Last Second Shot For Win Off The Mark As UCR Falls At League-Leading CSUN, 77-75

Saturday, March 1

Northridge, CA

4:00 pm

UC Riverside

6-21, 2-12BWC

Cal State Northridge

15-14, 11-4BWC

Team	1	2	F
UC Riverside	38	37	75
Cal State Northridge	36	41	77

Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta

Last Second Shot For Win Off The Mark As UCR Falls At League-Leading CSUN, 77-75

3/1/2014 4:43:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

Northridge, CA - It was a tale of runs Saturday for the UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team at league-leading Cal State Northridge, with the Matadors claiming the final rally in a 77-75 Big West Conference win. Box Score.

CSUN (15-14, 11-4) had a 10-point lead in the first half, but the Highlanders (6-21, 2-12) came back to lead by as many as 14 early in the second period. The Matadors had one run left, however, outscoring UCR 26-14 over the final nine minutes to earn the victory.

UC Riverside had an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer, but Brittany Crain's three-pointer was off the mark as CSUN escaped with the win.

All five of the Highlanders starters scored in double-figures, led by Crain's 20 points. Kiara Harewood recorded a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds while Annelise Ito had 14 points, Akilah Martin added 10, and Simone DeCoud also recorded a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Janae Sharpe led CSUN with 24 points, while Ashlee Guay added 21 and Cinnamon Lister had 14.

CSUN scored the first bucket of the game, and led for the first 18 minutes of the half until the Highlanders mounted a comeback. The Matadors' advantage reached as high as 10, and it was still a three-possession game, 32-23, with 5:11 to go in the half.

UC Riverside scored 12 of the next 14 points, however, to take its first lead of the ball game, 35-34, following a fastbreak layup and three-pointer from Crain at 1:41. Cal State Northridge quickly took the lead back, 36-35, 16 seconds later, but DeCoud connected on a long ball with five seconds left to send the Highlanders into the locker room leading 38-36.

UCR's hot shooting continued into the second period as a 48-38 lead was built less than four minutes into play. The Highlanders hit 4-of-5 from the field while their defense limited the Matadors to just two points.

The margin grew to 14, 56-42, until Cal State Northridge rallied for seven straight to cut the lead to 56-49 with 11:37 to go. Two Harewood free throws stopped the run, but the Matadors continued to press, and eventually reclaimed the lead with 3:39 to go after a Guay layup.

DeCoud countered with a jumper to put UCR back up by one, but Guay hit a three-pointer on CSUN's next possession to give the Matadors a lead they would not relinquish.

The Highlanders tried for one final push down four with 21 seconds left. Crain nailed a long ball with 15 seconds to go, and the Matadors hit one-of-two from the foul line making it 77-75. UCR had the ball with 10 seconds on the clock, but Crain's attempt with three seconds was off its mark, and time expired before either team had possession for any last-second try.

For the game, the Highlanders outshot the Matadors, 46.8 percent to 39.3 percent, while hitting 53.8 percent from downtown.

UC Riverside now prepares for its regular season road finale, traveling to UC Davis on Thursday, March 6 for a 7 pm PT tip in Davis, CA.