Riverside—The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team was without two of its three leading scorers Saturday afternoon as SimoneDeCoud (12.9 ppg) and Annelise Ito (11.8) sat out the game due to injury and illness respectively. The seven players who were fit to dress banded together though, beating visiting UMKC, 81-38.

The win improved UCR's record to 9-5 on the season, which is the best 14-game start to a campaign for the Highlanders since 1994-95 when they were 11-3.

The Roos' Grace Mitchell scored the first points of the game with just 30 seconds gone off the clock. Those were the last points UMKC (2-12) would score for the next four minutes though as the Highlanders made four of their first five shots and never looked back.

UC Riverside (9-5) was led by the tenth leading scorer in the nation, Brittany Crain, who scored 14 points in the first half including 10 of the team's first 18, but the rest of the team got into the act as well. Michele Curry had eight at the break and Dynese Adams and Jaelyn Wilson added six apiece. The Highlanders made 20 of their 36 shots from the floor (.556) over the first 20 minutes and led 45-19.

UCR's defense helped the Highlanders take high-percentage shots as they turned 14 Roos' miscues into 20 points in the first period. Meanwhile, UC Riverside didn't turn the ball over at all prior to intermission.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Highlanders scored the first 19 points coming out of the locker room.

Crain finished with a game-high 15 points while Adams added 15, Curry chipped in with 14 and Akilah Martin scored 10. Curry added 10 assists for the first point-assist double-double of her career.

The Highlanders begin the Big West portion of their schedule on Thursday, January 8 with a road game at Cal State Fullerton. Tip is slated for 7 pm PT.