ANAHEIM, Calif. ? The 10th-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team captured the Inaugural Disney West Coast Tip Off Class title with a 55-45 victory over Western Washington on Sunday afternoon at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Tritons win the tournament with their 3-0 record over the weekend, winning all three games by double-digits, while Western Washington finishes in a tie for third with their 1-2 mark.
Despite not having any player score in double digits in the contest, the Tritons had five players with eight points or more, led by Alexis Mezzetta, Alexis Gaskin and Meaghan Noud who scored nine points apiece. Erin Noonan and Kaycie Bull each added eight points while Michelle Osier chipped in with five points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Western Washington's Amanda Dunbar netted a team-high 12 points while Krystal Robinson added nine. Claire Pallansch scored seven and pulled down 10 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive end.
Niether team shot well from the floor on the day, as WWU made 32.7% of its shots while the Tritons made only 31.6% of their shots from the field. One big difference came at the charity stripe where UCSD made 14 foul shots, seven more than the Vikings attempted in the contest.
“I am very proud of our student-athletes,” said first year head coach Charity Elliott. “To win three games in three days is always challenging, but to overcome a poor shooting performance while also being out-rebounded, I couldn't be happier that we found a way to win today.”
Both Noud and Osier were selected to the All-Tournament squad, joining Pallansch and Dunbar of Western Washington and Whitney Hofer of Augustana College. Amy Puthoff of Augustana was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Coach Elliott's squad will return to action on November 23rd and 24th at the Grand Canyon Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. The Tritons will play Western New Mexico and Fort Lewis in the two day tournament that will be played on the Grand Canyon University campus.
