LONG BEACH, Calif.—It's not how you start, but how you finish. That saying rang true for the UC Riverside Women's Basketball team in its 73-59 win over Long Beach State on Thursday.
After trailing by just three points in the first half, the Highlanders (8-11, 2-3) dominated in the second half, outscoring the Beach by 17 points to grab its second Big West Conference win.
"The team is starting to develop an identity in that they are not giving up easily," head coach John Margaritis said. "We hung in there today and really battled a team that is playing well."
UCR was especially impressive in the fourth quarter, going 7-for-8 from the field and 6-for-7 from the free throw line. No one came up bigger than Marina Ewodo, who scored 12 points and had four rebounds in the quarter to help UCR maintain the lead and get the win. Ewodo finished the night scoring a career-high 25 points, grabbing eight rebounds and blocking four shots.
"Her teammates were really looking for her and she got the ball in tough spots and was able to finish," Margaritis said. "She did that well today."
Along with Ewodo, three other Highlanders scored in double digits, including Jannon Otto, who had 22 points. It marked the fourth time in six games that she has scored at least 20 points.
"I thought the third and fourth quarter was played well by us," Margaritis said. "Long Beach couldn't sustain what they did in the first half and we made them uncomfortable."
Fresh in the team's mind was its 63-45 loss on Jan. 10 vs. LBSU. In that game, Long Beach State took charge from the tip-off and led for 34:34 of the game.
In Thursday's game, Malou De Kergret started out 3-for-3 from the field and scored six of the team's 12 points in the first quarter. It marked the team's lowest scoring quarter in the game. Much of that was due to LBSU being able to use its speed to its advantage and knock down three-pointers, going 6-for-9 in the first half. They only made one in the second half.
Beginning the second quarter down 19-12, the Highlanders finished out the quarter strong. They went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer at the buzzer by Keilanei Cooper to go into halftime down 36-33. UCR shot 50 percent in the first half, going 12-for-24 from the field.
Things continued to stay close throughout the third quarter, with the team holding LBSU to just 18.8 percent shooting. As their play picked up, so did their communication with each other in the huddle.
Going into the fourth quarter down 53-50, the team quickly went on a 6-0 run and with six minutes left to play, took its first double digit lead of the night. Overall, the team led for 13:31 minutes and Long Beach State led for 25:46.
UCR's next game will be at Hawai'i on Wednesday at 9 p.m. PT.
