La Jolla, Calif.--- UC San Diego Tritons (23-8) held off a late rally from the visiting SF State Gators this evening in the First Round of the CCAA Basketball Championships to win its First Round game 59-56 at UC San Diego's RIMAC Arena in La Jolla this evening. UC San Diego will now face Sonoma State in the semi-finals on Friday at CSU San Bernardino.
“Great effort by our team this evening,” said SF State Head Coach Joaquin Wallace. “We played hard but we just did not finish, however it was a great season as we accomplished a lot,” added Wallace. “I am proud of Jessica (Hout-Freeman) as she has blossomed into a fine young player, but on the other hand we will miss Brio (Rode) as she was the focal point for our tremendous season.”
The first half went back and forth with six ties with the last one being 20-20 with 6:23 with the Tritons going on a 11-4 run to end the half to take a 31-24 lead in the locker room capped by a Michelle Osier jumper with 1:11 left in the half.
The Tritons increased their lead to 42-31 in the first five minutes of the second half on a two free throws by Alexis Gaskin. SF State (14-14) chipped away at the Tritons' lead and finally tied it at 54-54 on two free throws by
Brio Rode (Sr, F, Albuquerque, NM/Seward CC).
UC San Diego took a 56-54 lead on a two free throws by Meagan Noud with just 1:37 left, but
Dominique Hunter (Fr, C, San Francisco, Calif/Gateway HS) tied the game at 56-56 with a little over one minute left on an assist from
Krystle Mays (Jr, G/F, Long Beach, Calif/Chatsworth HS).
Michelle Osier then connected on two free throws to give UC San Diego a 58-56 lead with eight seconds left. The Gators turned the ball over on their next possession and were forced to foul with Alexis Gaskin connecting on just one of two free throws to give the hosts a 59-56 win.
Osier finished with a game high 26 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Tritons while Meaghan Noud added 17 and Gaskin chipped in 12.
Jessica Hout-Freeman (So, G, Fremont, Calif/Washington HS) led the Gators with 23 points while
Mays added 10 points for SF State.
