HAYWARD, Calif. - Chelsea Carlisle scored a game-high 27 points and
Emily Osga finished with 22 to lead the 13th-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team past Western Washington, 79-60, on the final day of the CCAA/GNAC Shootout Saturday at Cal State East Bay's Pioneer Gymnasium.
After shooting just under 44% from the field in a 68-47 win over Seattle Pacific on Friday, UCSD (2-0) finished at a 51% clip on Saturday, converting 31-of-61 attempts from the field to easily turn back WWU (1-1). The Tritons led by as many as 19 points, rolling to their second consecutive victory to open the season.
"It was a game of runs, but I loved our intensity throughout the game," head coach Charity Elliott said. "I thought Emily really played phenomenal full court defense for us and we were very effective offensively in transition. That's a good Western Washington squad, but they had no answer for Chelsea or Emily today."
Carlisle shot 11-of-18 from the floor to lead four players in double figures for UCSD, scoring 16 of her 27 points in the second half as the Tritons put the game away. The two-time All-American also finished with five assists and five steals, both game-highs. Carlisle, who averaged 22.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals in UCSD's two games, was named the Most Valuable Player of the CCAA/GNAC Shootout.
Osga converted 9-of-12 shots from the field to bounce back from a 1-for-6 effort against SPU. The junior guard also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and tallied four steals, earning a spot on the all-tournament team for her performance.
Senior center Lauren Freidenberg finished with 10 points and four boards for the Tritons, while senior guard Daisy Feder also scored 10.
Katie Colard tallied 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting off the bench for the Vikings, who defeated San Francisco State 64-50 to open the tournament on Friday. Corinn Waltrip finished nine points and five assists, while Kayla Bernsen also tallied nine points as a reserve.
UCSD's starting five outscored WWU's starters 73-24 for the game.
Western Washington was in control early on, taking a 16-11 lead on a three-pointer by Colard with 13 minutes remaining in the first half. The Vikings extended their lead to nine at 22-13 following a triple by Waltrip three minutes later.
Trailing 25-18 with 7:38 left in the period, UCSD scored 13 unanswered points to take a 31-25 advantage with just over four minutes remaining. Megan Perry scored back-to-back baskets to ignite the run and Feder put in five of her points during the stretch.
Carlisle hit a jumper and Osga drained a three as time expired to give the Tritons a 40-29 cushion at the half.
Freidenberg scored consecutive buckets to open the second period as UCSD's lead grew to 15 and Perry's layup made it 54-36 with 12:50 left to play.
WWU closed to within 10 at 56-46 following eight straight points from Colard, but Erin Dautremont answered with jumper and Carlisle scored inside to push the lead back to 14 with a little more than eight minutes remaining.
The Tritons' lead would not dip below 12 the rest of the way and a pair of free throws from Osga gave UCSD its biggest margin of the game at the final horn.
UCSD held a slim 36-30 rebounding advantage, but finished with a decisive 15-2 edge in second chance points. The Tritons forced the Vikings into a total of 23 turnovers, leading to 24 points on the other end.
Western Washington shot 41.5% from the field, hitting 22-of-53 shots.
The Tritons will now travel to Hawaii for the Hawaii Hilo Vulcan Classic next weekend. UCSD will take on Hawaii Pacific on Friday, before squaring off with host UHH on Saturday. Both games are slated to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. PST.
2011 CCAA/GNAC Shootout All-Tournament Team
Chelsea Carlisle, UC San Diego
Emily Osga, UC San Diego
Katie Benson, Seattle Pacific
Rachel Murray, Seattle Pacific
Corinn Waltrip, Western Washington
Most Valuable Player: Chelsea Carlisle, UC San Diego
