The UCSD women’s basketball suffered two disappointing setbacks this weekend. The Tritons fell 84-81 to Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 9 and 56-46 on the following evening at RIMAC Arena. With the losses, UCSD dropped to 7-4 overall and 3-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Guardian
The Tritons saw two streaks this season end on the first of the two back-to-back weekend games. Their six-game winning streak, the team’s longest in four seasons, was snapped as Cal Poly Pomona edged the Tritons in an exciting game. It also marked the first time this season that the Tritons have lost at home. With the victory, the Broncos improved to 8-2 overall with a 4-1 league record.
Cal Poly Pomona got off to a good start and controlled play in the first half. Their full-court press disrupted the flow of the Triton offense.
“”They pressed, and we got into their game,”” senior captain Ali Ginn said. “”And they’re too good of athletes for that.””
The Broncos continued the press throughout the first half and took a 48-37 lead into the locker room.
UCSD came out in the second half and started to cut into the lead, as Cal Poly Pomona discontinued its full court press. With five minutes left, red-shirt freshman guard Kim Buffum hit an important three-pointer to pull UCSD within three. They could not manage to catch the Bronocs, however, and freshman guard Leora Juster’s half-court shot at the buzzer to tie just missed.
“”We played our game more in the second half,”” Ginn said. “”I’m confident about the next time we play them.””
Ginn also commented on Juster’s performance.
“”Her shot looked good out of her hands, it just didn’t fall. Otherwise, she had a good game,”” Ginn said.
Juster finished with a team-high 22 points to go along with five assists. Junior forward Katie McGann and Buffum had 14 and 13 points, respectively. Junior center Margaret Johnson added nine points while pulling down 10 rebounds.
Candice Allen, a transfer out of Division I University of Arizona, led the Broncos, scoring 28 points and pulling down five rebounds while Keila Beachem contributed 26 points and 11 boards.
This was only the second game that UCSD was outrebounded. The other came in a loss during the first game of the season. The Tritons managed 41 rebounds to Cal Poly Pomona’s 49.
The Tritons took the floor again on Jan. 10 against Cal State San Bernardino. The emotion of the previous night took its toll, as the Tritons were flat in the 56-46 loss. The Coyotes moved to 5-6 overall and 2-4 in league play with the win.
“”The night before took a lot out of us,”” Ginn said. “”It wasn’t our night.””
The Tritons were actually close throughout most of the first half, but a surge by Cal State San Bernardino gave them a 10 point lead going into halftime.
Unlike the previous night, UCSD was not able to respond in the second half. They never seemed to establish a rhythm on offense, and the result was their lowest offensive output of the season.
“”We couldn’t buy a bucket to save our lives,”” Ginn said. “”Nothing was going in.””
Joyce Proctor led the Broncos, tallying 20 points, and Lacy Tannenberg added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
No player on UCSD scored in double digits. Ginn led the Tritons with nine points and Stacy Gallagher-Bolton had a team-high nine rebounds. The team also struggled from the free-throw line, as they managed only 50 percent.
Rebounding hurt the Tritons again, as they were outrebounded 47-40 by Cal State San Bernardino. The Tritons have lost all three games in which they have been out-rebounded.
The Tritons will look to get back on the right track as they complete their homestand with games against UC Davis and Chico State on Jan. 16 and Jan. 17, respectively. Both tip-offs are at 5:30 p.m. at RIMAC arena.
