Jan. 31, 2013
Highlanders 45 – Gauchos 42
UC Riverside won its sixth game in a row Thursday, Jan. 31 against UC Santa Barbara, 45-42. The game was filled with good defense and poor offensive execution.
Natasha Hadley came up big with 20 points as the Highlanders improved their record to 10-9 on the season and 6-1 on the road. The Highlanders shot just 29.8 percent from the field, while Santa Barbara shot 32.7 percent.
Hadley shot 50 percent from the field, going 8-16. Second in line was Leah Washington who shot just 33 percent. Destini Mason shot 60 percent for UC Santa Barbara in 21 minutes, going three of five from the field.
UC Riverside began the game slow allowing an 11-5 run that was capped off by Gaucho’s Melissa Zornig three-pointer. The Highlander’s defense seemed to show signs of the inconsistency that has plagued them all season long.
Hadley would score the next four points on back-to-back jumpers and a layup that tied the game at 11. Moments later, UCSB would use a Mason jumper to decrease the deficit to 14-17. The game would go scoreless the next three minutes. Riverside would then go on an 8-2 run to end the first quarter.
The second half was all Riverside as a couple of Hadley free throws and a layup with about five minutes left to go gave Riverside a 10 point lead. The Gauchos would eventually cut the Highlanders lead to two, but a few clutch free throws by Tre’Shonti Nottingham sealed a close defensive minded win for the Highlanders.
Feb. 2, 2013
Mustangs 79 – Highlanders 56
The UC Riverside women’s basketball went on the road against Cal Poly and Riverside’s defense was trampled 56-79.
The Mustangs were red hot from the three point area hitting 57.1 percent. Mustang Ariana Elegado scored five three-pointers for Cal Poly. She led a trio of high flying scorers for the Mustangs with 19 points. Tre’Shonti Nottingham led the Highlanders with 18 points and a team high four three-pointers.
Elegado nailed two of her three-pointers in the first seven minutes of the game as the Mustangs came roaring out of the gates in the first half. The Mustangs went on a 16-6 run that was capped by a Molly Schlemer layup. The first half would not be kind to the Highlanders as the Mustangs would use three-pointers and stingy defense to take a 27 point, 45-18 lead to end the half.
Riverside made just nine of its shots in the first half, compared to 18 for the Mustangs, but they wouldn’t come out entirely anemic in the second half. Riverside made 16 shots in the second half, shooting close to 50 percent, including four made three-pointers. Nottingham scored 14 of her 18 points in the second half, making all four of the team’s three-point shots. Schlemer added 10 points for the Mustangs in the second half. Riverside would only cut the lead to 18, before ballooning the lead back up to 32 with seven and a half minutes left to go and sealing the game.
Riverside dropped it’s record back to .500 at 10-10 while Cal Poly improved to 12-8. They will play Cal State Fullerton Feb. 9 at Fullerton.
