Riverside–Rejane Vérin scored 20 points and Michelle Curry added 14 in the UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team's wire-to-wire, 68-45, victory over Cal State Fullerton in the SRC Arena.
The Highlanders jumped out to a 9-0 to start the game, before the Titans got on board with a pair of Deja Smith free throws. UCR quickly resumed it spurt, scoring six straight points to take a commanding 15-2 lead early on.
Michelle Curry erupted for 11 points in the opening period to stake the Highlanders to a 22–11 advantage. Curry's outburst was the third-highest quarterly total this season, equaling her own third period against GCU.
UCR rode that momentum into a second period defensive stand that saw them hold the Titans to just six points on 1-16 shooting. Fullerton's points came on a three-pointer by Jade Vega and Iman Lathan's three made free throws on four attempts.
The Highlander took 37-17 lead into the locker, and were in full control of the game. Curry added a free-throw in the second to capture first half scoring honors with 12 points on 5-8 shooting from the floor.
In the third Vérin had a scoring outburst of her own, pouring in 12 points in the frame alone on her way to a game-high 20. UCR shot 10-20 in third, and dished out seven assists as a team with a just a single miscue as they pushed the lead to 31 to closeout the quarter, leaving only the final margin in doubt.
Vérin finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Curry had 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Both would sit out the fourth as Coach Margaritis emptied his bench to finish the game.
The Titans did outscore the Highlanders in the fourth, 16-8 to get the final score 68-45 when the buzzer sounded.
Simone DeCoud tallied four assists to move into second place on all-time career list with 356 total. Skyler Lewis had a career-high five blocks in 20 minutes. Her five rejections are tied for fifth on all-time single game records list.
Mallow De Kergret scored in double digits for the second game in a row, after failing to do so in the previous four games, with 13 points in the win.
UC Riverside will travel next week for a pair pivotal road games, at UC Davis Thursday, before heading to Long Beach on Saturday.
