WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ‘mdash; En route to making history, the 21st ranked women’s basketball team kept its winning streak intact over the weekend, claiming victories over Cal State Stanislaus on Jan. 23 and Chico State on Jan. 24. With the dual wins, head coach Charity Elliott’s squad boosts its overall record to 17-2 while remaining atop the California Collegiate Athletic Association with an undefeated 10-0 mark.’
Against Chico State, the Tritons put together an early lead with a 10-0 run five minutes into the period. A layup by junior guard Leilani Martin followed by steals from junior forward Erin Noonan and junior guard Annette Ilg garnered some rhythm for the Tritons.
However, the Wildcats promptly answered with six points, cutting the lead to four. With 2:30 remaining in the first, Chico State tied the game at 19. But, a foul by junior forward Christine Vest allowed freshman guard Chelsea Carlisle to convert on her free throws, putting UCSD up by two. Despite a limited Triton offense shooting at just 28 percent, UCSD was able to eek out a delicate 24-19 lead ent
ering halftime.
Like previous games this season, UCSD heightened its offensive power immediately in the second half, going on a 14-6 run to secure a lead of 38-25. With just over three minutes to play, the Wildcats wobbled and the Tritons put the game away at 62-38. The Wildcats’ 38 points were the fewest scored by any Triton opponent this season.
‘Our offense was terrible the first half, so we really cranked it up on the offensive end,’ Martin said. ‘If our shots weren’t falling, we were at least getting rebounds and put backs in. We ran the floor a lot more than in the first half and that created more open and easier shots.’
Senior center Alexis Gaskin scored 14 of her points in the critical second half, ultimately leading the Triton scorers with 21 points, finishing just shy of her season-high 22. Carlisle reached double digits for a fourth straight game, tallying 14 points, three assists’ and three steals, while Ilg and Martin added eight points apiece.
‘We kept things very simple,’ Elliott said. ‘We talked about how we need to make free throws and make layups ‘mdash; and we do that everyday. Those were the two things we talked about because had we made our free throws in the first half, it would have been much different going into halftime. I think we just had a lot of nerves. This was a big rivalry game for us and our nerves got us a little over overanxious. Once we settled down, it was very simple for us ‘mdash; make our free throws, make our layups.’
Friday’s game against Cal State Stanislaus was another example of Elliott’s seemingly simple strategy. UCSD finished 12 of 29 from the field and forced the Warriors into 10 first half turnovers, which the Tritons capitalized on for 11 points. UCSD also had success going to the line, shooting 12 more free throws than Stanislaus. Leading by a three point margin at 20-17 with eight minutes to play, the Tritons then went on a 19-10 run to outscore the Warriors 39-27. Senior forward Michelle Osier had an explosive start, delivering 20 of her game-high 26 points in the first half.
Meanwhile, it took a little longer for Gaskin to jumpstart her game as the Warriors’ defense buckled down on center to keep her scoreless during the first. That changed immediately, however, at the onset of the second half when she converted one jumper and two layups into six points for the Tritons.
‘Alexis Gaskin did a great job of recognizing when they were double and triple teaming her and finding open shooters,’ Elliott said. ‘In the second half, I thought that they weren’t able to double down quite as much because we had hit some shots from the perimeter.”
Up 52-36 and 13 minutes into the second half, the game quickly trickled out of the Warriors’ reach as UCSD punched in points from seven different players.
‘ ‘We had different people step up tonight,’ Elliott said. ‘[Junior forward] Kristen Cabral missed some easy shots, but her energy and her intensity gave us some very good minutes. [Carlisle] hit some big threes when they were trying to double down on our posts.’
On fire from behind the three-point line, Carlisle shot 4 of 5, contributing a total 12 points. Similarly, Osier, a First Team All-CCAA selection, finished 7 of 14 from the field and 12 of 16 at the free-throw line. Gaskin dished out 10 points and five rebounds while Noonan pitched in eight points, eight rebounds and a game-high six assists. As with the majority of their games this season, the Tritons locked in their victory by a margin of 10 points or more, defeating the Warriors 73-62.
‘In the flow of the game, I try to do what I can to help the team out,’ Carlisle said. ‘[Friday night] it was the threes and the other night it was getting to the basket. We definitely have a talented team. Any night, anyone can come out and have an amazing game ‘mdash; everyone can score, so that’s a huge thing because with other teams, it’s just a few players but for us it’s everyone.”
Not surprisingly, the Tritons possess the second best offense among CCAA schools, averaging 68.6 points a game while holding opponents to under 60 points a night.
‘I’m very much a defense-minded coach,’ Elliott said. ‘We try and disrupt our opponents ‘mdash; to get out and deny passes and pressure the basketball. We hope that our defense creates offense for us by getting steals, getting deflections, making tough shots and getting rebounds.’
Making it to the halfway point, UCSD faces 10 more CCAA games in the challenge to make history by remaining undefeated.
‘We all felt that collectively, we had the ability and the talent to do this and to be where we are right now,’ Elliott said. ‘Without the phenomenal leadership that we’ve been having by our captains, I don’t think we’d be where we are. Our leaders have done a phenomenal job of getting us ready to play every night, and that’s the tough thing about when you’re in conference play; you have to be ready every night. Our leaders have done a great job of making that happen.’
Next week, UCSD will face Sonoma State on Jan. 30 and Humboldt State on Jan. 31; it hopes to stay undefeated.
‘Winning is definitely addictive,’ Martin said. ‘We’re such a competitive team within each other. We’re all going for the same goal and we all understand that, so that’s what we are working towards.’
Readers can contact Brianna Lee at [email protected].