CHICO, Calif. - The UC San Diego women's basketball team recorded its biggest win of the season on Friday, defeating 20th-ranked Chico State, 73-53, in a key early season California Collegiate Athletic Association matchup at Acker Gymnasium.

Chelsea Carlisle scored a game-high 26 points and Daisy Feder finished with 17 to lead UCSD to its third straight victory and fifth win in six games. The Tritons became the first team to defeat the Wildcats in conference play this season and dealt Chico State just its second loss overall.

The loss also snapped a 14-game home winning streak for the Wildcats.

UCSD improves to 7-7 overall with the win, reaching the .500 mark for the first time in 2010-11. The Tritons are now 5-2 in the CCAA and moved to within a game of the Wildcats for second place in the league standings. Chico State falls to 9-2 overall and 6-1 in conference.

As she always seems to do, Carlisle rose to the occasion in another big game on Friday, finishing 10-of-21 from the field and 5-of-11 from the three-point line. She also finished with seven rebounds and dished out three assists.

Feder had another strong outing off the bench, finishing 5-of-10 from the floor, including 4-of-9 from behind the arc. Carlisle and Feder combined to hit nine of UCSD's 10 threes in the game.

Emily Osga finished with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals for the Tritons, while Lauren Freidenberg hauled in a game-high nine boards to go with four points.

UCSD shot 47% from the field and 42% from the three-point line. The Tritons had another good effort defensively as well, holding the Wildcats to just 53 points on 35% shooting. After surrendering 92 points in the double overtime loss to Humboldt State on December 19, UCSD has allowed an average of just over 50 in the three games since.

"We played some of the best team defense we have played all year," head coach Charity Elliott said. "I thought we really took them out of what they were trying to do and we got some outstanding efforts from a number of individuals."

Courtney Harrison scored 13 points to lead Chico State, while Molly Collins finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Natasha Smith, the team's leading scorer at 14.6 points per game, was not in the lineup on Friday.

The Tritons led by as many as 13 points in the first half and took a 38-25 lead into the locker room after shooting 48% in the opening period. Chico led 8-4 after the game's first four minutes, but it was all UCSD after that, as the Tritons responded with a 24-8 run over the next 10 minutes to take a 28-16 advantage with 5:41 left in the half.

Feder hit a pair of free throws to give UCSD a 33-20 lead two minutes later and Carlisle's second three of the half gave the Tritons' the same 13-point cushion at the break.

UCSD continued to build on its lead in the second half, outscoring the home team 14-6 over the first seven and a half minutes of the period. Carlisle hit another triple and Feder scored five straight to push the lead to 52-31.

The Tritons would lead by as many as 25 (69-44) in the waning moments, as Osga and Carlisle hit consecutive threes to put the finishing touches on the victory.

UCSD was plus-12 from the three-point line and has now finished with at least 10 threes in four consecutive games.

The Tritons will look to wrap up their three-game road trip on a winning note when they take on Cal State Stanislaus on Saturday evening. Tip-off is scheduled 5:30 p.m. at Ed and Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena in Turlock.