San Diego State senior guard Brandon Heath, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year as a junior last season, might end up leading the Aztecs to a second straight post-season basketball trip in the NCAA or NIT, but let me tell you about another star guard in town that was worth watching this season.

She leads the nation in assists.

She was named on Monday the Co-Player of the Year in the West Coast Conference.

You missed a fun basketball player to watch if you didn’t make it out to a University of San Diego women’s basketball game this year.

Amanda Rego, a junior from Mission Bay High, averaged 7.6 assists a game for the Toreros and also led the WCC in steals with 2.8 a game. Rego set a USD season record for assists with 214 and counting.

“In terms of goals, I just wanted to be a good team leader this year,” Rego said. “I didn’t imagine leading the nation in assists or being Co-Player of the Year. I just wanted to help my team win games.”

She did that and more. USD set a school record for wins in a season with a 21-7 overall record and a 10-4 WCC mark was good for a runner-up finish in the regular-season standings. The second-seeded Toreros face seventh-seeded San Francisco Thursday in the first round of the WCC tournament at Portland.

TOM SHANAHAN

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