Women's Basketball | January 16, 2018

SEASIDE, Calif.—A big weekend awaits the Cal State Monterey Bay women's basketball team when it heads to the other Bay are for a pair of CCAA games. CSUMB will play at Sonoma State Friday (Jan. 19) and at San Francisco State Saturday (Jan. 20).

Depending on results this weekend, the Otters will find themselves anywhere between ninth and 13th place in the CCAA when play ends Saturday night. A pair of CSUMB wins would put it right in the thick of the CCAA Tournament race with eight games remaining.

Fans who can't make the trip can follow all of the action live with links available at OtterAthletics.com. Rob Ponce will handle the play-by-play duties on the Otter broadcast Friday while Kirsten Fairchild will have the mike Saturday at San Francisco State.
 

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SEAWOLVES 3–DOT NOTES (6–9, 3–8 CCAA): Sonoma has had uneven results under first–year Head Coach Rich Shayewitz, exemplified by a stunning win over (then) No. 2 ranked Alaska–Anchorage and a puzzling home loss to last–place San Francisco State…split the L.A./Dominguez Hills trip last weekend, beating L.A. 62–45 before falling in Carson 60–53…Ugochi Anudokem (So./F) leads a top–heavy scoring chart at 13.7 ppg…she also is the team's top rebounder at 8.1 rpg.

WHEN LAST WE MET: The Otters led by 18 at the end of three quarters then held off a furious Sonoma State rally to win 64–58 Nov. 25 in The Kelp Bed. Aubri Smith scored a career–high 29 points while chipping in nine assists and eight rebounds. Courtney Keaton added a 12–point, 11–rebound double–double. Ugochi Anudokem led Sonoma with 19 points.

WHEN LAST WE PLAYED: The Otters played one of their better games of the season with one niggling exception: they struggled making baskets. CSUMB out–rebounded San Marcos, committed just eight turnovers while forcing 19 and took 25 more shots than the Cougars but fell 57–49. Brianna Tucker led a balanced Otter offense with 11 points and three assists.

THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Savannah Camp grabbed a crafty offensive rebound off a Brianna Porter missed free throw with 28 seconds remaining. The Cougars dribbled out the clock from there.

THIS DATE IN OTTER HISTORY: Kelley Ghione pulled down a CSUMB–record 18 rebounds in a 54–36 win over Pacific Union College on Jan. 19, 2002. Johanna Mahoney (Nov. 10, 2002) and McKenna Hill (Nov. 20, 2016) subsequently tied Ghione's mark, however, it remains the oldest individual record in CSUMB women's basketball history.

THE GOOD HANDS PEOPLE: The Otters took great care of the ball Saturday versus Cal State San Marcos, committing a eight turnovers. That is just one off the CSUMB–record low of seven turnovers set at UC San Diego on Dec. 8, 2017. 

WHY DON'T WE STEAL AWAY: With a nod to the Robbie Dupree fan Club, the Otters stole away into the night last Thursday, matching their season high with 14 steals versus UCSD. That mark is tied for No. 9 in the Otter single game record book.

A HELPING HAND…OR 154 HANDS: With an assist Saturday versus San Marcos, Aubri Smith claimed sole possession of the No. 8 spot in Otter career assists with 154. She needs six more to pass Stephanie Sack (2014–15) for No. 7 all–time.

AN ARCTIC BLAST: Despite unseasonably warm weather outside on a perfect Monterey Bay afternoon, the Otters shot a chilly 25 percent for the game against San Marcos. It marked the fifth time CSUMB has shot less than 30 percent in a game this season. To put that in perspective, the Otters have never shot less than 30 percent in a game more than five times in an entire season since moving to the NCAA level in 2004.

OTTERS AMONG THE CCAA LEADERS: Aubri Smith's 14.0 ppg ranks her No. 8 on the CCAA scoring chart as we begin the final 10 games of the 2017–18 season. Other Otters amongst the leaders include: REBOUNDING: No. 7 Courtney Keaton (9.0 rpg); ASSISTS: No. 9 Aubri Smith (3.1 apg); STEALS: No. 8 Courtney Keaton (1.8 spg), No. 7 Aubri Smith (1.7 spg).

WHY PLAY 40 MINUTES? The final five minutes have been all but irrelevant. CSUMB is 11–0 when leading after 35 and 0–32 when trailing after 35 dating back to the 2015–16 season.

THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING: With apologies to Douglas Adams, the answer to everything isn't 42, it's 70. With the Nov. 17 71–70 win at Cal State L.A., CSUMB is now 40–5 when scoring 70 or more points since the 2008–09 season. Up that number to 80 points and the numbers get even more impressive. The Otters have won 15 consecutive games when scoring at least 80 points dating back to the 2005–06 season.