LA JOLLA, Calif. - The University of California San Diego women's basketball team captured an 82-64 victory against California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) rival Cal State Dominguez Hills Monday at RIMAC Arena. The Tritons secured the win behind Cassie MacLeod's 21 points and five rebounds.
With a perfect home record of 5-0, Monday's game marks the Tritons' third-straight win. They improved to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in league play. Dominguez Hills dropped to 3-7 overall and remained winless in the CCAA at 0-3.
The Tritons shot 45 percent (28-62) while keeping Cal State Dominguez Hills to 32 percent (22-68). UCSD made 10 three-pointers in the game and led the night in rebounds, 48-35, thanks in part to 12 boards from Mikayla Williams and 11 from Dalayna Sampton.
MacLeod's 21 tied her career-best in scoring and logged her second-straight game of having 20 or more points. She was 60 percent (9-15) from the field.
Three other Tritons scored double digits including Joleen Yang (11), Marcella Hughes (12) and Paige Song (14). Song scored her new career-high after going a perfect 4-4 from three-point range. Hughes was 4-7 from long range, making Monday's game the third-straight where she made at least four threes. Taylor Tanita collected nine assists.
The Toros were led by Kayla Gillett with 25 points and four steals. Destinee Williams secured 12 boards for Dominguez Hills.
The first quarter saw both teams evenly matched with the score at the end being 11-10 with Dominguez Hills slightly ahead. UCSD shot 22 percent (4-18) and the Toros shot 23 percent (4-17). Both teams also matched on the boards, both having 14 rebounds at the end of the period.
In the second frame, UC San Diego's offense exploded for 21 points. Song landed two of her perfect four from behind the arc to help give the Tritons a 60 percent (3-5) in long range shooting. UCSD's defense held the Toros to just 24 percent (4-17) overall. The Tritons held a 31-20 lead into halftime.
After the half, MacLeod went on to score five of the 10 made field goals for UCSD, going 5-8 at the end of the third. A three-pointer and a baseline jumper from Song, a three-pointer from Hughes and two layups from Sampton gave the Tritons a final shooting percentage of 56 (10-18) and a 54-34 advantage over CSUDH.
Cal State Dominguez Hills launched a determined offensive comeback in the fourth, going 50 percent (10-20) from the field, with two made from long range and eight made freethrows. UCSD made seven of their 10 shots, with four being from beyond three-point range. The Toros closed the gap to within nine points, scoring 30 in just the fourth quarter, but UCSD's lead proved too big to overcome.
UC San Diego takes on two more conference opponents at RIMAC Arena before year's end with Cal State LA on Dec. 29 and Stanislaus State on Dec. 30. Both games will start at 5:30 p.m.
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