The Tritons women’s basketball team had a great weekend against its Northern California rivals, coming off with two wins at RIMAC Arena against Chico State on Feb. 11 and Cal State Stanislaus Feb. 12.

The Tritons defeated the No. 15 Chico State, 80-77, before a home audience of 319 fans in a game that saw excellent defense from both teams.At halftime, the Tritons (13-8 overall, 9-5 California Collegiate Athletic Association) led the Wildcats 51-45, though the teams were relatively well-matched. The difference for the Tritons was in their team’s defensive play. The Wildcats (16-4 overall, 10-3 CCAA) had 27 turnovers compared to the Tritons’ 14. Chico State managed only five steals while UCSD had 15.

A leading Triton player in the match was senior center Margaret Johnson, who posted 19 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Right behind her was sophomore forward Hillary Hansen, who recorded a double-double with 18 points, a game-high 10 rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Karina Siam posted 14 points, and junior guard Andrea Herold earned eight. Sophomore guard Leora Juster was on fire with 10 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals.

Key players for the Wildcats included Kim Abts, with 21 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Lauren Himmelspach followed with 15 points, and Amber Simmons added 12 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.

The Tritons continued their winning weekend against opponent CSU Stanislaus (4-17 overall, 3-11 CCAA) on Feb. 12 when they defeated the Warriors, 83-80, in one of the closest games of the season.

UCSD remained flat throughout most of the third quarter, trailing by 13 points in a 67-54 Warriors game. By the end of the third quarter, the Tritons began to come back, managing a 19-6 run over the next six minutes.

With two minutes left on the clock, the Warriors and Tritons were tied at 80. Johnson completed the second of her two free throws, adding a point to the Tritons’ score.

Latricia Nickelberry of the Warriors missed a lay-up in the last 16 seconds that would have tied the game. Juster was fouled and converted her free throws for the Tritons to take the lead and the win at 83-80.

The standout athlete for the Tritons was again Johnson, with 23 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. Game-winner Juster added 13 points, aided by her 9-for-13 free-throw shooting. Sophomore guard Kim Buffum posted 12 points, and Hansen, Siam and Herold each added 10 points to round out the double-digit scorers, with Hansen also adding eight rebounds.

Coming off the strong weekend, the Tritons will go on to challenge another pair of Northern California rivals this week. UCSD will play Cal State San Bernardino on Feb. 16 and Cal State Monterey on Feb. 19. Both games will be played at RIMAC Arena and are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. start times.