RIVERSIDE, Calif.—Thursday night at the SRC Arena, the UC Riverside Women's Basketball team made quite a statement. The team beat Big West powerhouse UC Irvine, 88-72, for its first conference win of the season.
The team (7-10, 1-2) was in control from tip-off and had its highest scoring game of the season. At one point, the team led by 29 points. UC Irvine came into the game at the top of the Big West standings as the only team with two conference wins and a 12-2 overall record.
"We competed. We played with energy and enthusiasm and we played under control," head coach John Margaritis said. "It helped us build a lead and we were able to finish it out."
You could tell right away that the team came to play. It began the game on a 12-3 run and finished the quarter shooting 78.6 percent (11-for-14) from the field. Every starter scored in the quarter and the Highlanders held the Anteaters to 4-for-15 shooting.
The same story continued into the second quarter. The team shot 64.7 percent (11-for-17) and held the Anteaters, who played without star sophomore Jordan Sanders, to just 28.6 percent shooting.
The Highlanders were able to put up such impressive numbers even with UCI pressing the entire night.
"We practiced all week and knew it was coming," Margaritis said. "We wanted to break it and we wanted to attack it. It worked out tonight."
Going into halftime with a 53-35 lead, Jannon Otto and Marina Ewodo led the team's scoring attack. Otto had 16 points, while Ewodo was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field with 14 points.
Otto finished the night with a career-high 31 points and 12 rebounds. It marked the fourth time in the last five games she's scored 20 or more points and her fourth double-double of the season.
Daphne Gnago did a little bit of everything in Thursday's game, flirting with a triple-double. She finished the night with 11 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
"Everyone was huge. Everyone stepped up and gave us quality minutes," Margaritis said. "It was a team effort and it came at the right time. We had some urgency."
The team has a quick turnaround. It will play at CSUN on Saturday at 7 p.m.
