FULLERTON, Calif. – Senior guard Michelle Curry nearly had a triple double as she powered No. 6 UC Riverside (10-21, 6-10) to a 79-66 win over No. 7 Long Beach State (8-23, 6-10) on Tuesday, sending the Highlanders to the Big West Tournament Quarterfinals for the second consecutive season.

"Long Beach showed a lot of talent, guts and perseverance. They never quit," Head Coach John Margaritis said. "I'm very proud of our team. We showed that we can finish a game, and we can finish against a very quality team."

Curry ended her night with 20 points (8-16 FG) for the fifth straight outing, pulling down a postseason career-high 12 rebounds – ten of which came before the end of the third quarter. The Los Angeles native, who had five assists in her first four Big West Tournament appearances combined, also dished out a game-high seven helpers.

It was the Highlanders' first win away from home since defeating UNLV 95-88 at the ASU Classic on Dec. 2, ending a run of 12 consecutive road defeats.

"We came together as a team," Curry said. "We put more effort in working harder on both sides of the ball. We put more emphasis on outplaying our opponent and the result showed that."

Senior Lauren Holt put up a game-high 22 points, tying a UC Riverside postseason record by hitting 5-of-9 (.556) from three-point range. It was Holt's second straight game knocking down a career-high five triples, making her 10-of-16 (.625) over her last two outings.

The most impressive surprise of the night though was the play of guard Tianna Eaton, who finished with career-highs across the board. The freshman poured in 19 points (6-12 FG, 2-3 3FG), seven rebounds and four assists. Her 39 minutes on the floor were second only to Holt's 40.

"I was finally confident," Eaton said. "That's what my coaches have been stressing a lot, just telling me to be confident in my shot and it'll happen."

The Highlanders didn't get out to a hot offensive start by any means, but played hard from the opening tip and dominated the rebound battle early and often. UCR had a 24-13 advantage on the glass late in the first half, and would end up outrebounding Long Beach 44-30.

After trailing 7-4 less than three minutes in, a pair of Holt triples helped send the Highlanders on a 14-2 run, as they took an 18-9 lead at the 1:55 mark of the opening period. Long Beach would trail the rest of the way.

Earning just her fifth career start, Eaton ended the first half with nine points, already tying her career-high which was set nearly four months ago in UC Riverside's season-opener against LMU (Nov. 10).

"I played her for defensive purposes," Margaritis said. "But then she just went off."

While the 49ers never stopped fighting, the Highlanders' trio of Curry, Holt, and Eaton had an answer every step of the way. All three players reached double-figures in the second half alone, combining for 34 points on 12-of-15 (.800) from the field and 4-of-6 (.667) from beyond the arc.

The only other Highlander to make a shot in the second half was sophomore Jannon Otto, who tallied six points on 3-of-4 (.750) field goals herself in the third and fourth for her only points of the game.

Marina Ewodo chipped in with six points and five assists, while her sophomore counterpart in the paint, Skyler Lewis, finished with six points and six boards.

Although the Highlanders entered the postseason as the conference's worst three-point shooting team, they have turned things around at the right time. UCR shot 7-for-17 (.412) on threes, with all seven triples coming from either Holt or Eaton.

This marks the first time all year that the Highlanders have shot over 40 percent from deep in back-to-back games. Their 23 assists also set a new season-high during Big West play, while their 79 points were good for their third-highest scoring total.

With ten three-pointers in her last two games, Lauren Holt now has 60 for the season, surpassing her 2016-17 total of 57. She enters tomorrow's Big West Quarterfinal game against No. 3 UC Irvine with the fifth-most single-season three-pointers in program history.

The Highlanders will be back in action tomorrow night in a 6:00 p.m. tip-off against the Anteaters on ESPN3, who UCR has a 2-0 all-time record against in the Big West Tournament. In the two teams' most recent playoff meeting last March, the Highlanders set a new program postseason scoring record, defeating the Anteaters 92-60 for Coach Margaritis' 200th career Big West win.