Chezla Self led the Otter second-half comeback, finishing with a game and career-high 15 points Saturday at UC San Diego.
BOX SCORE
UC SAN DIEGO 40, CAL ST. MONTEREY BAY 38
FINAL BOX SCORE |
|
SCOREBOARD |
1 |
2 |
OT |
FINAL |
|
Cal St. Monterey Bay (3-8, 0-8 CCAA) |
11 |
27 |
|
38 |
|
UC San Diego (8-4, 5-3 CCAA) |
18 |
22 |
|
40 |
|
|
TOP PERFORMERS |
|
|
LA JOLLA, Calif. — How many times can an Otter's heart break? The answer is at least three in the last eight days as the Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team went down to the wire again only to fall at the buzzer in a 40–38 loss to UC San Diego Saturday night in RIMAC Arena.
CSUMB, which led by four with less than a minute remaining, missed a chance at the game–winner on its final possession for the third time in its last four games. This time, the Otters had three cracks at the winning shot but couldn't get a baby jumper or two putback layups to fall in the final six seconds.
That the Otters were in this game at all was a testament to defense and determination. They scored just six points in the first 16 minutes of the game, including a mammoth 13:20 scoring drought. Yet their defense was so stout that they never trailed by more than seven points in the first half nor more than nine points in the game.
Things finally turned CSUMB's way midway through the second period when a
Chezla Self (Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta College) jumper capped a gradual 17–8 run that gave the Otters their first lead since early in the game, 28–26.
CSUMB led for much of the final nine minutes, building its biggest lead at 38–34 on a pair of
Angelique Bailey (Fontana/Etiwanda HS) free throws with 1:10 remaining. Stephanie Yano answered with a 3–pointer to cut the Otter lead to one inside of a minute to play.
Bailey had a chance to restore a two–possession lead, but her 3–ball rimmed in–and–out with 26 seconds on the clock.
Dana Webster converted a traditional 3–point play to put the Tritons back on top, 40–38, with 13.8 seconds remaining. Bailey drove the ball downcourt on CSUMB's final possession and fed
Alexous Robinson (Dublin/Ohlone College) in the low post. Robinson's short jumper drew iron.
Holly Holcomb (Ventura/Buena HS) grabbed the offensive board but couldn't get a putback attempt to fall before the horn sounded.
Self led the Otter offense with a career–high 15 points. CSUMB also got a career–high 14 rebounds from
Ashley Morgan (Rohnert Park/Santa Rosa JC) and 12 boards from Holcomb.
CSUMB concludes its 4–game roadtrip next weekend with games at Cal State Stanislaus Friday (Jan. 17) and Chico State Saturday (Jan. 18). The Otters return home to host San Francisco State on Jan. 24 in The Kelp Bed.
GO OTTERS!
