LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The UCSD women's basketball team held on Friday for a narrow 64-58 victory against visiting San Francisco State in front of a raucous Spirit Night crowd of 1,220.
Senior Meaghan Noud of Auburn, Calif., led the Tritons (14-5, 6-3 CCAA) with 14 points and also pulled down six rebounds as well. Noud ran into foul trouble in the second half but managed to stay in the game and hit two clutch free throws with 33 seconds left in the contest.
The referees called 37 fouls between the two teams and UCSD center Diahnn Futalan picked up two early, forcing head coach Charity Elliott to go to the bench quickly. Senior Alexis Gaskin replaced Futalan less than three minutes and performed admirably in the reserve role--recording a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.
The Tritons overcame a solid defensive performance from the visiting Gators (8-9, 5-5), an effort led by energetic guard Desiree Butler. Butler paced San Francisco State with 14 points and added seven rebounds in the 34 minutes she played.
During the opening 15 minutes of the first half, UCSD and the Gators exchanged the lead multiple times. The Tritons found their groove soon enough and went on a 13-2 run to close out the opening half. The stretch spanned the final four minutes and included three layups from freshman forward Neyra Valenzuela of Los Angeles, Calif., her only points in the game, pushing UCSD to a 30-21 lead at halftime.
The Gators came out firing after the break, going on their own 8-4 run to start the second half. After the two teams combined to go 1-17 from three-point range in the first half, they went 7-16 beyond the arc during the final 20 minutes. The offensive fireworks translated to a faster style of play half with Noud collecting up nine of her 14 points in the second half, helping keep the Tritons in control of the tempo.
Despite the intensity of the Gator pressure, UCSD maintained the lead throughout the second half. San Francisco State cut the advantage to three points with 38 seconds left but the Tritons hit five of six free throws in the final minute to hold on for the victory.
Junior forward Michelle Osier registered 11 points and seven rebounds for UCSD. Elliott decided to stick with Osier, Noud, Gaskin, sophomore Erin Noonan and senior guard Alexis Mezzetta for much of the game's stretch run, as all five played 30 minutes or more and scored 54 of the team's 64 points.
The Tritons finish up their four-game homestand tomorrow night against Cal State Monterey Bay. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. Next weekend UCSD will challenge No. 12 Chico State and Cal State Stanislaus on the road.
