Toreros see red, stomp Seattle, stay perfect at home

San Diego, CA. — In the words of pop singer Drake, the University of San Diego Toreros (6-3) have now won ‘back-to-back’ games after tonight’s (Dec. 12) victory against the Seattle Redhawks (2-9) by a final score of 67-44. The Toreros remain a perfect 6-0 at home this season.

Local product for San Diego Maya Hood, had another explosive performance as she finished the night tied with a team-high 15 points and three rebounds.

However, her fellow teammate and forward Caroline Buhr also shined on the hardwood Monday evening. She surpassed her career high of 10 points and three rebounds. The young sophomore finished the night tied with Hood for 15 points and six rebounds.

Buhr was pleased with her performance, but remained humble by crediting her teammates for finding her when she was open.

“It had a lot to do with what was open on the court at the time and the way the defense was,” Buhr noted. “Props to my point guards for finding the open pass.”

The Lady Toreros, as a whole, brought their ‘A’ game from start to finish. In the first half alone, the teams leading scorer, Hood, put up 10 of her 15 total points and also pitched in on the glass with two rebounds.

Another player who started the game strong was San Diego’s Aubrey Ward-El who chipped in six points along with Buhr. The two went a combined 5-13 from the field to help give the team a 35-21 lead at the break.

While offensively San Diego was explosive, it was their defense that shined by only giving up 21 points to Seattle in the first 20 minutes. The Toreros remained in control for a majority of the first half allowing just three total lead changes.

“We like to pride ourselves on our defense,” Buhr said. “And tonight we were really satisfied with the way we defended. We were hustling and allowed them to shoot a low percentage. It’s something we work at a lot in practice, and to see that carry over is a good thing.”

Call it a home court advantage for San Diego or call it pure talent as the energy level did not die down as the teams returned to the court after intermission. The Toreros came out of halftime with even more enthusiasm than they had going into the game. They lit up the scoreboard putting up 23 points, to Seattle’s 10, in the third period alone to help launch them into a 67-44 victory.

The Toreros allowing just 44 points on the night was the lowest number of points they have given up this season. Offensively, USD capped off the night shooting 44 percent from the field while forcing Seattle to shoot just under 32 percent.

San Diego will look to remain undefeated at home as they take on North Dakota on Dec. 21. Seattle will head to Denver next where they will play the Pioneers on Dec. 16.