November 4, 2010

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA - The Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team pulled off a 53-49 victory over NCAA Division I UC Santa Barbara in the Thunderdome. This was the Otters final exhibition game of the 2010-2011 season.

"This is a great win for our program," said head coach Renee Jimenez. "It really shows how far we have come over the last three years and the strides we have made."

Junior Erika Ward scored a game-high 17 points while senior Michelle Santizo added 16 points and five rebounds.  Seniors Julie Heurung and LaShawn Johnson each contributed five rebounds as well.

At the halftime break, the score was even at 26 apiece.

The Otters held UCSB to just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc while sinking nine 3-pointers. The Gauchos out-rebounded CSUMB 44 to 36 with both teams pulling down more than 10 offensive boards.

The Otters largest lead came with 8:55 remaining when sophomore Holly Holcomb sunk a 3-pointer from the baseline to make it 47-32.

"We were locked in and focused for 40 minutes and any time you play that hard with that kind of focus, you can beat anyone on any night," Jimenez said. "We still have a lot of work to do and a lot to get better at but this is just the beginning for us."

CSUMB hosts Hawaii Pacific on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in its home opener at the Kelp Bed.