The UCSD women¹s basketball team responded to a 76-68 loss against Grand Canyon on Nov. 29 by dominating play in five wins during winter break.
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Wins over Grand Canyon, Notre Dame de Namur and Cal State Los Angeles, in addition to tournament victories over Humboldt State and Central Washington, improved the team¹s record to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Playing at home helped the Tritons, who hosted four of their five games over break at RIMAC after starting the season with several road games. On Dec. 13, the team played Grand Canyon, whom they had lost to just seven days earlier.
“”Half of our team got the flu on that trip,”” said UCSD basketball head coach Judy Malone.””We were missing some important players, and we played tentatively. We looked at the tape of the game during practice and realized we needed to play more aggressively this time. We upped the tempo in practice and it paid off.””
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The hard work during practice resulted in a convincing 88-63 victory over Grand Canyon. Senior captain and guard Ali Ginn led the UCSD scoring with 25 points and freshman guard Buffum added 22 points.
³We played a much more aggressive and solid game against them this time,”” Malone said.
The team next faced Notre Dame de Namur in a nonconference game on Dec 15. This game turned out to be the most lopsided victory of the season for the Tritons, as they more than doubled Notre Dame¹s score, 94-46. The Tritons played solidly and did not allow Notre Dame to take the lead at any time during the game.
Junior center Margaret Johnson scored a basket 22 seconds into the game and the Tritons never looked back. Ginn led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points while Johnson added 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Every member of the Triton team scored at least a basket in its victory. Malone attributed this to the fact that the team is older than it has been in a while and that they are playing well together.
“”Our young kids are finally juniors and seniors,”” Malone said.””Changing divisions was tough, especially with a young team, but the experience is starting to show and things are coming together.””
The team continued their red-hot play by sweeping through the UC San Diego Invitational on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30. The Tritons defeated Humboldt State, 82-63, in the semifinal before beating Central Washington, 91-69, in the championship game.
In the Humboldt State Dec. 29 victory, the Tritons were led by freshman guard Leora Juster with 21 points and Ginn with 20 points. Johnson led the game with nine rebounds. This victory advanced UCSD to the finals against Central Washington.
In the championship game against Central Washington on Dec. 30, Johnson had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while four other players also scored in double digits ,including sophomore guard Andrea Herold, Juster, Ginn and junior forward Katie McGann. All but two players scored in this contest. It was the second time this season that UCSD had beaten them. UCSD had its first victory of the year in its 79-67 win over Central Washington on Nov. 22.
Ginn was named the tournamentas Most Valuable Player and Juster and Johnson were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Malone realized early in the season that this was a team that was capable of scoring.
³We knew we could score after our (exhibition) game with USD,”” she said.””We have a lot of scorers this year Š a lot of weapons. Everybody’s playing well.””
UCSD began a new year by visiting Cal State Los Angeles on Jan. 2. It kept its winning streak alive with a 72-50 victory over the Eagles.
Johnson had 13 points and 13 rebounds for her second double-double in as many games. Ginn also had 13 points and Juster added 12 points. With the 22-point win, the team won each of their five games by at least 19 points, the greatest margin of victory being 48 points. Both the defense and the offense have been playing exceptionally as evidenced by the scores.
“”We’re playing pretty well,”” Malone said of the five-game winning streak.””We’re rebounding more than the other teams and we have a higher shooting percentage. That’s why we’re winning games. Every part of our game is working. [Cal State L.A.] had a girl who was averaging 22 points a game and we kept her to 13.””
When asked about the streak, Malone said,””Knock on wood.””
The Tritons hoped to keep their impressive record intact when they faced Cal State Dominguez Hills on the road on Jan 3. Results of that game were unavailable at press time.
UCSD returns home to face Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 9 at RIMAC Arena. Tip-off for the game is at 5:30 p.m.
