RIVERSIDE, Calif.—It would have been easy for the UC Riverside Women's basketball team to give up. It was down by nine points with under eight minutes to play in Thursday's game against Southern Utah.
Knowing the Highlanders weren't playing their best basketball, head coach John Margaritis called a timeout with 7:51 left in the fourth quarter. Whatever he said worked.
The team steadily began chipping away at the Thunderbirds lead by speeding up the tempo and outscored them 21-9 in the fourth quarter to pick up a 56-50 win, its first of the season.
"I was proud of the way the team responded," Margaritis said. "One of the things you are looking for during these first 10 games or so is a game you have to persevere because things don't go your way. However, you find a way to be successful and they did tonight."
One of the team's biggest buckets came when Malou De Kergret drained a three-pointer with 2:37 left in the fourth, cutting Southern Utah's lead to one point. Before that, the team had gone 0-for-16 from the three-point line.
Just 20 seconds later, Keilanei Cooper scored on a layup to give the team its first lead of the quarter. The Highlanders wouldn't look back.
During that stretch, the defense turned it up as well. Southern Utah didn't have a field goal the last six minutes of the game. UCR also had 23 points off turnovers during the contest and eight blocks, while the Thunderbirds had none.
The team was led by Tianna Eaton, who scored 15 points and notched 10 rebounds. Jannon Otto had 11 points on the night, along with five rebounds. Otto helped the team pull away at the end of the game, collecting five points and two rebounds in the final minute.
UCR took a 16-10 lead going into the second quarter, but went into halftime down 26-23 after going cold in the quarter. The team went 3-for-17 from the field. Playing scrappy the entire game, Southern Utah battled the Highlanders underneath the basket and down low.
The Highlanders played even with Southern Utah in the third quarter, shooting 35 percent from the field and went into the final quarter down 41-35.
Leadership on the team was evident throughout the game, especially when it was down.
"To be able to get out of that funk and score 21 points in the fourth quarter speaks volumes about their character," said Margaritis.
