With a convincing 80-63 win over conference rival Chico State on March 12 in front of a rowdy home crowd at RIMAC Arena, the No. 12 UCSD women’s basketball team pushed past the accomplishments of Triton teams from years past by advancing to the Elite Eight round of the Division II NCAA tournament.
Sophomore forward Michelle Osier dropped 22 points on Chico State and grabbed 18 boards in UCSD’s 80-63 win in the NCAA Division II West Regional Championship game on March 12.
After closing out the win with clutch free throws and stingy defense, the Tritons had officially finished off the best their bracket had to offer and earned the West Region championship trophy. In celebration, each member of the Tritons took turns climbing a ladder and cutting down the net on their home court.
While the team and the UCSD program as a whole have never before had a chance to celebrate a victory this big, the Tritons must be getting used to their winning ways – the latest win gives them 26 on the year with only four losses. And by advancing to the Elite Eight in Kearney, Neb., UCSD has an opportunity to win three more games and bring home a D-II national championship, which would have seemed an unfathomable feat just two years ago, before head coach Janelle Jones took over the program. The Tritons will face the winner of the East Region, Glenville State College of West Virginia, on March 21 at the University of Nebraska at Kearney in hopes of winning a title.
If the Tritons play like they did against Chico State, the teams facing them could be in for some shocking upsets. Jones’ team looked well-prepared, confident and experienced in their regional final win over a resilient Chico State squad that advanced to the Elite Eight last year.
Senior guard Leora Juster contributed 19 points and 10 assists and was also named the most valuable player in the NCAA Division II West Regional Tournament for her role in UCSD’s three wins.
The Tritons looked unbeatable in the first five minutes of the game, scoring 12 unanswered points.
“”We knew whoever came out and gave the first punch was going to set the tone for the game,”” senior forward Hillary Hansen said. “”We wanted to be the ones to come out, score first and establish ourselves on the scoreboard, and hopefully that would set the tone to be in control the whole game.””
UCSD certainly had control of the first half on both sides of the ball. With senior point guard Kacie Kostlan starting in the game despite a torn ACL injury in a previous game against University of Alaska at Anchorage, the Tritons looked sharp on offense against Chico State’s combination of man-to-man and zone defenses.
Senior guard Leora Juster and sophomore forward Michelle Osier were successful driving to the basket against the Wildcats’ man-to-man defense early in the first half.
Although the Triton offense was clicking, the defense was even more impressive, baffling a Chico State team that finished just one game behind them in the California Collegiate Athletic Association regular season standings. The Wildcats shot only 27 percent from the field against UCSD’s 2-3 zone in the first half.
With one minute before the halftime break, Kostlan reinjured her knee, which forced her out of the game and left UCSD without its starting point guard for the rest of the night. While the loss hurt the Tritons, they entered the locker room at halftime with a 36-25 lead.
After looking lifeless in the first half, Chico State’s offense came out strong in the second half. The Wildcats went on a 14-4 run, capped by Melissa Richardson’s three-pointer with 15 minutes, 49 seconds left in the game, to bring the Wildcats within one point at 40-39.
The Tritons switched to a different zone defense, which helped stop the Wildcats’ attack, and also countered back with some adjustments on offense. UCSD answered Chico State’s 14-4 run with an identical run of its own to increase their lead back to 11 points at 54-43.
“”Without Kacie in there running the sets we like, we wanted to spread the offense and make them have to guard us,”” Jones said.
The Tritons succeeded in spreading the ball around and, instead of replacing Kostlan at the point guard position with one player, the Tritons opted to play the position by committee.
“”That’s the greatness of playing motion offense and the girls knowing how to play together,”” Jones said. “”It wasn’t anything that we hadn’t played before in ballgames.””
Osier played at the center position for much of the second half, proving to be effective against Chico State’s post defense.
With three minutes left in the game and UCSD holding on to a 66-59 lead, Chico State junior Amanda Monteith’s offensive foul turned the ball over to the Tritons. The foul call prompted protests from the Wildcat bench, leading to a technical foul.
With the momentum in UCSD’s favor, the Tritons reeled off seven straight points, shattering Chico State’s hopes and ultimately winning the game.
After Juster turned in two very different performances in UCSD’s first two games, the star guard returned to form with a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists. Juster also added seven rebounds and only turned the ball over to the Wildcats twice, despite a defense that was obviously focused on stopping her. While Juster shined in her perimeter play, free-throw shooting of 9-for-10 and 10 passes that led to points, Osier led the Tritons in the paint with 22 points and also grabbed 18 boards, five of which came on the offensive end. Hansen netted 15 points while Noud scored 19 points off UCSD’s deep bench.
Juster was named most valuable player of the tournament and also made the All-Tournament team along with three fellow Tritons. For Juster and the three other seniors on the team, winning the game not only gives their team a shot at the national championship, it prolongs their college basketball careers for at least one more game.
“”When you win a game and you have that time to feel like its still going, I think that’s probably the best feeling,”” Juster said.
Next up for UCSD is Glenville State College, which went 33-2 on the year. After holding the No. 1 seed in the regional tournament, UCSD will enter this game with lower pressure and expectations.
“”I think going into the tournament we’re going to be the underdogs – we’re going to be loose,”” Jones said. “”The pressure is going to be on Glenville, not on us.””
Even though the Tritons will be underdogs in their upcoming game, they still have hopes that their season will last a few more games. With none of last season’s Elite Eight teams still standing this year, a national championship is well within reach for any of the remaining teams.
“”Our mentality is that we’re going all the way,”” Osier said.
