The UCSD women’s basketball team suffered a slow start in a loss to Chico State but came back to convincingly win against Cal State Stanislaus.
The UCSD women’s basketball team was defeated 76–70 on Friday night by Chico State (8–12 overall and 5–11 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association) but got back on track on Saturday in a 72–53 thrashing of Cal State Stanislaus (6–14 overall and 4–12 in the CCAA). The Tritons now hold a 12–9 overall record and are in sole possession of fifth place in the conference with a 10–6 record in the CCAA.
The Tritons went up 4–2 early on against Chico State after junior forward Farrah Shokoor scored two layups in the opening minutes. However, Chico State took over from then on out, answering with a 6–0 run and an 8–0 run. UCSD’s deficit reached 20 points when the Wildcats went up 42–22 on the Tritons with 2:36 left remaining in the first half. The home team would settle for a 17-point advantage after 20 minutes as UCSD trailed 44–27 going into the break.
UCSD came back strong and determined after halftime and cut the deficit to six after an 11–0 run. The Tritons continued to creep back into the game and eventually tied the game up at 55 apiece with only 7:31 left in the game. The score stayed close until the Wildcats blew the game open with two three-pointers to take a defining 69–62 lead that ultimately led to a bitter 76–70 UCSD loss.
UCSD could not stop the Wildcats’ hot shooting from beyond the arc, as Chico State made seven threes at a very high 43.8-percent rate.
“We did not come out with the intensity that we needed to, and Chico [State] is a power team and we didn’t match their intensity,” UCSD head coach Heidi VanDerveer said. “They had high pace, and we went down early and even though we tied it up with eight to go. I think that if we had that intensity from the start in the first half of the game, we would have been much better off.
Shokoor recorded another double-double on the season after clocking in a pair of game-highs with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Senior guard Miranda Seto had 11 points and senior guard Beth Mounier came off the bench for 12 points.
Next on Saturday,UCSD gave no chance to Cal State Stanislaus in a dominant 72–53 win at Ed and Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.
The Tritons struggled early to contain their opponents from deep, as Stanislaus scored four consecutive from downtown to grab a 16–8 lead with 10:37 remaining in the first half. This time, UCSD answered back immediately with a 9–0 run, allowing them to reclaim the lead and eventually take a nine-point, 30–21 advantage into halftime.
“They put in a couple of threes, and we got our share of threes too and we came back,” VanDerveer told the UCSD Guardian. “We had a little foul trouble, but we got out. Everybody in this league really does compete, and we have to make sure that we compete at the highest level.”
UCSD continued to stretch the lead after halftime, as the Warriors could not get within 10 points of the Tritons, who went on to win by 19 points.
The Tritons’ dominance on defense (32.8-percent shooting for the Warriors) and rebounding (43–26 advantage on the boards) played largely into the 72–53 final score. UCSD also shot 90.9 percent from the free-throw line on 33 attempts while the Warriors were at a dismal 45.5 percent on only 11 attempts.
“I think that any time you can come back, especially from a quick turnaround like that (after the defeat to Chico State) — [is] good,” VanDerveer said. “I think we came out, got off in a good start. I put in four guards, and we adjusted.”
Shokoor put in another strong performance against Cal State Stanislaus, scoring 14 points and grabbing 19 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season. Senior forward McKennan Bertsch had 10 points on 5–7 shooting.
The Tritons will continue on the road next week and take on San Francisco State (0–20 and 0–16 in the CCAA) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Sonoma State (6–14 and 4–12 in the CCAA) on Saturday, also at 5:30 p.m. Both games will be crucial for the Tritons in their tightly contested march toward the playoffs.
