LAS VEGAS, Nev. ? The 3rd-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, dropping a 65-57 decision to Central Washington University on Tuesday afternoon during day one of the Western Washington University Great Western Shootout that is being played at the Centennial Hills Center in Las Vegas, Nev. With the loss the Tritons fall to 8-1 on the year while the Wildcats remain unbeaten and push their 2007-08 mark up to a perfect 7-0.
Trailing by double-digits for most of the second half, first year head coach Charity Elliott's squad narrowed Central Washington's lead down to a mere three points with 5:03 to play. The Wildcats, however, would use a 10-1 run to regain control and go on to out-score the Tritons by a 17-12 margin over the final five minutes en route to the 8-point margin of victory.
The difference in the contest came from behind the 3-point arc where the Tritons struggled, only managing a 1-for-8 performance, while the Wildcats thrived, going 9-for-19, which provided a 27-3 point differential from long range. The .111 shooting percentage from behind the arc was not only a season-low for UCSD, but well below the team's .369 mark from distance coming into the contest.
Alexis Gaskin led the Tritons' offense for the second consecutive game, scoring 21 points to go along with five rebounds. Meaghan Noud added 15 points, that included a 6-for-6 day at the charity stripe, while Michelle Osier had an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double in the loss.
Brooke Fernandez led four CWU players in double figure scoring with her 13 points. Hanna Hull chipped in with 12 while Kristina Klapperich and Ashley Fenimore added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Shaina Afoa, the only Wildcat starter not to score in double digits, grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds in the victory.
UCSD forced 22 Central Washington turnovers but failed to turn the majority of those errors into points on the other end, making only 23 of 64 shots from the floor on the day. The 64 shots were 18 more than the Wildcats, who grabbed 30 defensive rebounds in the upset victory.
The Tritons will continue play in the tournament tomorrow afternoon, facing the host, Western Washington, at 1 p.m. UCSD and WWU have already met once this season, a 55-45 Triton victory back on November 4th in the championship game of the Disney Division II West Coast Tip Off Classic.
