LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Despite draining a season-high 10 three-pointers and matching its second-best shooting output of the year, the Sonoma State women's basketball team pushed host UC San Diego to the brink before coming up short, 90-78, Saturday night at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.
With the loss, the Seawolves fall to 8-11 overall and 5-10 in the CCAA. The Tritons, who sit atop the CCAA standings and came into the game receiving votes in this week's WBCA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, improves to 17-3 overall and 13-1 in conference play.
It was another extremely close contest as neither team led by more than five points at any time; there were seven ties and 11 lead changes throughout. UC San Diego began to slowly pull away midway through the fourth quarter, however, Sonoma State went on a brief 5-0 run to pull within three points at 76-73 in UCSD's favor with 3:39 to play in regulation. Both teams traded baskets for the next minute, but the closest SSU would get the rest of the way was five points (80-75) with 2:15 left before the Tritons finished out the game on a 10-3 run.
Offensively, the Seawolves were on fire, hitting half of their 60 shots on the night, including 10 of 15 (66.7 percent) from three-point range. Not only did they have a hot hand, but they also took care of the ball, tying a season-low with 12 turnovers. On the other end of the floor, the Tritons shot better than any other team the Seawolves have faced this year, torching the nets at a 55.6 percent efficiency on 35 of 63 shots, most of which originated in the paint, accounting for 48 points from right underneath the hoop.
Madison Burroughs again led the team in scoring with 15 points, handing out a team-high six assists.
Jessica Mitz tallied 13 points while
Jerrica Crosby and
McKaiela Tyler each chipped in with 10 points each.
Meanwhile for UC San Diego, Dalayna Sampton led all players with 23 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three steals, three assists and two blocks.
Both Sonoma State and UC San Diego will play again Friday night, but in front of the Seawolves' home crowd in The Wolves' Den at 5:30 pm.
