WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ‘mdash; After running slightly behind Cal Poly Pomona for much of the match, the UCSD women’s basketball team came back to finish the game strong and took a 62-58 win Saturday night to remain at the top of the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
Senior forward Michelle Osier went 12-of-15 from the free-throw line and finished with a game-high 24 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
‘We consider Pomona to be a rivalry game because they’re a very physical and athletic team and they usually give us problems,’ Osier said.
The Broncos (8-7, 4-2 CCAA) weren’t able to shake the Tritons in the first half despite a quick start. After taking an early 9-4 lead 5:44 into the game, UCSD answered with a three-pointer by junior forward Erin Noonan and a layup by senior center Alexis Gaskin. Cal Poly Pomona would continue to hold a slight margin, but the lead never grew to more than five as the Tritons battled to stay in the game and tied the score at 26 going into halftime.
Coming back from the break, the Broncos went on a 19-10 run that left the Tritons down nine with 10 minutes left in play. Led by junior forward Kristen Cabral, UCSD chipped away at the lead over the next five minutes. During the stretch, Cabral scored all nine of her points in the game, including a three-pointer, to tie the score at 46 with 5:08 left on the clock.
A solid effort by senior forward Michelle Osier and a strong performance at the free-throw line iced the game for the Tritons. Noonan finished the match with seven points, seven rebounds and four steals while freshman guard Chelsea Carlisle contributed seven points, five rebounds and three assists.
Friday night, the Tritons took on the then-CCAA first-place team, Cal State San Bernardino (7-5, 5-1 CCAA), and clamped down defensively to take a 62-52 victory. The Coyotes’ senior forward Jaclyn Rainville seemed to get Cal State San Bernardino out to a fast start by hitting a three to open the game, but the Tritons answered with an 8-2 run over the next nine minutes. CSUSB tied the game at 20 with 4:08 remaining in the first period, but four different Tritons stepped up with buckets during a 12-2 run to close the half up by a score of 32-22.
UCSD opened the second half with jumpers by Osier and junior guard Leilani Martin before Cal State San Bernardino scored 12 unanswered points to cut the Triton advantage down to four. Freshman center Lauren Freidenberg ended the UCSD scoring drought with a layup and the Tritons came back to take a 10-point lead with less than nine minutes left in the game. The closest the Coyotes came from that point on was within eight points as UCSD controlled the contest.
Osier finished the match with a game-high 15 points and nine boards, while Gaskin chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Carlisle, Martin and junior guard Annette Ilg all scored nine points apiece.
‘It felt good to get those two wins and earn first place in the CCAA,’ Osier said. ‘But we want to host regionals and so we need to keep winning ‘mdash;that’s keeping us motivated.
The CCAA-leading Tritons (13-2, 6-0 CCAA) travel to Cal State Monterey Bay on Jan. 16 and follow up with a game against San Francisco State on Jan. 17.
Readers can contact Robert Ingle at [email protected].