Jannon Otto
59
Cal State Fullerton CSUF 11-10, 3-5 BWC
62
Winner UC Riverside UCR 11-11, 5-3 BWC
Cal State Fullerton CSUF
11-10, 3-5 BWC
59
Final
62
UC Riverside UCR
11-11, 5-3 BWC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Cal State Fullerton CSUF 17 16 13 13 59
UC Riverside UCR 23 12 16 11 62

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Beats Cal State Fullerton for Fourth Straight Win

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—In a back-and-forth game with plenty of nail-biting moments, the UC Riverside Women's Basketball team got a tight 62-59 win vs. Cal State Fullerton on Thursday. It marked the team's fourth straight victory.

With a total of 10 ties and five lead changes, Thursday's game proved to have plenty of conference implications. The teams came in with just a game separating them in the Big West. With the win, the Highlanders improved to 11-11 on the season and 5-3 in the Big West.

"The team always talks about how every game is important," head coach John Margaritis said. "If we are going to separate ourselves, we have to keep winning. We can only worry about ourselves."

The Highlanders offense got on a role early, shooting 64.7 percent from the field in the first quarter. Much of that had to do with Jannon Otto, who won Big West Player of the Week on Monday. She scored 11 points in the quarter on  5-of-7 shooting. The Highlanders also had just one turnover in the quarter.

Going into the second quarter with a 23-17 lead, the Highlanders went cold from the field, shooting just 25 percent (4-for-16). The same went for Otto, who was held scoreless. The Highlanders went into the locker room with a 35-33 lead.

"We had a hard time generating anything inside," Margaritis said. "We didn't make enough outside shots to really pull away. They kept finding ways to come back and then we would find ways to come back. It was a game of runs."

In the second half, the team did its best to neutralize Daeja Smith. After she went 7-for-7 from the field with 14 points in the first half, the Highlanders double-teamed her often and held her scoreless for the rest of the game.

The Highlanders went on a quick 6-0 run to open the quarter and give themselves a little breathing room. The team took its largest lead of the game when Malou De Kergret hit a jumper with 3:50 left in the quarter for a 47-37 lead.

De Kergret walked a fine line in the fourth quarter as she played with four fouls. The lone senior and captain, De Kergret wound up fouling out with just over six minutes left to play.

The team powered through, but not without some adversity. Right after De Kergret fouled out, CSUF tied the scored at 53. Yet, back-to-back three pointers, including one at the buzzer by Keilanei Cooper gave the Highlanders a six point lead.

Just like a great heavyweight fight, the Titans came right back. Raina Perez hit two three pointers in the span of two minutes to cut UCR's lead to a one possession game with 52 seconds left.

When Aimee Book was fouled by Cooper with 11 second left and the potential to tie the game, she missed both free throws. On the night, the Titans went 3-for-10 from the free throw line. A missed three-pointer with three seconds left by Hannah Thompson sealed the win for the Highlanders.

It may not have been pretty, but Maragritis will take it.

"We got it done, one way or another," Margaritis said. "You just have to keep thinking ahead. The girls played until the last second."

The team goes on the road to face UC Davis next Thursday at 6:00 p.m. UCR took a 67-59 loss to the Aggies at home on Jan. 5.