Feb. 5, 2005

(Los Angeles) - USF completed its Southern California road trip Saturday afternoon at Gersten Pavilion with a tough 58-55 West Coast Conference loss at Loyola Marymount. The Dons (10-12, 4-5 WCC) battled hard but struggled mightily at the free throw line as their three-game winning streak came to an end against the Lions (12-10, 6-3 WCC).

Freshman center Lisa Olden turned in the best performance of her young career with a career-high 17 points on 5-of-6 from the field and added six rebounds. Sophomore guard Jennifer Katsuyama also turned in a career-high with 15 points on 5-of-6 floor.

USF shot at a .417 (20-48) pace, but struggled at the free throw line converting on just .636 (14-22). LMU connected on .318 (21-66), but connected on .353 (6-17) from long distance. The Lions' defense played well and held a 42-40 rebound advantage, including a dominating 20-10 margin on the offensive glass and forced 19 Dons turnovers.

San Francisco trailed 8-1 in the early going and did not score their first field goal until a bucket by Olden at the 14:28 mark. The Dons fought back into the half which featured five lead changes and four ties. After the initial run by the Lions, neither team led by more than four points in the remainder of the half. LMU took a 26-25 halftime lead. Olden led all scorers with 10 in the opening period.

LMU once again used an unanswered 8-0 push to start the second half leading 34-25 with 17:40 remaining on a three-point play before USF scored their first points courtesy of a Katsuyama lay-up at the 17:34 mark. The Lions led 44-38 with 12:05 remaining and then went scoreless for nearly four minutes. Unfortunately the Dons only scored five points during the span and a big 3-pointer by junior guard Rachael Ziemann at the 8:15 mark to give the Lions a 47- 41 lead with

San Francisco tied the score at 48-48 on a pair of Katsuyama free throws with 4:13 left. It did not stay tied for long as a Woods scored the first of two consecutive breakaway lay-ups, staking LMU to a 52-48 edge with 3:38 to go. Katusyama gave the Dons a temporary one point 52-51 - their first of the second half - on a floater with 1:09 left. LMU would answer reclaiming the lead seconds later only to have Carter connect on a jumper to five USF its last lead55-54 with 1:08 left. The Dons would not score for the rest of the contest as the Lions won the game at the charity stripe with USF forced to foul.

Turner finished with a team-high 16 points for LMU, while Woods added 12 points and 12 rebounds as the Lions completed the season series sweep of the Dons.

USF returns to action Saturday when they host San Diego. Tip-off against the Toreros is scheduled for 2:00 PM at War Memorial Gym.