WOMEN’S BASKETBALL — UCSD had every right to be confident coming into a Mar. 5 encounter with Humboldt State. The women were seeded No. 1 in the tournament, and had beaten Humboldt mere days before.
However, the vengeful Lumberjacks took their shot at redemption — shooting with the confidence of a conference champion — and upset the Tritons 82-78, knocking them straight out of the CCAA tournament.
Five Lumberjack players scored double figures, and the team hit eight threes in the second half, powering Humboldt to an upset victory.
Senior guard Annette Ilg led the Tritons with 21 points and sophomore guard Chelsea Carlisle added 15 points, but their performances couldn’t offset a night of stellar shooting from the Lumberjacks, who redeemed themselves from a dreadful loss to UCSD only a week before: The Tritons won by 35 points on home court.
The Humboldt players shot over 50 percent from the field, and were 8-of-12 on three-pointers in the second half.
“Any time a team shoots that well from the three-point line, you’re going to have your hands full,” head coach Charity Elliot said.
While Humboldt was on fire from beyond the arc, the Tritons were abysmal, hitting just two of 17 three-point attempts.
Two Triton centers — junior Charity Smith and sophomore Lauren Freidenberg — combined for 18 points in the first half, keeping the team in the game despite a strong start from Humboldt. The Lumberjacks shot over 53 percent from the field in the first half, but thanks to the Triton post players, the teams went into the break with the score tied at 35.
Smith finished with her first career double-double, tallying 13 points and 13 rebounds. Freidenberg posted 11 points and six rebounds.
Humboldt found its range in the second half, hitting multiple three pointers to widen the lead by as many as eight points. Ilg, who scored 17 of her 21 points in the second half and grabbed seven rebounds, kept the Tritons alive, converting a three-point play with 3:15 remaining to give the Tritons a short-lived 70-69 advantage.
However, the lead was erased when the home side went on a quick 6-0 run. A layup by Ilg with 1:07 remaining cut the lead to one, but the Lumberjacks held their nerve at the line in the final minutes to seal the win. The loss dropped UCSD to 25-4 overall.
Senior guard Brittany Taylor and senior center Paige Peterson carried the Lumberjacks with 16 points each, pushing Humboldt to its second straight CCAA title game. Humboldt went on to win the CCAA tournament, pummeling Chico State with a score of 85-55.
This was the third time the Tritons played the Lumberjacks this season; in their first two games the home team emerged victorious. Seeded No. 4 in the CCAA tournament, the Lumberjacks ended the Tritons’ perfect 14-0 start to the season with an 84-80 victory on Jan. 21. However, when the teams met again at UCSD on Feb. 26, the Tritons came out on top with a 86-51 blowout victory.
UCSD is now 3-3 all-time in the CCAA tournament, after being knocked out in the first round last year and losing in the title game to Chico the year before.
The Tritons await the selection committee’s announcement if the NCAA Division-II West Regional field. The team is hoping to receive the No. 1 seed, which would allow UCSD to host the first three rounds of the regional tournament.
Readers can contact Liam Rose at [email protected].
