LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 23rd-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team got back on track with a convincing 78-54 victory over Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday night in RIMAC Arena. With the win the Tritons improve to 11-3 overall and 7-2 in CCAA play while dropping the Broncos to 4-10 overall and 3-5 in league action.
Seniors Leora Juster and Hillary Hansen led the way for the Tritons, scoring 31 and 20 points, respectively. Juster, who was coming off her lowest scoring output in over two years last evening, surpassed the 30-point barrier for the fifth time this season while also grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out four assists. Hansen also pulled down nine rebounds while junior Kacie Kostlan handed out a career-high nine assists in the win.
Ashley Moody had 14 points to lead the Broncos while Porsche Kirksey added 10. Vanessa Dominguez and Ally Msith each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for Cal Poly Pomona in the loss.
UCSD shot 48.3% from the floor on the night while limiting CPP to a mere 28.6%. The Broncos only made 18 of 63 shots on the night, leading to 30 defensive rebounds for the Tritons who held a 45-37 advantage in overall rebounds.
Kostlan's nine assists matched Cal Poly Pomona's team output in that same category. The Tritons had 20 total assists in the game but did commit 20 turnovers while forcing 21 Bronco miscues.
The Tritons never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 30 points in the contest. The game was tied twice as 2-2 and 4-4 before UCSD 15-0 lead to take a 19-4 that would not be relinquished. The Broncos could get no closer than 10 points the remainder of the game.
Head coach Janell Jones' team returns to the road over the next two weekends, playing four games in Northern California before returning home for seven of their final nine games in RIMAC Arena to finish the season. The Tritons travel to play at San Francisco State on Friday night and to CSU Monterey Bay on Saturday evening. Both contests are slated for 5:30 p.m. tip-offs.
