LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego women's basketball team won their fifth straight game by defeating Cal State L.A. by a score of 69-57 in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) play on Saturday at RIMAC Arena. UCSD outrebounded the visitng Golden Eagles 26-15 on the offensive glass and 61-34 in total rebounds.
With the win, the Tritons are now 16-9 overall and 14-6 in the CCAA while CSULA drops to 9-15 overall and 8-12 in the conference.
UCSD quickly jumped out to an 8-4 advantage and never looked back after a pair of layups from McKennan Bertsch and baskets from Dana Webster and Farrah Shokoor.
The Tritons grabbed their biggest lead of the half, 24-11, after a Taylor Tanita layup with 7:45 left to play in the first period. The Golden Eagles cut the deficit to single digits, 32-23, after a Chiara DiMarco three-pointer. UCSD would go into halftime with a 12-point advantage, 37-25, after two Bertsch layups.
The Tritons came out on fire in the second half with a 9-2 run, capped off by a pair of Emily Morris free throws, to take a 19-point lead over CSULA, 50-31.
The Golden Eagles came within 11 points of UCSD after a Bree Parsons layup with 5:24 left on the clock. However, the deficit would be too much for CSULA as the Tritons cruised the rest of the way for the 69-57 victory.
Bertsch led UCSD with game-highs 14 points and 10 boards, her first double-double of the season. Shokoor and Webster nearly grabbed double-doubles of their own for the Tritons. Shokoor contributed eight points and nine rebounds and Webster added 10 points and nine boards.
Bree Parsons led the Golden Eagles with 12 points.
Before the game, six Tritons - Nadja Kern, Stephanie Yano, Miranda Seto, Webster, Bertsch and Morris - were recognized as they played their final career contest at RIMAC Arena.
UCSD will play its final two regular season matchups on the road, taking on Humboldt State on Thursday, Feb. 26 and Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday, Feb. 28. Both games tip-off at 5:30 p.m.
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