WOMEN’S BASKETBALL — The UCSD women suffered their first loss of the season on Jan. 21, falling 84-80 to Humboldt State. However, the Tritons bounced back well from the loss, pulling away in the second half of Saturday night’s game to defeat Sonoma State 68-52.
On Thursday, Humboldt powered past the Tritons, riding on outstanding performances from center Brittney Taylor and guard Andrea Bobic, who together scored 53 of the Lumberjacks’ total 80 points. Taylor had a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Bobic added 25 points on nine-of-15 shooting — including seven-of-13 from beyond the arc.
The Tritons took a 37-35 lead into halftime, but the Lumberjacks caught fire from field in the second half, converting over 50 percent of their shots. Though the team trailed by as many as nine points in the second half, a basket by sophomore guard Chelsea Carlisle tied the game with 3:09 remaining. Humboldt responded with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to seal its victory.
California Collegiate Athletics Association leading scorer Carlisle weighted the Triton score with 22 points, while senior guard Annette Ilg scored 19 points and junior forward Tiffany Hunter added 14 points and three steals.
The final score was the second highest point total in any game so far this season, and it was in those last moments — when the game turned into a shootout — that the Tritons could not keep up with the Lumberjacks.
“We have worked so hard to maintain a perfect record, and to have it thrown away from one bad game made us all really upset,” said Hunter. “It showed us that when we don’t play our defensive game, then we aren’t as good.”
The Tritons’ first loss of the season put them at 14-1 overall and 9-1 in conference play. Humboldt moved to 11-4 overall and 9-2 in the CCAA.
The Tritons bounced back in a big way against Sonoma State on Saturday, winning the game by a landslide after outscoring the Seawolves 34-21 in the second half. Sonoma scored the opening bucket, but senior forward Erin Noonan quickly responded with one of her own, and the Tritons never looked back.
The team was led once again by Carlisle, who totaled 21 points on six-for-nine shooting. Noonan and junior forward Tiffany Hunter each added 10 points for UCSD, while Ilg contributed nine points and a game-high eight rebounds.
UCSD led by as many as 12 points in the first half, but a Sonoma rally in the final two minutes cut the lead to three, and the Tritons went into the break with a lean 34-31 lead.
Seawolf Stephanie Barnes hit a three-pointer 34 seconds into the second half, which tied the game — but the Tritons responded with a 12-0 run over the next five minutes, putting the game just out of their opponents’ reach. Ilg knocked down a three-pointer with 14:11 remaining, putting the Tritons up by 12; UCSD led by double digits for the remainder of the game.
The Tritons limited Sonoma to only 21 second-half points and 28-percent shooting from the floor.
Our defense is what won the game for us,” Hunter said. “We came out in the second half with a mission to get a defensive stop every play. We pressured the ball, rebounded and tried to get a steal or stop on every possession.”
The win put the Tritons at 15-1 overall and 10-1 in the CCAA.
Sonoma was led by senior guard Jennifer Russo — the only Seawolf to hit double figures — with 10 points. UCSD snapped Sonoma’s three-game win streak, and the team fell to 8-9 overall and 6-6 in the conference.
UCSD will play its next four games at home, starting with Cal Poly Pomona on Thursday. The game will be at RIMAC Arena and is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Readers can contact Liam Rose at [email protected].
