Riverside, CA—Despite a furious late rally by Cal State San Marcos (0-1), the UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team (1-0) defeated the Cougars 67-64 in Friday night's preseason opener. Senior guards Lauren Holt and Michelle Curry led the way with 18 and 15 points, respectively, while redshirt sophomore forward Skyler Lewis snagged a game-high 16 rebounds.

GAME NOTES
The Cougars never led in the second half, but a 14-5 run brought them within two points at 52-50 with under six minutes to go. A pair of jumpers from Holt sparked a 9-0 Highlander run, giving the home side a 61-50 advantage with 3:10 remaining.

San Marcos ended the game on an 11-2 run, knocking down three treys in the final minutes to make it 66-64. With just 6.4 on the clock, redshirt sophomore guard Jannon Otto split a pair of free throws, but after securing the rebound, the Cougars were unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer.

Led by Lewis' 16 boards, UCR finished with 53 rebounds on the night. That mark tied its season-high from the 2016-17 regular season, which came in a 63-45 win over Hawai'i back on February 2 (box score/recap). That night, Lewis set a career-high with 12 rebounds.

Holt was also active on the glass, pulling in ten rebounds to go with her team-leading 18 points. She had two double-doubles last season, going for 20 points and ten rebounds in two of the Highlanders' final six games.

The Highlanders shot just 34.2 percent from the field on the night, but their offense was at its best in the third quarter when they went 10-for-20 on field goals. Their 22 points in the third were the most in any quarter for either team.

UC Riverside's shooting woes did not apply to Holt and Curry, who combined to shoot 12-for-24 from the field and 4-for-10 from three-point range.

The Highlanders outscored CSUSM in every quarter except the fourth, when the Cougars outscored UCR 19-18. San Marcos connected on seven second-half three-pointers, including going 4-for-7 in the final period.

The Highlanders will close out their preseason schedule with one more home exhibition against California Baptist University at 6:00 pm PT on Saturday, November 4.