The UCSD women’s basketball team went 1-1 in California Collegiate Athletic Association action last week with a win over Cal State Monterey and a loss to Cal State San Bernardino. The Tritons are now 8-5 overall and 4-2 in league.
The Tritons beat Monterey Bay on Jan. 14 at RIMAC Arena, 90-46. The squad saw remarkable performances by senior captains and centers Stacy Gallagher-Bolton, who managed 6 points and 15 rebounds in the match, and Margaret Johnson, who posted 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Junior guard Andrea Herold and sophomore guard Leora Juster each earned 14 points, while sophomore forward Hillary Hansen and sophomore guard Kim Buffum posted nine rebounds and nine field goals apiece.
The Tritons held a strong lead of 42-29 over the Otters at the half, and managed to maintain it throughout the match. UCSD proved stronger as a whole in every facet of scoring in the match, averaging a .443 completion of field goal attempts compared to Monterey’s .292. The Tritons were stronger from long distance, managing to score .389 of all three-point attempts to the Otter’s .273, who went 0-6 in the second half. Lastly, the Tritons completed .591 of all free throws granted, while the Otters only completed .385.
Earlier in the week, the Tritons were narrowly edged by the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes on Jan. 12 at RIMAC Arena. Despite a tremendous second-half effort from the Tritons, the Coyotes beat the Tritons, 63-60.
The Coyotes scored 20 points between the last five minutes of the first half and the first five minutes of the second half, while the Tritons scored none.
The score was 49-31, with Cal State San Bernardino in the lead and 10:38 remaining on the clock, when UCSD had a scoring run of its own, going 15-0 until they were only three points behind the Coyotes with 6:28 to go.
The remainder of the game was an all-out brawl between the teams, both struggling to clinch the win. The Tritons led, 60-59, until the Coyotes’ Sequoia Williams made a lay-up and Tamara Thomas got the follow-up shot to steal the win with 0.6 left on the clock.
Despite the loss, the Tritons showed great effort on the field. Johnson posted 18 points and had nine rebounds in the match. Juster contributed 12 points of her own and had three assists. Senior forward and team captain Katie McGann completed eight field goals, and Gallagher-Bolton added six rebounds.
The Tritons also had an excellent free-throw average against the Coyotes, completing .810 of all free throws attempted. However, the team’s consistently strong free-throw shooting and noteworthy individual performances were not enough to clinch the win.
The Tritons will challenge Cal State Dominguez Hills on Jan. 21 in Carson, Calif., and Cal Poly Pomona at Pomona on Jan. 22 in CCAA play. Both games are slated for 5:30 p.m. start times.
