The UCSD women’s basketball team moved to 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association with a loss and a win on Jan. 17 and Jan. 18, respectively. On Jan. 17, the Tritons dropped a tough game to UC Davis, 73-68. They responded on Jan. 18, however, and defeated Chico State by a score of 79-71.
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Against UC Davis, the Tritons went up 4-0 in the first minute after a pair of buckets by junior center Margaret Johnson. The lead did not last long, as UC Davis was able to work well against the UCSD zone defense and took a commanding lead at 30-15. UCSD dropped out of the zone and went to man-to-man coverage, and the decision paid off as they closed the gap to 30-25. But UC Davis finished the half strongly and went into the locker room up, 41-27.
UCSD started the second half with a full-court press, and soon shortened the the Aggie lead to six points. They could not manage to pull even with UC Davis, however, as they lingered behind them for the rest of the game. The Tritons took another hit when freshman guard Leora Juster fouled out. The Tritons had a chance to pull within two points, but a costly turnover sealed the game for the Aggies.
Both Johnson and junior center Stacy Bolton-Gallagher had double-doubles for UCSD. Johnson had 14 points and 12 rebounds and Bolton-Gallagher had 12 points and 14 rebounds. In addition, the Tritons’ senior guard Ali Ginn added 17 points and Juster had 16 points. Jessica Campbell had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Aggies.
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UCSD looked to make up for the loss in the next game. In their previous weekend games, the team was unable to respond to a Friday loss with good play on Saturday, but this time the Tritons followed by playing well against Chico State.
In a first half filled with fouls, UCSD and Chico State traded baskets for most of the period. UCSD pulled away with strong play from Juster and Johnson and took a commanding 40-28 lead into halftime.
Both teams came out of the break with offense on their minds. Chico State fought back to within four points with 10 minutes remaining and were later able to tie it up with five minutes remaining in the game. UCSD was too strong down the stretch and ended up holding off Chico State for the win. The victory snapped the Tritons’ three-game losing streak.
Late free throws helped the Tritons regain the lead, and they kept it. The Tritons made more free throws in the game than Chico State attempted.
Johnson had an outstanding game with 24 points and 16 rebounds for UCSD. In addition, Juster added 22 points and Ginn put in 13. Marissa White had 21 points for Chico State and Michelle Pietka added 17 points and 7 rebounds.
UCSD will go on the road for their next two games. They will play Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 23 and Cal State Bakersfield on Jan. 24.
The Tritons will return to RIMAC Arena on Jan. 30 to face Sonoma State and San Francisco State on Jan. 31. Tip-off is at set 5:30 p.m. for both Triton home games.
