The University of San Diego (USD) women’s basketball team defeated the University of Gonzaga 70-66 in the West Coast Conference (WCC) championship March 9 at USD.
The third-seed Toreros kept a tight leash on the Bulldogs while pulling off a stunning upset of the four-time regular-season champs, led by Mission Bay alums, point guard Amanda Rego and center Amber Sprague.
The victory ensures a spot in the NCAA tournament in two weeks among the top 64 teams in the country. The seedings are to be decided Monday, March 17.
The cherished victory was built on wins over Portland 61-57 on March 6, and Santa Clara 66-72 on March 8, in order to reach the WCC finals.
Sunday afternoon the Lady Toreros found their largest crowd of fans this season rooting for them in the stands ” and also an equal number of Gonzaga faithful from Spokane.
“We believed from the first jump ” a sense of urgency ” an attitude that our game plan could be successful,” said third-year head coach Cindy Fisher.
The USD defense so completely stifled the Lady Bulldogs that they held the highest-scoring team in the conference to 10 points in the first 11 minutes. Sprague seemed to be everywhere the ball was being shot ” intimidating shooters and collecting three blocked shots.
At the same time, sophomore Morgan Henderson lit up the board with an amazing string of 3-pointers ” 5-5, finishing with 6-8. Fed by Rego’s precise assist deliveries, USD built a 27-10 lead in the first 11 minutes of play.
The Toreros held a 38-29 halftime lead. They shot 52 percent from the field and 100 percent, 7-7 from the outside ” brilliant for a team that had the worst WCC 3-point record in the regular season.
While they saw the lead shrink to one point, they never gave up it up, finding a way to rally and fill opportunity with their speed and versatility inside and out.
All five starters were in double figures, led by Henderson with 20, Kiva Herman 16, Sprague 14, Rego 10 and freshman Sam Childs 10. Rego provided 12 assists and a game-high 8 rebounds.
In the final minutes the clock raced down with either team able to win. But a key jump shot by Herman and clutch free throws by Sprague and Henderson iced the win.
“It is surreal ” it’s indescribable,” Rego said. “This has been my goal since I first stepped foot on this campus. The NCAA means everything. We believed in our goal and we were capable of making it happen. We will be ready to compete.”
Rego was named the tournament MVP after playing all 40 minutes of the championship.
“It all starts with her. Rego is the key to making it all happen,” Fisher said.
Both Rego and Sprague are national leaders in several statistics; Rego is second with 8.4 assists and nearly three steals per game. Sprague is on the NCAA charts in rebounds and blocked shots. Rego and Sprague were named to the WCC All-Conference Team.
Sprague, who sat out a year with a foot injury as a red-shirt player is still a junior and will return as center next season for USD. Rego is one of only two seniors on the championship squad. The pre-season favorite Toreros saw a couple key players red-shirted this season with injuries, including their best 3-point shooter in 2007. But they will be back next fall. The success of the 2008 squad is a credit to Fisher, who grew her freshman and sophomore talent during the season to fill the gap.
USD hasn’t won the tournament since 2000.
The WCC is made up of USD, University of San Francisco, University of Portland, St Mary’s, Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and Gonzaga.
After 28 years, this is the last time the WCC tournament will be hosted by a member school. The championships will be moved to Orleans Arena in Las Vegas next year.
Rego and Sprague led Mission Bay High to two CIF championships and were heavily recruited nationally but chose USD to be part of rebuilding a young program, a goal which they accomplished.