TURLOCK, Calif. ? Chelsea Carlisle scored 20 points,
Alexis Gaskin finished with 15, and
Annette Ilg added 13 to lead No. 9 UC San Diego past Cal State Stanislaus in the regular season finale for both teams Friday night at Warrior Arena. The Tritons shot 50% from the field and hit 6-of-10 from the three-point line to sweep the season series from the Warriors.
With the victory, UCSD concludes a stellar regular season with an overall record of 26-3 and put the finishing touches on a 19-1 conference campaign, the program's best mark since UC San Diego joined the California Collegiate Athletic Association nine years ago. The top-seeded Tritons will host No. 8 seed Cal State San Bernardino (10-16, 8-12) in the first round of the CCAA Championship Tournament Tuesday night at RIMAC Arena.
The Coyotes were the only team to defeat UCSD in conference play this season, shocking the Tritons on their home floor on February 14.
Cal State Stanislaus falls to 13-14 overall and 8-12 in the CCAA with the loss, but clinched the seventh seed in next week's conference tournament.
“We got a great team effort out there tonight,” head coach
Charity Elliott said. “We maintained our focus and did what we needed to do. Now we have a new season ahead of us and we're looking forward to the next step.”
Carlisle, who entered Friday's game shooting over 40% from the field, turned in a brilliant performance, hitting 8-of-10 shots, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc, to lead the way for UCSD. The freshman guard also finished with four rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
Gaskin connected on 5-of-8 shots and hit all five of her free throws to reach double figures for the eighth time in the last nine games. Ilg also finished 5-of-8 from the floor, including a perfect 3-of-3 from distance to help the Tritons notch their 19th victory in the last 20 games.
UCSD took a 20-8 advantage at the 13:13 mark of the first half after six straight points from Carlisle, but Lysandra Williams hit back-to-back threes and Katie Busi knocked down a jumper to trim the deficit to just four with 11:12 remaining.
Gaskin and Ilg combined to score nine points during a 10-2 Triton run over the next two and a half minutes to push the lead back to 12 at 30-18. Stanislaus climbed back to within five on Antwinette Turner's jumper with 3:05 left in the half, but
Michelle Osier sank two free throws and Carlisle scored on consecutive possessions to give UCSD a 40-27 lead at the break.
The Tritons outscored the Warriors 30-11 over the first 10 minutes of the second half to take a commanding 70-38 advantage and Stanislaus never got closer than 19 the rest of the way.
UCSD hit 26-of-52 shots for the game, while holding Stanislaus to just under 42%, 23-of-55. The Tritons outrebounded the Warriors 37-24 and held a 34-20 advantage in points off turnovers.
Williams scored led all scorers with 23 points on 10-of-19 shooting to pace the Warriors, while Busi and Turner finished with nine points apiece.
Tickets for Tuesday's game are $10 for general admission seating and $5 for students with a valid ID, seniors, and children.
