As seniors on the USD women's basketball team, Amber Sprague and Kiva Herman had the experience to make a difference against San Diego State. In their final game in the crosstown series last night, they also displayed their motivation to come out a winner.

PEGGY PEATTIE / Union-Tribune San Diego State's Quenese Davis tries to split University of San Diego defenders Nya Mason (42) and Kaila Mangrum last night. USD went on to post a 63-60 nonconference victory.

Sprague tallied 17 points, a game-high nine rebounds and five steals, and Herman added a game-high 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting.

More than that, the two led the team in smiles after the host Toreros survived a wild last minute to top the Aztecs 63-60 to regain the city crown before 1,346 at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.

“I couldn't feel better,” said Sprague, a 6-foot-5 center from Mission Bay High. “We lost to them last year, and this is our last season. We wanted to beat them, and we wanted to beat them on our home court.”

After Sprague's final rebounds, Dominique Conners scored on jumper to increase the Toreros' lead to 61-57 with 32 seconds to go. But then the Aztecs'Jerrica Williams answered with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one point with 17 seconds remaining.

On the inbounds pass after a timeout, the ball was deflected around until USD's Morgan Henderson secured it. She was fouled, and subsequently sank two throws for her only points of the game for a 63-60 edge with 12 seconds left.

Jen Layton-Bailes missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer for the Aztecs.

“That felt amazing,” Herman said. “The last 20 seconds were nerve-wracking, but we pulled it together and got the win.”

The Toreros (3-2) avenged last year's 58-53 loss at Cox Arena. That setback ended their five-game winning streak over SDSU, starting in 2002 when series resumed following a five-year break.

“They were the aggressor,” San Diego State coach Beth Burns said. “They used their experience players to do big things down the stretch. But I'm not upset at all with our team. I like this team a lot. The effort was fabulous.”

To go with their experience, the Toreros counted on two freshmen. Connors scored 11 points, and Morgan Woodrow figured in the outcome as a result.

“We gained a ton in the game,” USD coach Cindy Fisher said. “Our two freshmen both grew up.”

Jene Morris scored 14 points to lead the Aztecs (2-2), and freshman reserve Coco Davis added 10 points and five steals. However, Aztecs sophomore center Paris Johnson was bothered by foul problems after drawing two whistles in the first two minutes.

“USD did a terrific job,” Burns said. “For us, the key to the game was our inability to any scoring in the paint. It puts too much pressure on our offense. Paris' early fouls really hurt. We're pretty inexperienced behind her.”

The Aztecs, who came off a 99-55 road loss to No. 1 Connecticut, head today to Hawaii for Friday's start of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic. They will face Hawaii to open the tournament.

With the Aztecs down 30-26 with 1:00 before halftime, Davis scored the final eight points of the half – aided by two steals – to account for SDSU's 34-30 halftime lead. She started the sequence with a driving jumper and then converted a three-point play after each of her steals.

USD started the second half with 12-3 run to take a 42-37 edge with 13:07 to go.

“In the past, we've been kind of sluggish coming out in the second half,” said Herman, who had 14 second-half points. “This year, we want to change that. We want to jump on the team and get a big lead.

“I just tried to play with confidence,” Herman said. “It helped that everyone was so on fire and excited. It was an awesome team effort.”

Sprague entered the night averaging 22.8 points per game, higher than her career average of 14.8. She has 1,351 career points and is on pace to surpass the USD record of 1,510, set by Susie Erpelding (1996-2000).

In the all-time series, the Aztecs hold a 25-7 lead.

Davis, a sophomore from Sacramento, started the first two games of the season for the Aztecs but was pulled from the lineup against Connecticut and went scoreless.