best, and we’ll go from there,” Pace said. “I don’t feel any pressure, I feel comfortable being a leader on this team, I feel like my teammates have got my back, so I’m just ready to go.”
Fisher echoed Pace’s sentiment that the Toreros have talent in every position this season, thanks to a balance of their veteran guards, players returning from injury, and talented newcomers. Redshirt-junior forward Kendall Bird, who missed the 2019-2020 season with an ACL injury, is healthy and set to get minutes playing in the post this season. First-year center Laura Erikstrup will look to fill the role of Leticia Soares, who made more baskets than any other Torero last season, and junior Steph Gorman, who transferred to San Diego from Utah State, will join USD’s formidable guard rotation. Gorman led the Aggies in assists and three-pointers made last year, providing 85 helpers and shooting 32.4% from beyond the arc. Fisher emphasized the importance of her team’s depth, especially with uncertainty due to COVID-19 still looming.
“With the year being so different, everybody realizes that everybody is going to play, and we need a lot of depth, we need people who can rotate positions,” Fisher said. “So, I think there is that excitement of knowing, ‘I’m going to be on the court and give everything I can, and then someone else is going to come in and give everything they can.’”
And Fisher noted that COVID-19 will continue to influence the season beyond the changes it has already caused. To make it back to the WCC championship game, Fisher’s Toreros will not only have to dispatch teams like BYU and Gonzaga, they will have to take care of themselves.
“It is just a matter of working through this pandemic and what that looks like and trying to stay as healthy as we can so we don’t get hit with people going out mid-season, losing a couple games here and there because of what can happen,” Fisher said. “And that is a tough thing, we’re social people, we’re used to being around each other and having that social interaction, and as a team, that’s what you build your success on.”
If the Toreros can meet the challenge off the court, they will have to surpass expectations on the court to make it to another final. In the preseason coaches poll, San Diego, the second-best team in the regular season last year, was picked to finish fourth in the WCC, behind Gonzaga, BYU, and Portland. While Fisher emphasized that all 16 conference games matter, her team would love to get revenge on the Pilots.
“In this conference, you have to be ready and you have to be prepared every single night,” Fisher said. “For our team, probably, they have circled every game, with Portland having a highlight behind it.”
Pace explained that the team, especially the returning players, are hungry to get another shot at the trophy.
“I think that is definitely fuel for our season, to get back to that spot and then to take it all is the goal,” Pace said. “It’s definitely something that we will put up in our locker room, that will keep us focused when there’s a tough practice or a tough game. I understand it’s a marathon, the season is long, that’s definitely the ultimate goal, to get back to that championship game.”
While Pace and her teammates are ready to start running that marathon, there is still some question as to when the race will start. San Diego’s first WCC matchup is scheduled for Dec. 28, almost a month after college basketball games are allowed to start. As of Nov. 3, no non-conference games have been officially confirmed by USD, but the team is finalizing some games, according to Fisher.
“As of right now, Nov. 28 we have Santa Barbara at our place to kick off the year, followed by San Diego State after that,” Fisher said. “Hopefully we will get to go on the road over to Arizona State, which will be a big game for us. Right now, it’s just changing every day depending on what’s going on with non-conference schools and if they can play, how many they can play, so it’s a work in progress, but we feel like those three or four that I mentioned are pretty locked in right now.”
Regardless of how many games USD plays before their conference opener against Santa Clara, Fisher says that her team will be ready when they take the court for that game on Dec. 28.
“Our team is really excited, and they’re ready to go, they’re looking forward to it,” Fisher said. “In general, sports this year are going to look different than they’ve ever looked, but it’s a time to grow as individuals, fight through some adversity, be resilient, look at the glass half full, and take what we have and make the most of it.”