LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 23rd-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team concluded the 2005-06 regular season by winning its eighth straight game, defeating Sonoma State by a 69-54 score on Saturday night in RIMAC Arena. With the win the Tritons improve to 23-4 on the year and finish alone in second place in the CCAA with their 17-3 mark. Sonoma State falls to 10-17 overall and 7-13 in league action.
Leora Juster led the way for the Tritons, scoring 32 points and becoming the all-time leading scorer in UCSD women's basketball history. Her 30th point on the night surpassed Ali Ginn's 4-year mark of 1,308 points. Juster currently has 1,311 points heading into this year's postseason and her senior season next year.
The 32 points for Juster was the fourth time this season that the guard from Los Angeles surpassed 30 points in a game.
UCSD freshman Michelle Osier added 10 points and eight rebounds while junior Hillary Hansen chipped in with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Jessica Jennings led the Seawolves, scoring 20 points while pulling down a team-high nine boards in the loss. Janelle Lombardi and Chelsey Armacost scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, on the night.
The Tritons finish one game behind CCAA Champion Chico State, who finishes the year with an 18-2 conference record.. The 16th-ranked Wildcats defeated Cal State L.A. by a 91-49 margin on Saturday evening in Chico. 14th-ranked Cal State Bakersfield finishes in third place with their 16-4 league mark after a 96-77 win over Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday.
Head coach Janelle Jones' squad will hear word of its postseason fate on Sunday when the NCAA Division II Selection Committee announces the 64-team bracket at 7 p.m. tomorrow evening. UCSD is expected to be one of the top-4 seeds in the West Region, making only their second appearance in the D-II tournament since making the jump up a division prior to the 2000-01 season.
The 2003-04 team, who finished the year 17-15 and was the No. 8 seed in the West, lost in the first round to Seattle Pacific in the program's only other postseason appearance.
