SEASIDE, Calif. — A tough shooting second half for Cal State Monterey Bay allowed visiting Cal State San Bernardino to pull away for a 80–55 win Friday night in The Kelp Bed.

CSUMB got a career–high 15 points from senior forward Alexa Sperling (Clovis/Buchanan HS) and 12 rebounds from fellow senior Courtney Keaton (Bishop Montgomery HS). But 14 first–half Otter turnovers helped San Bernardino take a 35–29 lead into intermission.

A 3-for-4 start to the second half pulled the Otters to within early in the third quarter. But they made just seven of their final 24 from the field while San Bernardino sizzled with at 60 percent (18-for-30) over the final 20 minutes to blow the game open..
 

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THE GAME WAS STATISTICALLY OVER WHEN… Taylor Goldsberry grabbed the miss of a Courtney Keaton layup with 6:39 remaining and San Bernardino leading 67–43

SPERLING FLIES HIGH… Alexa Sperling set her career high with 15 points Friday night. Her previous best was 14 points versus Dominican University on Nov. 22, 2017.

KEATON CLEANS THE GLASS… Courtney Keaton grabbed a game–high 12 rebounds Friday night. It marked the 17th time in 20 games this season that Keaton has led the Otters on the glass. She reached double figures in rebounds for the 10th time and the third consecutive game.

LEADERS OF THE RAFT… POINTS: Alexa Sperling 15; REBOUNDS: Courtney Keaton 12; ASSISTS: Brianna Tucker 3; BLOCKS: Jessie Evans, Courtney Keaton 1; STEALS: Courtney Keaton/Aubri Smith 1.

THE LAST WORD… "We had too many turnovers that led to easy baskets for them. Offensively, we let them take us out of what we do well and didn't execute in the second half in particular. We need to be stronger defensively because we let them score in big stretches when we were struggling offensively." – CSUMB Head Coach Kerri Nakamoto

THEY'VE GOT NEXT… The Otters close their brief 2–game homestand by hosting Cal Poly Pomona Friday. Tip-off will be at 5:30 p.m as the opener of men's/women's doubleheader action.