SAN BERNARDINO (Feb. 13, 2016) – The old adage about hanging in there came true for the Coyotes on Saturday night.

CSUSB, which trailed by eight points and had difficulty finding rhythm on both ends of the court, made use of an 8-0 spurt thanks to a sturdy zone defense and went on to roll past Chico State 68-57 in CCAA play at Coussoulis Arena.

The victory was its second straight and puts CSUSB, now 12-10 overall and 9-8 in the CCAA, ever closer to clinching a CCAA Tournament berth.  Chico State fell to 10-12, 5-11.

CSUSB has three games remaining in the regular season and needs one more victory or one more loss by San Francisco State to clincy a berth in the tourney that begins March 1 at on-campus sites.

Seniors Adriana Brodie and Chelsea Barnes each had 18 points for the Coyotes, who shot 52 percent from the field in the second half and was perfect on 12 free throws attempts. Fellow senior Sophie Bhasin added 13 points with three assists and two steals.

CSUSB trailed by nine with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter and before the quarter ended, Coyotes coach Sue Crebbin grew frustrated with the play and picked up a technical foul. That seemed to perk up the Coyotes once the fourth quarter began.

Shots by Barnes and Bhasin cut the eight-point deficit in half, and after Brodie hit consecutive shots the Coyotes tied the game at 45-45 with 6:44 to go.

Then for good measure, CSUSB utilized a finishing 16-3 run in the final five minutes for the double-digit victory.

Brodie hit 8 for 11 inside with five rebounds and three assists with two steals and a block. Barnes had eight rebounds with a pair of blocks and steals.  Senior Brianna Harden led the Coyotes in rebounds with 10 with three blocks.

Chico State was led by Whitney Branham with a game-high 22 points.

CSUSB is at Cal State San Marcos next Saturday for its only game of the week.