LA JOLLA, Calif. - Chelsea Carlisle and
Tiffany Hunter combined to score 33 points, guiding the 14th-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team to an 86-51 thrashing of visiting Humboldt State in the final game of the regular season on Friday night at RIMAC Arena. The Tritons outscored the Lumberjacks 25-8 over the final eight and a half minutes of the first half to put the game away and split the season series with HSU.
UCSD shook off a sluggish start to shoot 47% for the game and dazzle the senior night crowd of 374. The Lumberjacks were one of three teams to defeat the Tritons in conference play this season, but head coach Charity Elliott's squad had all the answers in the rematch, turning away HSU by 35.
The Tritons wrapped the regular season with an impressive 24-3 overall record and closed the book on a second straight California Collegiate Athletic Association Championship with 19-3 mark in conference play. UCSD also extended its unbeaten streak at home, winning its 15th consecutive game at RIMAC Arena in 2009-10.
The Tritons, who clinched the conference's top seed after defeating Sonoma State on Wednesday, will host eighth-seeded Cal State Dominguez Hills on Tuesday night in the CCAA Tournament First Round.
The Lumberjacks fall to 16-10 overall and 14-8 in conference with the loss, losing their last four games of the regular season. HSU earned the No. 4 seed by virtue of a tiebreaker with Cal State Monterey Bay and will open the conference tourney against the Otters on Tuesday in Arcata.
The CCAA Tournament Semifinals and Championship will be held at Humboldt State's Lumberjack Arena March 5-6.
Carlisle led all scorers with 20 points, connecting on 7-of-12 shots from the field, while Hunter converted 5-of-7 attempts and finished with 13. Carlisle dished out a game-high seven assists and hauled in three rebounds and Hunter tallied seven boards.
The Lumberjacks came out in a full court press and had the Tritons on their heels early. Back-to-back layups by Andrea Bobic and Brittney Taylor gave Humboldt a 15-10 lead with 10:45 remaining in the first half.
But UCSD found its rhythm, as Carlisle put in the Tritons' next nine points and Annette Ilg scored off a turnover to give the home team a 21-17 advantage.
It was all UCSD after that, as the Tritons dropped four threes over the final 5:18 to close the period on a 17-2 run. Daisy Feder hit two triples during the stretch, with the second coming with eight seconds left to give the Tritons a commanding 42-25 lead at the break.
The UCSD defense held Humboldt to just four points during a decisive six-minute period in the half, as the Tritons turned a two-point deficit into a 10-point advantage.
UCSD opened the second half on a 21-9 run to push the margin to 29 at 63-34 and led by as many as 37 (84-47) with less than three minutes remaining.
The Tritons held a commanding 48-27 advantage on the glass and outscored the Lumberjacks 59-31 off the bench. UCSD tallied 17 assists on 30 field goals for the game.
Humboldt State shot just 31% overall, including 26% in the second half. Taylor scored 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting off the bench to pace the Lumberjacks, but no other player finished with more than eight.
Tipoff for Tuesday's matchup with Cal State Dominguez Hills is set for 7:00 p.m. at RIMAC Arena.
