NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – UC Riverside returned to action on Saturday afternoon with a visit to Northridge, as Matehya Bryant's hook shot with 15 seconds left elevated the Highlanders to a 53-52 win over first-place CSUN at the Premier America Credit Union Arena. 

UC Riverside picked up its first win away from the SRC Arena in the process and its first win in 11 tries when trailing at the 5:00 mark of the fourth quarter. 

UCR opened the contest creating brief separation in the first quarter, nursing a six-point lead on the Matadors with Jordan Webster's first bucket of the afternoon, a three from the corner. CSUN came back with a 6-0 run, quickly but effectively putting Saturday's matinee up the billing in a series that previously had gone five wins per side in the last 10 meetings.

Webster and Mele Finau led UCR with 10 of 15 points in the first quarter after each connected on a triple in the game's opening 10 minutes. Webster came up clutch once more before halftime, hitting a jumper from the right short corner to reclaim the Highlander lead ahead of a 24-22 halftime deficit.

The duo combined to dominate the glass for UC Riverside on the day, going for 14 of UCR's 31 rebounds.

CSUN and UCR continued to trade blows out of halftime on the offensive end, as neither team held more than a four-point lead in the third quarter. Matehya Bryant continued her dominance through conference play in both the scoring and rebounding departments, going over 10 points for the fifth contest this year and second straight with a jumper that put the Highlanders down just two heading into the fourth.

Bryant scored 14 of her game-high 18 points in the second half and finished three rebounds shy of double double number four on the season. Not to be overlooked, though, was UCR successfully nailing down the details in an area that hasn't been too kind to the Highlanders all season: taking care of the basketball with a season-low six turnovers in Saturday's win. 

After being either in lockstep with or closely behind the Matadors for the majority of the afternoon, a slow-going Highlander offense picked up steam at just the right time late in the fourth. Julia Stenberg played the role of clutch shooter this time, hitting a fast break three and later on a quick jumper to put the Highlanders ahead 50-48 and extend a much-needed run to 7-0. 

With UCR down one, Finau found Bryant down low on a baseline inbound with 15 seconds left. Bryant then maneuvered into the paint and dropped in the game winner off her right hand from just inside the foul line. 

UC Riverside goes back to work in a rare Wednesday matchup, hosting UC San Diego on January 11 at the SRC Arena. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+.