March 4, 2004
Box Score
Santa Clara, CA - For the second consecutive year, the San Diego Toreros have knocked out the Saint Mary's women's basketball team in the first round of the West Coast Conference tournament. On Thursday afternoon, the No. 8 Toreros beat the No. 5 Gaels 87-81 in double overtime in the first round of the WCC tournament held at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara, CA. The loss ends the Gaels' season with a 15-14 overall record.
In the second overtime, the Gaels were outscored 14-8 as San Diego took a quick 79-73 lead over Saint Mary's and the Gaels could never recover.
For the game the Gaels were led by Evynn Van Burger, who scored a career-high 24 points, Monica Mertle added 15 points and Brianna Winn scored a career-high 16 points.
At the end of the first overtime, the Gaels trailed 73-70 with 13.8 seconds left before Mertle hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game with 4.8 seconds left, forcing a second overtime.
To start overtime, the Gaels scored five quick points to take a 68-63 lead after two Mertle baskets with 3:48 left. The Toreros answered with a 3-pointer of their own to cut the lead to 70-68 with 2:46 left in overtime. San Diego then scored five straight points to take a 73-70 lead with 1:09 left in overtime.
At the end of regulation, the Gaels held a 63-61 lead with 22.2 seconds left after a Van Burger free throw. The Toreros missed two shots before Marta Menuez made a layup with 11.2 seconds left to tie the game. The Gaels final shot by Lauren Shaughnessy fell short as she drove to the basket.
To start the second half the Gaels played back-and-forth with the Toreros, with San Diego holding a 41-33 lead with 14:11 left in the game.
Saint Mary's answered with an 11-2 run to take a 44-43 lead after a Winn layup with 11:22 left in the game. Both teams played back-and-forth for the next 10 minutes with Saint Mary's taking the lead 58-56 after two Van Burger free throws with 1:52 left in the game.
The Gaels opened the game with a 5-0 run after a Van Burger three-point play and a Jackson layup. The Toreros answered with five quick points to make the score 5-5 with 15:37 left in the first half. San Diego kept its run going with seven more points to take a 12-5 lead before Mertle ended the streak with a jump shot to make the score 12-7 in favor of San Diego with 13:10 left.
Saint Mary's battled back from a 14-7 deficit to tie the game at 14-14 after a Van Burger 3-pointer with 9:43 left in the first half. The Gaels took the lead back after a three-point play by Eghosa Obaiza to give them a 17-16 lead with 6:35 left in the half.
To close the first half, the Toreros hit three 3-pointers on their last three possessions of the first half to take a 30-23 lead with 20 minutes left to play. In the first half, the Gaels were led by Van Burger who had nine points, including two 3-pointers. Saint Mary's and San Diego each shot 37 percent in the first half.
