LA JOLLA, Calif. ? After shooting just 28% in the first half, No. 21 UC San Diego outscored visiting Chico State 38-19 in the second on the way to a convincing 62-38 conference victory Saturday night at RIMAC Arena. Senior center
Alexis Gaskin led the way, recording game-highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Tritons' winning streak reached 10 games.
With the win, UCSD improves to 17-2 and 10-0 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, continuing its recent domination in league play. Head coach
Charity Elliott's squad has won 16 of its last 18 games against fellow CCAA members, dating back to last season. The Tritons are now 9-1 at home this season.
Chico State, which had won four of five coming in, falls to 9-8 overall and 5-5 in the CCAA.
Gaskin scored 14 of her points in the decisive second half to finish one shy of her season-high -- a 22 point effort in UCSD's win over 21st-ranked Drury University on December 20. She hit 8-of-13 shots from the field and finished 5-of-6 from the foul line and the 13 boards was a season-high.
Chelsea Carlisle tallied 14 points, three assists, and three steals off the bench for the Tritons, while
Annette Ilg and
Leilani Martin added eight points apiece.
UCSD jumped out to a 10-0 lead after forcing Chico into five turnovers in the first four minutes of the game, but the Wildcats came all the way back to tie the score at 19-19. The Tritons were held without a field goal for over nine minutes until Carlisle hit a runner in the lane with four seconds left to give UCSD a 24-19 advantage at the break.
The Tritons came out of the locker room firing and opened the period on a 10-2 run to take a 34-21 advantage with 16:23 remaining. Gaskin scored UCSD's first eight points of the half, converting two three-point plays in the first three minutes.
The Wildcats closed to within seven at 39-32 following Jasmin Thomas' layup seven minutes later, but the Tritons outscored the visitors 23-6 over the final 9:35 to put the game away.
UCSD shot 41% (11-27) in the second half and finished just under 34% for the game. Chico State shot 29%, hitting 15-of-51 shots.
The Wildcats' 38 points was the fewest scored by a Triton opponent this season.
Natasha Smith scored 10 points on 4-of-11 shooting to lead the Wildcats.
The Tritons will hit the road again next week when they travel to Sonoma State and Humboldt State on January 30-31. UCSD swept the Seawolves and Lumberjacks in the first week of CCAA play.
