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Weber State guard Rita Satini, left, drives against San Diego on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Weber State guard Lanae Billy (32) dribbles against a San Diego defender on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Weber State forward Mata Peaua (44) shoots against San Diego's Courtney Wristen (10) on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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Weber State's Rose Bubakar (24) shoots against a San Diego defender on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Robert Casey, WSU Athletics

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OGDEN — No matter the 39-plus minutes that precede it, the only thing that matters in college basketball is who leads when the clock expires.

Weber State women’s basketball nearly sneaked into a final-moments win Tuesday night, trailing until the final minute in a 66-63 loss to San Diego at the Dee Events Center.

“Just gave too much of a lead in the first half. I thought we did some things that were very controllable on our end that we need to be better at moving forward,” second-year WSU coach Jenteal Jackson said. “It’s that time of year, we’ve got a lot of new kids, we’re learning a lot of things right now.

“I wish we could’ve started that game sharper but I was proud of the way they responded in the second half, their bounce-back, their fight to never quit.”

Trailing by 10-14 points since a USD pre-halftime blitz, Weber State started stacking stops in the fourth quarter while the final of four Lanae Billy 3-pointers helped spark a 13-0 run.

With help from a Rita Satini pull-up jumper and a Rose Bubakar post fade, freshman forward Mata Peaua banked in a slippery step-through post move and then scored over the top of her defender to give the Wildcats a 63-62 lead with 46 seconds left.

But Hallie Rhodes, one of four transfers that keyed the Toreros on Tuesday, answered quickly with a driving layup to return the lead to the visitors.

A WSU miss and two USD free throws later, Weber State’s last chance came on a front-court inbound that went to Bubakar with three seconds left. She side-dribbled her defender and put up a 3-pointer — on the mark, but high off the front iron and out as the horn sounded.

Billy led Weber State (1-2) with 14 points. Sophomore post Taylor Smith scored 12 points, dished four assists and blocked three shots. Bubakar added eight points and eight rebounds.

Returner Kyle Hortsmeyer led USD with 15 points, with Rhodes adding 10 points and fellow transfer Truitt Reilly scoring 12.

The first half was a mostly even affair until the Toreros’ constant ball pressure resulted in 13 first-half turnovers for the Wildcats. San Diego finished the first half on a 14-3 run for a 40-28 lead and finished the game outscoring WSU 24-0 on fastbreak opportunities.

“We had 13 turnovers at halftime … you want to finish the game with that number,” Jackson said. “They played great defense, it’s tough, and they’re really long so they make a lot of good plays on the ball.”

Twice in the second quarter, Billy knocked down 3-pointers only to have San Diego answer with an old-fashioned three-point play on the other end. USD totaled six and-ones in the second and third quarters alone.

“We were late on a decent amount of those plays. I’ve never seen that many in that short of a span, to be honest, and some of them, I don’t know,” Jackson said. “Reffing’s a tough job but it was so touchy, and then it didn’t feel like — on both sides of the ball — I thought there was more contact on other plays, and not just on our way only. Those were interesting.

“But for us, if you’re going to be there, don’t touch them … or, if you’re going to foul, be aggressive with it so they don’t get to finish the bucket.”

The final whopping tally: 42 total fouls (22 against WSU, 20 against USD) with the Toreros shooting 24 free throws to Weber’s 18.

WSU started slowly in the first six minutes, its only points coming from junior transfer Antoniette Emma-Nnopu. The Australian forward cashed in five early points and finished with nine points, 11 rebounds (six offensive), two steals, and seven drawn fouls.

“I think she’s a great X-factor kid, she can do that dirty work,” Jackson said. “She’s an absolute beast on the boards … I think, too, as she gets in a better rhythm and a better flow, we’re going to see even more offensive production … there is nothing that kid’s ever going to back down from so we love having her out there.”

Weber State doesn’t play its next home game until Dec. 20 against Utah Valley. Until then, the Wildcats hit the road starting with Utah Tech on Saturday, followed by trips to Nevada, Boise State, North Dakota, Seattle and Arizona.