Keilanei Cooper
Carlos Puma
66
Cal Poly CP 5-17, 2-9
80
Winner UC Riverside UCR 12-12, 6-4
Cal Poly CP
5-17, 2-9
66
Final
80
UC Riverside UCR
12-12, 6-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Cal Poly CP 15 16 14 21 66
UC Riverside UCR 13 20 24 23 80

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Offense Comes Alive for Women's Basketball in 80-66 Win Over Cal Poly

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The UC Riverside Women's Basketball team showed its resilience Saturday night at the SRC Arena, not letting Thursday's loss to UC Davis bring it down.

The Highlanders (12-12, 6-4) offensive prowess was on full display vs. Cal Poly (5-17, 2-9) in an 80-66 win. It marked just the second time this season that the team has scored over 80 points and the seventh time this season scoring over 70 points.

Jannon Otto, who is second in the Big West in scoring, tallied 30 points, while three other Highlanders scored in double digits. For Otto, it marked her sixth straight double digit game and her sixth game in conference scoring at least 20 points.

Cal Poly's aggressive defense in the first quarter and throughout the game forced the Highlanders to take more shots in the paint. The team shot 31.3 percent from the field in the first quarter and took a 15-13 lead going into the second quarter.

Down 21-17 a few minutes into the quarter, Malou De Kergret hit a few important buckets to make sure the Mustangs lead didn't become too big. She knocked down a three-pointer and then another bucket, cutting Cal Poly's lead to 23-22. It remained close through the second quarter before the Highlanders went into the locker room with a 33-31 lead.

Falling under the radar for much of the season, De Kergret finished the game with a total of 22 points, shooting 6-for-16 from the field.

The third quarter is when the Highlanders began to pull away. The team increased its lead to 10 points about half way through the quarter. They shot 7-for-12 from the field ( 58.3 percent) to score 24 points in the quarter. UCR went into the fourth quarter with a 57-45 lead after outscoring Cal Poly by 10 points in the third.

The Highlanders had a few important transition buckets thanks to Cal Poly's decision to press more and outscored the Mustangs 23-21 in the fourth quarter. While the Mustangs began fouling the Highlanders at the end of the game, the team got to the free throw line much more than they usually do. UCR went 26-for-34 from the charity stripe.  

The Highlanders won't have to wait long to face Cal Poly again. The two teams square-off when UCR travels to San Luis Obispo on Thursday.