BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – Michelle Osier scored a career-high 25 points on 10-for-14 shooting from the floor to lead the UC San Diego women’s basketball team to a big 72-61 victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday night in Rabobank Arena.
With their seventh straight victory, the Tritons improve to 10-2 overall and take over sole possession of second place in the CCAA with their 6-1 league mark. The loss drops the Roadrunners to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in conference action. Chico State continues to hold its slim half game lead over UCSD in the league standings after defeating CSU San Bernardino by 19 points on Saturday night to improve to 7-1 in CCAA play and 11-1 overall.
Osier, last year’s CCAA Freshman of the Year, was assertive from the start of the game, scoring 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting from the field in the first half. She also had nine boards, four steals and three assists in the win.
Seniors Hillary Hansen and Leora Juster added 21 and 16 points, respectively, in the win, which was only the fourth win for the UCSD women’s basketball program against CSUB in 13 tries.
Kelley Tarver was one of three CSUB players to score in double figures, scoring a team-high 15 points in the loss. Both Krista Arase and Jesse Loring added 12 points for the ‘Runners.
UCSD’s defense was very stingy on the night, forcing the CSUB shooters to make only 5 of 23 from long range for a meager 21.7% shooting percentage from 3-point territory. The Tritons also out-rebounded the Roadrunners by a 30-27 margin and forced 18 CSUB turnovers while committing only 13 of their own.
Head coach Janell Jones and her squad returns home next weekend, hosting Cal State San Bernardino on Friday night and Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday evening. Both games are slated for 5:30 p.m. tip-offs inside RIMAC Arena on the UCSD campus.
Courtesy: Jimmy Gekas/Sideline Studios