November 8, 2014
Highlanders 86 – Broncos 62
Taking to the court for their second exhibition of the 2014-2015 season, the UC Riverside women’s basketball team came out firing on all cylinders on their way to picking up a convincing 86-62 victory over the Cal Poly Pomona Broncos.
Highlander Annelise Ito put on a clinic in the first five and a half minutes of play, accounting for all 10 of UCR’s first points.
Throughout most of the first period, the match remained quite competitive, with the Broncos never falling into a double-digit deficit until there was 4:15 left to play in the half. At this point, the Highlanders had just begun to open up a 9-0 run that facilitated a lead of 43-30 going into halftime.
The floodgates burst open for the Highlanders in the second half, in which a 13-0 run led by Brittany Crain and Annelise Ito brought the UCR lead to a commanding 65-39 with 10:32 left to go. Both teams were essentially just trading buckets after this point, and the Highlanders were able to come away with an 86-62 victory in their second exhibition game of the year.
Strong shooting and defense was the name of the game for the Highlanders this match, who finished the game with a 51.7 field goal percentage, while holding the Broncos to a paltry 39.6 shooting percentage.
Pacing the Highlanders in scoring was hometown junior Brittany Crain, who finished with 27 points on nine-for-19 shooting while connecting on seven of eight free throws. Annelise Ito trailed Crain with 19 points of her own.
Next up for the Highlanders is their first meaningful action of the season on Friday, Nov. 14, where they are set to take on Santa Clara University to mark the start of a three-game homestand.
