LOS ANGELES – The Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team gave itself an early Christmas present in the form a 68-48 win over Cal State L.A. at the Eagle's Nest in Los Angeles Thursday night.
With the win, the Roadrunners (6-3, 3-0 CCAA) maintain sole possession of first place in their final California Collegiate Athletic Association campaign. Cal State L.A. falls to 2-5 and 0-3 with the loss.
Senior center Jessi Loring (Saugus/College of the Canyons) posted her third consecutive double-double and her sixth of the season with game-highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Kelley Tarver (Valencia HS) added 12 points while sophomore guard Krista Arase (Alhambra/Keppel HS) chipped in a game-high six assists.
CSLA scored the first three points of the game, but the Roadrunners took it from there. A quick 8-0 run put Bakersfield ahead to stay. Nevertheless, the game remained close until a pair of Loring free throws sparked a 7-0 run that gave Bakersfield its first double-digit lead at 23-13.
The Golden Eagles managed to trim their deficit to eight points three times early in the second half, but Bakersfield parried each comeback attempt before easing away to the 20-point final margin.
Thursday's game was a brief return to NCAA Division II action for the Roadrunners. They will conclude the Division I portion of their schedule Dec. 28 when they travel to Boulder to take on the University of Colorado.
CS BAKERSFIELD (6–3, 3–0 CCAA): Kelley Tarver 5-11 1-1 12; Krista Arase 0-1 0-0 0; Christine Kepenekian 2-4 2-2 7; Naomi Johnson 0-4 4-6 4; Jessi Loring 7-11 7-8 21; Tiffany Belt 0-1 0-0 0; Katherine Smith 2-4 0-1 5; Rhondi Naff 3-5 0-0 6; Kelly Blair 0-1 0-0 0; Rhonda Johnson 4-9 1-2 9; Florida Siaosi 2-6 0-0 4; Leesa Barnes 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25-57 15-20 68.
CAL STATE L.A. (2–5, 0–3 CCAA): Shayna Stanley 3-11 0-1 6; Jaquaya Chatman 1-3 1-2 3; Amber Whittington 2-6 1-1 5; DeAnna Baldwin 1-5 4-4 7; Rachel Ottovich 3-8 3-4 9; Regina Baucum 0-4 1-3 1; Amber Fause 2-8 0-0 5; Rosalyn Omoruyi 4-5 0-0 8; Fatimah Stokley 0-0 0-0 0; Brenae Perkins 0-2 1-2 1; Amber Todd 1-1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 17-53 11-17 48.
HALFTIME: CSUB 32-22. 3-PT. FG: CSUB 3-11 (Smith 1-1, Tarver 1-3, Kepenekian 1-3, Arase 0-1, Belt 0-1, Naff 0-1); CSLA 3-9 (Baldwin 1-1, Todd 1-1, Fause 1-4, Stanley 0-3). REBOUNDS: CSUB 42 (Loring 11); CSLA 34 (Ottovich 9). ASSISTS: CSUB 16 (Arase 6); CSLA 9 (Fause 3). TURNOVERS: CSUB 17, CSLA 21. BLOCKS: CSUB 2 (Loring 2); CSLA 1 (Stanley). STEALS: CSUB 6 (Tarver 3); CSLA 4 (Stanley 3). TECHNICALS: None. FOULED OUT: None. OFFICIALS: Leibfried, Dunomes, Edmunds. ATTN: 193.
