LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego women's basketball team used a 19 point cushion at halftime to defeat Azusa Pacific (4-3), 62-49, in the final game of theThanksgiving Classic at RIMAC Arena.
UCSD, which came into the game with a three-game losing streak, improved its record to 2-3.
After leading by only a point, 11-10 with 15:27 left to play in the first half, the Tritons used a 10-1 run to break the game open. During the run, Dana Webster made a pair layups and Haley Anderson made a shot from behind the arc. UCSD would go into the locker room at halftime leading the Cougars, 38-19.
The Tritons forced Azusa Pacific to turn the ball over 17 times and scored 14 points off of them in the period. UCSD also outrebounded the Cougars 22-13 and had 13 second chance points in the stanza.
"I think we came out aggressive," said UCSD head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "We were aggressive offensively and defensively. Our team decided that we had to play that way. We had to be aggressive from the beginning."
The Tritons grabbed their biggest lead of the game by 23 points, 52-29 with 12:03 left to play in the game, after Miranda Seto hit two free throws. UCSD never lifted the foot off the pedal as the Tritons still led the game, 60-39 with 4:03 on the clock, after Nadja Kern found Webster for a three-point basket. The deficit was too much to handle for the Cougars and UCSD cruised the rest of the way for the win.
Azusa Pacific was led by the duo of Miriam Zabinsky and Maggie Dumphy who each scored 12 points.
"(Our defense) was much better. We locked into personnel; we locked into entries. Our full-court defense set the table for us," VanDerveer said.
In the first game, Cal State San Bernardino (4-0) defeated Academy of Art (4-3), 83-74. Alexcia Mack had a game-best 22 points for the Coyotes. Chelsea Barnes and Brianna Harden each added a double-double with Barnes going for 13 points and 15 rebounds and Harden contributing 11 points and 10 boards. For the Urban Knights, Zoie Sheng and Sha'Nice Storey had 19 points each.
Thanksgiving Classic Results
Day 1
Cal State San Bernardino 61, Azusa Pacific 60
Academy of Art 84, UC San Diego 74
Day 2
Cal State San Bernardino 83, Academy of Art 74
UC San Diego 62, Azusa Pacific 49
All-Tournament Team
Kelly Hardeman, Jr., F, Azusa Pacific
Brianna Harden, Jr., G/F, Cal State San Bernardino
Alexcia Mack, Jr., G, Cal State San Bernardino
Miranda Seto, Sr., G, UC San Diego
Zoie Sheng, Jr., G, Academy of Art
Most Valuable Player
Alexcia Mack, Jr., G, Cal State San Bernardino
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