LMU basketball: Women dominate San Diego; men fall to BYU

Following its thrilling last-second win over BYU on Jan. 31, Loyola Marymount University’s women’s basketball team enjoyed a rare runaway on Feb. 2, beating San Diego 83-57 at Gersten Pavilion.

Celebrating National Girls and Women in Sports Day in style, LMU (13-10 overall, 6-5 West Coast Conference) dominated the Toreros from the outset, never trailing after Cierra Belvin’s game-opening three-pointer and racing to leads of 25-12 after the first quarter and 41-22 at the half.

"What I thought we did really well was put together 40 minutes of really solid basketball," said LMU coach Charity Elliott. "Defensively, we were able to set the tone, get some easy baskets and get us going in transition, which is always the pace we want to play."

Chelsey Gipson scored 24 points and Jasmine Jones 20, while Bree Alford grabbed 10 rebounds. The Velasco sisters from Mater Dei High School also played well, with Bianca totalling 11 points and Andee handing out seven assists.

This week the Lions travel to Northern California for games Feb. 7 at Santa Clara and Feb. 9 at San Francisco, before returning home for games with Pepperdine (Feb. 15), St. Mary’s (Feb. 21) and Pacific (Feb. 23).

Men’s basketball

After a sparkling defensive effort last Thursday, the LMU men’s team found itself on the other end of the score at Provo Feb. 2, losing 67-49 to BYU.

Although they led 26-23 at intermission, the Lions (16-7, 4-5 WCC) were overwhelmed in the second half, as BYU (14-10, 6-3) pulled away, sparked by an 18-0 run that effectively decided the outcome.

"We played better defense in that first half," said Head Coach Mike Dunlap. "In the second half we turned the ball over too much and that got the crowd into it."

Dameane Douglas was the only Lion in double figures with 10 points (all in the first half) plus seven rebounds, while top scorer James Batemon was held scoreless.
LMU hosts San Diego on Feb. 7 at Gersten Pavilion, then travels to Portland Feb. 9 before returning home for rematches with Gonzaga on Feb. 14 and BYU on Feb. 16.

Mike Nelson is the former editor of The Tidings (predecessor of Angelus News). 

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