After a three-week break, the women’s basketball team shook
off the rust to cruise to double-digit victories in both of its games over the
Thanksgiving weekend. The Tritons earned a 61-42 win against
Classic in
Durango, Col., by a score of 76-64 on Nov. 24 to capture the tournament title.
With these lopsided wins, the Tritons will start the season with a 5-0 record
for the first time in school history.
UCSD’s matchup against Fort Lewis College started out close,
with both teams shooting three-pointers early in the game. With 15:24 left on
the clock and the score tied at eight, the Tritons went to their low-post game
as senior center Alexis Gaskin scored two of her career-high 26 points to give
the Tritons a lead that they maintained for the rest of the contest.
The game remained close for the rest of the half, but the
Tritons kept their lead by feeding the ball to Gaskin in the low post. Senior
forward Meghan Noud added three three-pointers for the Tritons, helping them
take a 37-30 lead at halftime.
UCSD started out strong in the second half, outscoring Fort
Lewis 23-13 in the first 10 minutes. The Tritons had continued success against
Fort Lewis College’s zone defense, and UCSD’s 60-43 lead midway through the
second half was enough to earn the win.
First-year head coach Charity Elliot is already seeing
promising results from her squad, and said she was pleased with the team’s
performance at the Grand Canyon Classic.
“We made some very good team decisions and got the ball
inside to Gaskin, who was posting up,” Elliott said.
In addition to her 26 points to lead the Tritons, Gaskin had
a game-high 13 rebounds with five offensive boards. The Tritons also shot 45
percent from beyond the arc, with Noud and junior forward Michelle Osier
hitting three and two three-pointers, respectively. Noud netted 19 total points
for UCSD and Osier added 12 points.
After nearly three weeks of practice — the Tritons haven’t
played a game since Nov. 4 — UCSD played Western New Mexico on Nov. 23 and
picked up an easy win against the Mustangs.
Although the team ran away with victory, UCSD had an
admittedly lackluster start that allowed Western New Mexico to gain ground.
“We were anxious to play some games, but we started out a
little slow,” senior forward Alexis Mezzetta said. “We picked it up after the
slow start though.”
The Tritons turned it up with 5:25 left in the first half,
going on a 14-6 run to enter halftime with a 10-point lead. Though the Tritons
shot a mediocre 39 percent, Osier held up her squad by netting 13 points in the
first half.
UCSD’s shooting struggles continued in the second half, but
its lead continued to expand. The Tritons took 14 three-point shots in the second
half, getting many of their points from their six converted long-balls. In the
end, the Tritons took the win despite shooting under 39 percent from the field.
Osier led the team with 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Noud added 12 points
and senior guard Kaycie Bull added 10 points.
According to Gaskin, the Tritons’ perseverance outweighed
their low field-goal percentage and allowed them to run away with the win.
“There were times that we were not as strong as a team, but
we kept fighting and never gave up,” Gaskin said. “We played really well
together.”
This weekend, the Tritons will play their first home games
as well as their first conference games, facing off against Cal State
Stanislaus on Nov. 30 and No. 15 Chico State on Dec. 1. The Tritons last faced
Chico State in the Division II West Regional Championship game last season in
which the Tritons defeated the Wildcats to advance to the Elite Eight. The
Tritons are hoping that they can repeat this success.
“We’re finally playing at home which is a big thing,”
Elliott said. “When we play conference games, the intensity drastically goes
up. Everyone’s excited about being at home.
was picked to finish second in the conference and we were picked to finish
third, so it should be tough.”
