BOX SCORE SEASIDE, Calif. — The cliché tells us that defense wins championships. Whether or not that is true, the Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team proved once again that defense wins games.

As it did in Friday's conference–opening win over Humboldt State, cold–shooting put the Otters in a hole, but suffocating defense lifted out of the abyss and into the light of a 64–59 overtime win over Sonoma State Saturday in The Kelp Bed.

“Offensively, any team can have droughts, but defense is always something you can control,” says CSUMB Head Coach Renee Jimenez. “Tonight, our defense generated a lot of huge buckets that got us back in the game.”

For the second consecutive night, senior guard Brandi Stephens (Sacramento/El Camino HS) came off the bench to carry the offense, following a career–high 22–point effort against Humboldt State with a career–high 25 points against the Seawolves. Stephens scored 18 after halftime, including a pair of clutch free throws with 2.3 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

“I am extremely proud of our effort and that we stayed together as a team for 45 minutes,” said Jimenez. “Our kids understand that playing our defense and staying together will keep us in games and always us a chance to win.”

CSUMB was ice cold for most of the game, so cold in fact, that Sonoma built a 16–point lead, 39–23, with just over five minutes gone in the second half. The Seawolf lead was still 15 point inside of 11 minutes when the Otter offense finally found its groove. An Erika Ward (Simi Valley/Royal HS) three–pointer sparked a 23–6 run that a Stephens' three capped to give the Otters a 46–45 lead and set up a furious finish.

The teams traded leads three times in the final three minutes before an Elizabeth Day layup gave Sonoma a 53–51 lead with 37 seconds remaining. When Stephens missed a shot to tie on the ensuing CSUMB possession, things looked bleak. But Marie Sweet missed the front end  of a 1–and–1 opportunity for the Seawolves to give the Otters life.

Sonoma knocked the first Otter attempt to tie out of bounds with 4.8 seconds remaining. But the Otters got the ball in to Stephens. She attacked the rim and all Aly Conway could do to prevent the layup was foul her. Stephens calmly sank both free throws to force overtime.

Sweet scored the first basket of overtime, but the Otters scored the next seven points and Sonoma never held the ball within a possession of the lead again.

In addition to Stephens, Ward scored 15 points and Jessica Fontenette (Chino Hills/Bishop Amat) added 10 points with three steals. Day led Sonoma with 19 points off the bench.

CSUMB (4–1, 2–0 CCAA) takes a long break from CCAA action, starting Dec. 10 when it hosts Simpson University at 5:30 p.m..

Sonoma State falls to 2–2 and 1–2 with the loss.



SONOMA STATE (59)
Elizabeth Day 9-10 1-2 19; Jaclyn Bisordi 5-10 4-4 16; Taylor Vigil 3-9 0-0 6; Marie Sweet 3-11 0-1 6; Kristina Fahey 1-1 2-2 4; Alysa Ito 2-4 0-0 4; Roxanne Rentschler 1-5 0-0 2; Bronte Sheahan 1-1 0-0 2; Aly Conway 0-1 0-4 0; Aly Hennington 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 7-13 59.

CAL ST. MONTEREY BAY (64)
Brandi Stephens 6-10 11-11 25; Erika Ward 5-10 1-1 15; Jessica Fontenette 4-11 2-3 10; Brittani Jefferson 2-9 2-5 6; Stefanie Corgel 1-8 2-2 5; Kris King 1-2 0-0 2; Danielle Padilla 0-0 1-2 1; Mykayla Harris 0-0 0-0 0; Holly Holcomb 0-4 0-0 0; Jenna Bandy 0-0 0-0 0; Britnee Lewis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 19-24 64.

Halftime: SSU 29-23. Regulation: 53–53. 3-point goals--SSU 2-12 (Bisordi 2-6; Sweet 0-3; Ito 0-2; Rentschler 0-1), CSUMB 7-27 (Ward 4-9; Stephens 2-4; Corgel 1-8; Holcomb 0-3; Fontenette 0-3). Fouled out--SSU-Conway. Rebounds--SSU 38 (Vigil 9), CSUMB 31 (Jefferson 9). Assists--SSU 10 (Ito 5), CSUMB 8 (Stephens, Fontenette, Corgel 2). Total fouls--SSU 21, CSUMB 16. Technical fouls--None. A-253