LOS ANGELES - Chelsea Carlisle and
Tiffany Hunter scored 15 points apiece to lead the 14th-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team to a 65-61 victory over Cal State L.A. in a California Collegiate Athletic Association matchup Saturday afternoon at the Eagles Nest. Carlisle sank a three-pointer with 1:08 remaining to break a 59-59 tie and give the Tritons the lead for good in the four-point victory.
UCSD improves to 9-0 overall with the win, breaking the school record for consecutive victories to start a season. The old mark was held by the 2007-08 squad, which won its first eight games in
Charity Elliott's first season as head coach. The Tritons are now 4-0 in conference play, having won 27 of their last 28 games against CCAA opponents.
Cal State L.A. falls to 2-7 overall and 0-4 in league games with the loss.
UCSD trailed 55-51 with 6:05 left to play before Hunter hit a jumper,
Kristen Cabral converted 1-of-2 free throws, and
Annette Ilg knocked down a triple to give the Tritons a 57-55 advantage with a little more than four minutes remaining.
After CSULA's Jordan Kuzma tied the game at 59 with a hoop with 2:12 on the clock, Carlisle drilled her second three of the game to put UCSD in front by three with just over a minute left.
Erin Noonan proceeded to make two free throws following a Golden Eagle offensive foul to push the lead to 64-59 with 29 seconds left and the Tritons held on for their ninth consecutive victory.
UCSD shot just 38% (23-60) for the game, while CSULA finished at 51% (29-57), but the Tritons were plus-11 at the free throw line. UCSD was 12-of-19 at the stripe, while the Golden Eagles were just 1-of-4.
Carlisle was 6-for-15 from the floor, including 2-of-6 from downtown, and finished with game-highs of five assists and four steals. Hunter finished 5-of-11 from the field and led the Tritons with eight rebounds.
Annette Ilg finished with 10 points and four boards.
Kuzma finished with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for Cal State L.A., leading four players in double figures. Sonia Miller scorer 14 points off the bench, while Jazzi Johnson finished with 12 and Stacie Whitley added 10 points to go with nine boards, three assists, and two steals.
UCSD jumped out to a 10-0 lead with 15:31 remaining in the first half, but CSULA came back to pull within two (22-20) with just five minutes left in the period. The Tritons led 30-23 following a jumper by Noonan, but the Golden Eagles closed the half on a 7-0 run to tie the game at intermission.
UCSD led by as many as seven in the second half, but the home team came back to lead 42-41 with 13:57 remaining.
The Tritons will look to keep rolling when they take on Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sunday afternoon at the Torodome. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
