LAS VEGAS, Nev. ? Michelle Osier scored 23 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the 3rd-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team to an 83-64 victory over Western Washington University on day two of the WWU Great Western Shootout at the Centennial Hills Center in Las Vegas. The Tritons, who dropped their first game of the season yesterday, improved to 9-1 on the season while the Vikings fall to 3-7 in 2007-08.
WWU jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and held an 11-10 advantage through the first five minutes of the game until Alexis Gaskin hit a jumper to give the Tritons a 1-point lead at the 14:05 mark that would never be relinquished. UCSD would hold a 41-32 lead at intermission and used a 13-1 run midway through the second half to pull away for its second victory over the Vikings this season.
As a team, the Tritons shot 50.0% from the floor, making 33 of 66 shots, led by Osier's 9-for-15 performance. Gaskin went 7-for-12 en route to her 16 points while Erin Noonan was perfect, going 5-for-5 and scoring 10 points to round out the UCSD players who scored in double figures.
The Vikings also shot the ball well, making 47.8% of their shots, but 27 turnovers led to 20 fewer shots than their opponents on the offensive end. Amanda Dunbar led the WWU offense with her 22 points and eight rebounds. Claire Pallansch also pulled down eight boards while adding 11 points.
The 19-point victory was UCSD's ninth win this season by double-digits. The Tritons' only loss came by a 65-57 margin on Tuesday during the first day of the WWU Great Western Shootout, falling to Central Washington. The Wildcats claimed the tournament title on Wednesday after beating CSU Monterey Bay by a 71-58 margin to improve to a perfect 8-0 on the season.
Hanna Hull of Central Washington was named tourney MVP. She was joined on the team by Dunbar of Western, Osier and Gaskin of UCSD, Jenn Jacobs of Central Washington and Ja'Nae Westmoreland of Cal State Monterey Bay.
UC San Diego first year head coach Charity Elliott and her squad will return home to host the CCAA/GNAC Classic on December 28-29 in RIMAC Arena. The Tritons will play 15th-ranked Seattle Pacific on day one before playing Western Washington for the third time this season on day two. Cal Poly Pomona is the other CCAA team in the tournament and will face WWU on day one and SPU on day two.
