LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 21st-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team led by as many as 29 points in the second half and held on for a convincing 80-62 victory over Cal State L.A. on Spirit Night Friday evening in front of 1,197 fans in RIMAC Arena. With the win the Tritons have captured 11-straight and improve to 15-2 overall and 10-1 in CCAA play while dropping the Golden Eagles to 13-5 overall and 7-4 in league play.
Junior Leora Juster scored 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the floor and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe to lead all scorers. She also grabbed three rebounds and had four steals. It was the third time this season that Juster scored more than 30 points, making her the only player in UCSD women's basketball history to accomplish that feat.
Sophomore Briana Hinga had a huge game for the Tritons despite scoring only four points, as the center grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists to go along with four steals and five blocked shots. Junior Kim Buffum hit four 3-pointers off the bench and ended the game with 16 points.
The Tritons led by 21 at the intermission and went on an 8-0 run to start the second half for its largest lead of the game at 51-22 with 18:17 to play. CSULA began chipping away at the lead, eventually whittling it down to nine points at 65-56 on a 3-pointer from Amber Fouse with 6:22 to go. Buffum immediately responded with a clutch basket from beyond the arc and UCSD never led by less than 12 the rest of the way.
Fouse led the Golden Eagles with 22 points on 6-for-9 shooting from long range. Tiffaney Maddox had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the only double-double of the contest.
The win avenges the only conference loss this season for the Tritons as CSULA won on its home court by an 80-70 margin on December 3. The game was also big from a regional standpoint as the Tritons entered the contest with the No. 2 regional ranking while the Golden Eagles were ranked No. 5.
UCSD returns to action tomorrow evening, hosting No. 13 Cal State Bakersfield at 5:30 p.m. The Roadrunners are the top-ranked team in the West Region and tied atop the CCAA standings with the Tritons. They are currently riding a 15-game win streak dating back to December 2 when their only loss of the season came in a 101-91 overtime loss to UCSD in Bakersfield.
