BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team put on a defensive clinic Saturday night and the effort paid dividends in a 72-45 win over visiting Humboldt State at Rabobank Arena.
Bakersfield (10-6, 7-2 CCAA) held one of the CCAA's top-shooting teams to just 31 percent for the game, including a meager 25 percent (8-of-32) in the second half. The Roadrunners also forced 27 turnovers and blocked seven shots en route to the win.
Senior center Jessi Loring (Saugus/College of the Canyons) came back after missing most of Thursday's win over Sonoma State with an ankle injury and gave a stellar performance, scoring a game-high 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field. Sophomore guard Kelley Tarver (Valencia HS) chipped in 13 points while backcourt mate Krista Arase (Alhambra/Keppel HS) dished six assists and collected five steals for the second consecutive game.
Mia Spasowska scored 17 points as the only Humboldt player to reach double figures.
Both teams started fast then cooled off quickly. Each made their first three shot from the field before combining to miss their next 13 attempts. The Roadrunners righted their ship midway through the half, however, using a 13-4 run to turn a 16-15 lead into their first double-digit advantage at 29-19.
Bakersfield then closed the first half on a 12-2 run that left the halftime score at 42-23 and it never looked back. The lead stayed above 20 points for most of the second half, growing as big as 25 points on several occasions before settling on the 27-point final margin.
The Roadrunners will return to the road next week when they play a pair of games in the Inland Empire. The trip begins Friday evening at Cal Poly Pomona.
Humboldt State (11-4, 6-4) returns home to host Cal State Stanislaus Thursday night.
HUMBOLDT STATE (11–4, 6–4 CCAA): Biava Arganda 1-3 0-0 4; Katie Wilder 2-15 0-0 5; Mia Spasowska 7-15 2-2 17; Jennifer Enos 1-5 0-0 3; Jessica Haayer 1-4 0-0 2; Claudia Nelson 0-1 0-0 0; Luiza Osborne 0-0 0-0 0; Paige Peterson 2-7 4-4 8; Kristina O'Keefe 2-5 0-2 4; Melissa Felbab 1-2 0-1 2; Haley Andrews 1-1 0-0 2; Taylor Kilgore 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18-59 6-9 45.
CS BAKERSFIELD (10–6, 7–2 CCAA): Rhondi Naff 0-5 0-0 0; Florida Siaosi 1-7 2-2 4; Jessi Loring 10-14 4-5 24; Kelley Tarver 5-11 2-2 13; Krista Arase 1-4 4-4 7; Tiffany Belt 1-2 0-0 2; Katherine Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Christine Kepenekian 2-7 0-0 6; Naomi Johnson 1-4 2-2 4; Kelly Blair 1-3 0-0 2; Rhonda Johnson 4-7 2-2 10. TOTALS: 26-64 16-17 72.
HALFTIME: CSUB 42-23. 3-PT. FG: HSU 3-14 (Enos 1-4, Spasowska 1-4, Wilder 1-5, Kilgore 0-1); CSUB 4-18 (Kepenekian 2-5, Arase 1-3, Tarver 1-4, N. Johnson 0-1, Belt 0-1, Naff 0-2, Blair 0-2). REBOUNDS: HSU 40 (Arganda 7); CSUB 42 (Siaosi 8). ASSISTS: HSU 11 (Wilder 3); CSUB 15 (Arase 6). TURNOVERS: HSU 27, CSUB 18. BLOCKS: HSU 3 (Arganda, Haayer, Felbab); CSUB 7 (Loring 4). STEALS: HSU 7 (Wilder 3); CSUB 14 (Arase 5). TECHNICALS: Humboldt State Coach. FOULED OUT: Spasowska. OFFICIALS: Jennifer Tentor, Mark Sawyer, Burt Nelson. ATTN: 338.
