RIVERSIDE— The UC Riverside Women's Basketball team took on USC Thursday night, and competed shot-for-shot in a high-level contest that was within single digits the majority of the time. The Trojans ultimately came away with a, 76-59, victory over the Highlanders in UCR's home opener.

Marina Ewodo posted the first double-double of her senior season with 16 points and 12 hard-fought rebounds, five of them coming on the offensive end against the nation's leading defensive rebounding team in USC. The Highlanders also outrebounded the Trojans for the game, 38-32, thanks to efforts from Skyler Lewis (6pt-6rebs) and Daphne Gnago (5pts-5rebs).

Keilanei Cooper added 11 points to the UCR cause, while Jannon Otto chipped in 10 in her return to the lineup.

The Highlanders got out to a, 9-7, lead midway through the first quarter, giving their visitors the competitive welcome they expected. The Trojans stayed a late surge to take a 20-16 lead at the end of the first. 

The second frame was also played at close range, and even though the Trojans got ahead by 12 points, the Highlanders closed out the half on a 7-2 run to make it a manageable, 40-33, seven-point halftime deficit.

UCR got threes from Ewodo and Ann Jernigan in the early minutes of the third to trim the margin to five at, 44-39, in the midst of a 6-2 spurt. The Highlanders would enter the fourth trailing, 56-48, and score the first bucket of the period to make it a six-point game. The Trojans then responded with six-straight points of their own, and eventually pushed the lead to 18 points, before the game settled on a final score, 79-56.


LOOKING FORWARD
The Highlanders head to Bay Area to face the Cal Bears in a Sunday evening affair slated for 5pm Sunday. UCR hosts a pair of home games next week— Thursday the 21st against Utah Valley and Sunday the 24th versus Weber State.