NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—Saturday's game for the UC Riverside Women's Basketball team was a tale of two halves. While it may have resulted in a 69-56 loss to CSUN, the grit and determination of the team proved to be the biggest takeaway.

While the Matadors had a 29 point lead at one point, the Highlanders (7-11, 1-3) whittled away the lead in the fourth quarter down to nine points. UCR was outscored by 22 in the first half, but the team outscored CSUN by nine in the second half.

"We just had to punch back," head coach John Margaritis said. "That was the biggest takeaway from tonight's game. We got off the mat fighting."

For as well as the team shot in the first quarter on Thursday vs. UC Irvine to pick up its first Big West conference win in dominating fashion, the opposite happened in the first quarter of Saturday's game. The team went just 2-for-12 from the field with Malou De Kergret scoring five of the team's six points.

CSUN took advantage of UCR's nine turnovers in the quarter, scoring 13 of its 26 points off them. Those turnovers also helped create 12 fast break points for the Matadors.

UCR improved off of its first quarter numbers, shooting 37.5 percent from the field, but still went into the locker room down 42-20 at halftime.

The team came out with more energy in the third quarter. As the quarter progressed, the team began to find more of a rhythm and went on a 13-5 run to end the frame.

Going into the fourth quarter down 52-35, the Highlanders kept chipping away at CSUN's lead and were able to get it to single digits when Keilanei Cooper drained a three pointer with three minutes left, bringing the score to 59-50. That is the closest they would come.

"We were able to find another gear," Margaritis said. "I felt like this was the first time this season that we were able to respond like this."

De Kergret led all scorers with 20 points, while Marina Ewodo had 13 points and eight rebounds. Keilanei Cooper also tallied 11 points. Daphne Gnago had the most interesting stat line of the night, scoring just one point, but collecting 15 rebounds (eight offensive).

"We showed tonight that we weren't just going to get beat up," Margaritis said. "For the future, I just hope we have learned from it."

The Highlanders will face Long Beach State on the road Thursday. The team took a 63-45 loss to LBSU on Jan. 10.