Box Score
LA JOLLA -- Tiffany Hunter was a one-woman wrecking crew for UC San Diego Saturday night, scoring 23 points and grabbing seven rebounds as the Tritons, ranked No. 10 in the nation and No. 1 in the West Region, pulled away from Cal State San Bernardino in the second half for a 58-41 CCAA women's basketball victory.
The Tritons, now 17-1 on the season and 12-1 in the CCAA, dominated the inside game, outscoring the Coyotes 30-14 in the paint and 13-1 on second chance points and outrebounding CSUSB 46-30 to avenge two losses to CSUSB on their home court last season.
The two teams played before a Spirit Night crowd reported by UCSD officials to be 2,020 in RIMAC Arena.
Cal State San Bernardino is now 11-7 on the season and 7-6 in the CCAA with a game coming up Tuesday night at home against Cal Poly Pomona, ranked No. 5 in the West Region.
The Coyotes had one of those cold shooting nights, hitting just 30.2 percent from the field (16 of 53), made just one of seven 3-pointers (14 percent) and just eight of 13 free throws (61 percent). UCSD didn't fare a lot better, hitting 18 of 49 field goals (37 percent) and going 0-for-8 from the three. But, the Tritons converted 22 of 27 foul shots -- a 13-point differential.
The two teams combined for 39 turnovers, 21 by the Tritons.
Lisa Takata led CSUSB with 12 points with five assists. Krystal Urzua made just four of 14 from the field and finished with nine points, half her season average. No other Coyote player scored more than four points.
The Coyotes trailed by four, 27-23, at the half after tying the score at 19-19 with 4:56 remaining in the half on the team's lone 3-pointer of the night by Urzua.
UCSD gradually pulled away in the second half taking a 42-29 lead on a layup by Charity Smith with 10:37 to go.