HAYWARD, Calif. - In a battle of two of the top teams in California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) women's basketball, UC San Diego escaped with a 56-54 road victory over Cal State East Bay Friday at Pioneer Gymnasium. After a 48-48 stalemate with 4:26 remaining, senior guard Jamie Katuna took over and scored seven points, including going a perfect five-for-five from the charity stripe, to put the game away.
The Tritons take their fifth straight contest and improve to 13-2 overall and 8-1 in conference matchups. The Pioneers, winners of 11 in a row at the start of the day, suffer just their first league defeat in falling to 13-3 overall and 7-1 in the CCAA. UCSD thus bumps East Bay to move into sole possession of second in the standings, behind only unbeaten Cal State Dominguez Hills (10-6, 8-0 CCAA).
Senior forward Farrah Shokoor led UCSD with 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season. She also had two blocks and two steals. Katuna scored in double figures as well with 10 points, and sophomore guard Taylor Tanita dished out a game-best five assists. Shannon Bland paced the Pioneers with 22 points.
"We're very excited about our win tonight on the road against a very talented East Bay team," said head coach Heidi VanDerveer. "I thought we got great bench play from Gigi (Olelewe) and Paige (Song). They gave us great minutes off the bench."
The Tritons started the matchup with an early 5-4 lead after Shokoor was able to convert an and-one opportunity after she hit a layup and was fouled. UCSD increased the margin to six, 12-6, after a mid-range jumper from junior guard Beth Mounier. CSUEB's Bland scored six unanswered points by herself to even the game. A Shokoor free throw gave the Tritons a one-point advantage, 13-12, after the opening quarter.
Both teams struggled offensively to begin the second period. With 5:46 before the intermission, Laci Effenberger made a three-pointer for the Pioneers to tie the score, 15-15. UCSD answered back as sophomore guard Paige Song hit a turnaround fadeaway jumper on the ensuing possession to ignite a 6-0 Triton run.
CSUEB cut the margin to three, 22-19, with two free throws from Madison Craig. UCSD closed out the second quarter outscoring the Pioneers 8-2, capped off by a layup from Tanita. The Tritons led 30-21 at halftime.
UCSD struggled in the third frame, being limited to only 10 points. CSUEB came all the way back and evened the score, 38-38, after an Effenberger layup. Tanita was able to find Shokoor on the next possession for the basket as the Tritons grabbed a two-point lead with 2:30 remaining in the period. Neither team was able to come away with a point for the remainder of the period as UCSD held a slight advantage, 40-38, going into the final 10 minutes.
The Pioneers only needed five seconds in the fourth quarter to even the game. The Tritons looked to pull away and built a 47-40 lead after a Shokoor basket, but CSUEB responded with seven unanswered of its own to level the score. After each side hit one free throw, Katuna made three shots from the charity stripe following a foul while in the process of shooting behind the arc.
UCSD led by one, 55-54, with 33 seconds remaining in the period and with possession of the ball. The Pioneers decided not to foul as the Tritons used up the whole shot clock. Junior guard Haley Anderson's jumper was no good, but Tanita came away with the key offensive rebound and was consequently fouled with one second remaining as UCSD put the game away.
"I thought we responded well and made some great stops and great shots down the stretch," VanDerveer said.
The Tritons stay on the road and will play Cal State Monterey Bay on Saturday, Jan. 16. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
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