BOX SCORE

SEASIDE, Calif. — The Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team successfully opened defense of its California Collegiate Athletic Association title, surviving an epic cold spell to outlast Humboldt State 67–60 Friday night at The Kelp Bed.

CSUMB got a career-high 22 points from Brandi Stephens (Sacramento/El Camino HS) and some key stops late to overcome a 1–for–16 shooting spell to open the second half. That was part of a 7-for-40 run that almost proved too much to overcome.

“Brandi came off the bench and gave us huge minutes,” said CSUMB Head Coach Renee Jimenez. “She really stepped up and made huge offensive plays down the stretch. Holly (Holcomb) and Jess (Fontenette) stepped up and took two huge charges in the last few minutes that were game changers.”

CSUMB (3–1, 1–0 CCAA) seemed poised to run away with this game early, making 10 of its first 12 from the field while racing to a 21–8 lead in the first seven minutes. The Otters withstood a few Lumberjack challenges over the balance of the half and took a 36–27 lead into the lockerroom at halftime.

But the Otters couldn't throw it in the ocean to open the second half as Humboldt found just enough success against the pesky CSUMB defense to slowly chip away at the Otter advantage. The Lumberjacks finally took their first lead of the night at 39–38 on a Lexxi Price putback at the 11–minute mark.

With the Otters on their heals, Humboldt threatened to take the game by the throat, opening its biggest lead at 49–44 with just over eight minutes remaining. With their backs against the wall, however, the Otters responded.

From there, as it has so often in the Renee Jimenez era, the Otter defense put the clamps on. CSUMB held Humboldt to just six points over the next seven minutes. On offense, UC Santa Barbara transfer Stefanie Corgel (Manhattan Beach/Marlbrough HS) sparked the key Otter run with a traditional three–point play, beginning a 9–2 run that turned a five–point deficit into a 55–51 lead CSUMB wouldn't relinquish.

“We challenged them to get back to playing MB Defense and that's exactly what we did tonight,” said Jimenez .“We knew the difference in the game was who would defend the three better. Our goal was to limit Humboldt to no more than 16 threes which and that was huge. When we commit to playing our defense, we are pretty tough.”

In addition to Stephens, Corgel scored a career–high 13 points while Brittani Jefferson (Palmdale/Quartz Hills HS) chipped in a season–high 11 rebounds.

Bree Halsey led four Humboldt (4–1, 1–1) players in double figures with 14 points and a game–high 17 rebounds.
CSUMB returns to action Saturday, hosting Sonoma State at 5:30 p.m. in The Kelp Bed. Humboldt head to the Bay area to take on Cal State East Bay Saturday evening.


HUMBOLDT STATE (4–1, 1–1 CCAA)
Bree Halsey 5-9 4-7 14; Whitney Howard 6-8 1-5 13; Lexxi Price 6-15 0-0 12; Caitlie Richards 2-5 6-6 11; Lisa Petty 1-4 3-4 5; Kayla Williams 1-9 0-0 3; Patrice Saindon 1-2 0-0 2; Danielle Gaumer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 14-22 60.

CAL ST. MONTEREY BAY (3–1, 1–0 CCAA)
Brandi Stephens 9-15 3-5 22; Stefanie Corgel 4-9 4-5 13; Holly Holcomb 3-9 3-8 11; Jessica Fontenette 1-6 5-6 7; Brittani Jefferson 3-9 0-0 6; Kris King 2-3 0-0 4; Erika Ward 0-7 2-2 2; Britnee Lewis 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 23-63 17-26 67.

3-point goals--HSU 2-16 (Williams 1-6; Richards 1-3; Price 0-4; Petty 0-1; Saindon 0-1; Howard 0-1), CSUMB 4-18 (Holcomb 2-3; Corgel 1-5; Stephens 1-4; Ward 0-4; Lewis 0-1; Fontenette 0-1). Fouled out--Saindon. Rebounds--HSU 42 (Halsey 17), CSUMB 38 (Jefferson 11). Assists--HSU 11 (Williams 4), CSUMB 7 (Corgel 3). Total fouls--HSU 24, CSUMB 18. Technical fouls--None.