San Diego Sports et Cetera : Substitutes Lead USD Women’s Win

Substitute guard Debbie Sinopoli made two free throws with 1:07 to play to break a 56-56 tie, and the University of San Diego women’s basketball team went on to defeat Loyola Marymount, 60-56, Thursday night in the West Coast Athletic Conference opener at the USD Sports Center.

After a Loyola Marymount turnover with 27 seconds left, another substitute, center Rochelle Lightner, made a short jumper with 17 seconds remaining to close the scoring.

The lead changed hands several times in the second half after Loyola Marymount (10-6) took a 29-27 halftime lead.

Jane Gilpin scored 16 and Christi English 11 for USD (5-8).

Regan O’Hara scored 15 for Loyola Marymount. Teammate Kristen Bruich scored 13.

USD plays host to Pepperdine Saturday night at 7:30.

Fresno State outscored visiting San Diego State, 17-5, over five minutes for a come-from-behind, 69-61 victory in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference game.

SDSU led, 38-29, at halftime and by four, 56-52, when the streak began. The loss broke a nine-game winning streak for SDSU (11-3, 3-1).

Chana Perry had 21 points and 9 rebounds for SDSU. Jessica Haynes added 20 points and 10 rebounds. Laurie Heinrichs led Fresno St. (6-6, 1-2) with 16 points.

VOLLEYBALL

The San Diego State men’s volleyball team will play an exhibition against the I Dig sportswear all-star team tonight at 5:30 at Peterson Gym. SDSU is ranked eighth in Volleyball magazine’s preseason poll. Admission is free.