LOS ANGELES — A more miraculous victory you will not find. Senior guard Christine Golfo (San Jose CC/Logan HS) played the biggest second of her Otter career when she completed a 3–point play with no time on the clock to give Cal State Monterey Bay a 71–70 win over Cal State L.A. Friday night in The Eagles Nest.

With the exception of a few seconds in the opening moments of the game, the Otters led this one throughout. They led by as many as 11 points in the second half and held an 8–point lead with less than four minutes remaining.

But L.A. battled all the way back, finally taking the lead on a pair of Rikke Fabricius free throws with nine seconds to play. The Otters raced upcourt looking for the tying basket, but Aubri Smith's (Ventura College/Buena HS) layup attempt came off the rim. Fabricius grabbed the board, but Emily Hardin (Monache HS) tied her up with the possession arrow favoring the visitors and one second to play.

Inbounding the ball under the basket, Hardin found Golfo had beaten her defender and was alone under the rim. Golfo made the layup and was fouled by Christine Delapina as the buzzer sounded. Golfo then swished the free throw to seal the win.

The final play accounted for Golfo's only points in the game. Smith led the Otters with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Hardin added 12 points and three assists.
 

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THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Christine Golfo calmly made the winning free throw with no time on the clock, breaking a 70–70 tie.

20–20–20 VISION… By scoring 22 points Friday night, Aubri Smith became just the second player in Otter history to score 20–plus in three consecutive games and the first since Helen Suarez did it in four straight from Jan. 16–30, 2008. Smith had 21 versus Northwest Nazarene (Nov. 11) and a career–high 24 vs. Academy of Art (Nov. 14).

70 IS THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING… With apologies to Douglas Adams, the answer to everything isn't 42, it's 70. With Friday's 71–70 win at Cal State L.A., CSUMB is now 40–5 when scoring 70 or more points since the 2008–09 season.

THE GOOD HANDS PEOPLE… The Otter committed a season–low nine turnovers in Friday's win.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Aubri Smith 22; REBOUNDS: Aubri Smith 7; ASSISTS: Aubri Smith 4; BLOCKS: Emily Hardin/Courtney Keaton 1; STEALS: Jordana Price/Aubri Smith 1.

THE LAST WORD… "I'm so proud of our team tonight. We fought against all the adversity that came our way. We took care of the ball which was one of the biggest factors leading to this win. This was the epitome of a team win." – CSUMB Head Coach Kerri Nakamoto

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters conclude their brief 2–game Southern California trip with a game Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.