WOMEN’S BASKETBALL — The season-long trend of UCSD splitting
its weekend home games kept the Tritons in a third-place tie in California
Collegiate Athletics Association standings.

UCSD saw a 10-point lead evaporate in its game against Humboldt
State University
on Feb. 8, which ended in a 76-65 loss. But the Tritons answered back in their
game against Sonoma State
University the next night, vying
with the Seawolves over third place in the conference. The Tritons won the
contest by a score of 72-59.

In the Tritons’ game against Sonoma
State, the two teams played a very
tight first half with the Seawolves holding on to the lead in the early going.
Both teams found success early from beyond the arc, with senior guard Alexis
Mezzetta hitting three three-pointers and Sonoma
State converting on four
three-pointers in the first six minutes of the contest.

Since opening the season 9-0, senior center Alexis Gaskin and the No. 7-ranked Tritons have had difficulty putting together a winning streak, and with six games to go they hope their luck will change. (Erik Jepsen/Guardian File)

The Seawolves held the lead until the Tritons tied the game
at 20 with sophomore forward Erin Noonan’s jumper with eight minutes to go in
the half. The Tritons then took the lead on another jumper from Noonan, and the
teams went back and forth for the rest of the half. After junior forward
Michelle Osier missed two free throws at the end of the half, the Tritons
entered halftime trailing the Seawolves by a score of 28-27.

Sonoma State
started the second-half scoring with another three-point basket to give the
Seawolves a 31-27 lead. The two teams continued to battle each other, with
neither able to gain any separation from the other.

With the score 53-49 in favor of the Tritons, an Osier layup
started a UCSD run to give the Tritons control of the game. Scores from senior
center Alexis Gaskin and senior forward Meaghan Noud helped the Tritons take a
60-53 lead with three minutes left in regulation. The Tritons made their free
throws in the last few minutes of the game to seal the 72-59 win over Sonoma
State.

Three Tritons scored in the double digits, with Mezzetta and
Osier leading the way with 17 points and Gaskin adding 15 points. Osier helped
the Tritons out-rebound the Seawolves by pulling down 15 boards.

“We responded to the loss [against Humboldt
State] just like I hoped we would,”
head coach Charity Elliott said. “We were extremely focused and we played 40
minutes of intense basketball.”

UCSD’s win came after a disappointing night against Humboldt
State in which the Tritons gave up
a 10-point halftime lead to lose the contest in the second half.

The Tritons played a solid first half, taking their first
lead of the game on Noonan’s three-pointer with 11:39 left in the first half to
make the score 16-14. After the Lumberjacks answered back with a three-pointer
of their own, Osier made a layup and sophomore guard Laura Moore scored another
three-pointer for the Tritons to start a UCSD run. The Tritons ended the half
strongly, with key scores from Noud and senior center Diahnn Futalan to give
the Tritons a 34-24 lead at halftime.

Senior guard Marla Mason and the other senior Tritons will be honored at Senior Night on Feb. 16, the Tritons’ final home game. (Will Parson/Guardian File)

The second half proved to be a tough one for the Tritons as
the Lumberjacks began chipping away at UCSD’s lead right away. With the Tritons
struggling, Humboldt State
finally tied the game at 45 with 10:58
left. UCSD’s defense was unable to come up with any stops to answer back to the
Lumberjacks, and offensively, the Tritons had trouble getting their shots down.

With 1:31 left in
the game, Humboldt State
opened up an 11-point lead, eventually handing the Tritons the loss. The
Lumberjacks used a balanced attack — all of their starters finished the game in
double digits — to outscore the Tritons, 52-31, in the second half.

“The things we were doing in the game weren’t really working
and we didn’t change anything,” Mezzetta said.

Elliott cited the Tritons’ defensive struggles as the main
reason for UCSD’s meltdown in the second half.

“Our intensity on defense was much less than it needed to
be,” she said. “We played 30 minutes instead of 40 minutes.”

The Tritons will play their last regular season games at
home on Feb. 15 against Cal State Los Angeles and Feb. 16 against Cal State
Dominguez Hills. The team will celebrate Senior Night in the game against Cal
State Dominguez Hills, as UCSD’s eight seniors play the last home game of their
careers.

“It’s really important that we maintain focus especially on
Senior Night,” Elliott said.

The Tritons will face two teams that they beat earlier in
the season and they will need to repeat those results if they want to earn a
high seed in the CCAA tournament from March 4 through March 8. Both games will
be played at RIMAC Arena at 5:30 p.m.
with a senior ceremony before the contest against Cal State Dominguez Hills.