HILO, Hawaii - The 13th-ranked UC San Diego women's basketball team continued its torrid start to the 2011-12 season on Saturday, defeating host Hawaii Hilo, 68-50, on the final day of the Vulcan Classic at the UHH Gymnasium.
Senior center Lauren Freidenberg scored a game-high 20 points and hauled down seven rebounds for the Tritons, who won the Vulcan Classic crown with their second straight blowout victory. UCSD, which also defeated Hawaii Pacific on Friday, improves to 4-0 on the season, while Hawaii Hilo falls to 0-3.
"Hilo came out and played really hard tonight," head coach Charity Elliott said. "We let up a little bit early on and allowed them to get back in the game, but we played much better in the second half. Our posts really showed up in the second half and that was the difference."
Freidenberg finished 10-of-17 from the field to lead three players in double figures for the Tritons. Erin Dautremont contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, while Chelsea Carlisle scored 10 points to go with three boards and game-highs of six assists and five steals. Emily Osga tallied eight points, eight rebounds and six assists.
Jameia McDuffie scored 12 points and grabbed five boards to pace the Vulcans, while Natalie Mata chipped in with 11 points. No other player finished with more than seven points for the home team.
UCSD shot just 39% (27-70) from the field, but held UHH to 36.5% (19-52) shooting and scored 23 points off 17 Vulcan turnovers. The Tritons also held a commanding 48-31 rebounding advantage and held an 18-6 edge in second chance points.
UCSD was in control from the outset, outscoring UHH 11-0 over the first 3:40 of the game. Freidenberg scored four early points for the Tritons, while Osga drained a long three.
The Vulcans would cut the deficit to just four at 23-19 following a jumper by Mata with five minutes left in the half, but Freidenberg answered with back-to-back hoops to put the Tritons back on top by eight. UCSD held a 31-25 advantage at the break.
The Tritons pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Vulcans 14-4 over the first five minutes to take a commanding 45-29 lead. Freidenberg and Carlisle scored all 14 points for UCSD during the run.
UHH scored five straight to pull within 45-34, but Osga and Megan Perry answered with back-to-back threes and Freidenberg scored consecutive buckets to give UCSD a 21-point cushion with 10:38 left to play. Rachel Marty hit a three-pointer to make it 64-41 in favor of the Tritons and a pair of free throws from Stephanie Yano a minute later gave UCSD its biggest lead of the game.
UCSD's four wins have come by an average of 18.7 points. The Tritons' smallest margin of victory came in the 82-65 triumph over HPU on Friday.
The Tritons will look to keep rolling when they return to La Jolla to host the UCSD Thanksgiving Classic next weekend. UCSD will take on Cal State San Marcos on Friday, before squaring off with Fort Lewis College on Saturday. Both contests will tip-off at approximately 7:00 p.m. at RIMAC Arena.
Cal State San Bernardino is also participating in the tournament and will face FLC on Friday and CSUSM on Saturday.
