CARSON, Calif. – The Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team ran its winning streak to 11 games with a 77-62 win over Cal State Dominguez Hills Saturday night at the Torodome in Carson.
Bakersfield (19-6, 16-2 CCAA) played without the key backcourt combination of Kelley Tarver and Katherine Smith, who were healthy scratches for the game. But sophomore guard Christine Kepenekian (Burbank HS) filled some of the void with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Point guard Krista Arase (Alhambra/Keppel HS) picked up the rest of the slack with a stellar performance. Arase scored 18 points, nailing 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, while holding dangerous Toro guard Jessica Liang scoreless for the first time this season on the defensive end.
Dominguez Hills (12-10, 9-9) is fighting to return to the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence, though Saturday's loss will not affect the Toros' chances as results against NCAA Division I Bakersfield do not count in the Division II rankings. For the first 20 minutes, the Toros looked every bit the NCAA contender, holding several first-half leads and trailing just 40-37 at the break.
The 'Runners exploded out of the gate in the second half, however, with an Arase three-pointer capping a 9-2 run that gave them their first double-digit lead at 49-39. Dominguez Hills pulled to within four at 62-58 with 5:22 remaining when a Kepenekian layup and another Arase three started a game-ending 15-4 run that gave Bakersfield the win.
UC San Diego defeated Cal State L.A. 86-47 Saturday night to stay within one game of the 'Runners with four games remaining. Bakersfield is trying to close out its seventh and final CCAA season with its third conference championship.
The 'Runners head to Northern California to close out a four game road trip next week. The action begins at Thursday night at Humboldt State in Arcata.
CS BAKERSFIELD (19–6, 16–2 CCAA): Krista Arase 6-10 2-2 18; Christine Kepenekian 1-6 7-10 9; Rhondi Naff 3-8 2-2 9; Jessi Loring 4-10 0-1 8; Florida Siaosi 6-8 4-7 16; Tiffany Belt 1-5 0-1 2; Naomi Johnson 1-1 2-2 4; Kelly Blair 1-3 0-0 3; Rhonda Johnson 3-8 2-2 8. TOTALS: 26-59 19-27 77.
CS DOMINGUEZ HILLS (12–10, 9–9 CCAA): Brigayle Iglehart 7-15 2-2 17; Brittney Blankenship 7-14 0-2 16; Jessica Liang 0-3 0-0 0; Alana Bailey 2-6 0-0 4; Michelle Kribell 3-9 0-0 6; Aujanee Baldwin 4-8 3-5 11; Ashley Johnson 0-0 0-0 0; Ree Brown 2-5 4-4 8; Michele Hale 0-0 0-0 0; Ennisha Kyles 0-3 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25-63 9-13 62.
HALFTIME: CSUB 40-37. 3-PT. FG: CSUB 6-16 (Arase 4-6, Blair 1-1, Naff 1-2, Kepenekian 0-3); CSDH 3-11 (Blankenship 2-2, Iglehart 1-3, Liang 0-2, Kribell 0-4). REBOUNDS: CSUB 45 (Siaosi, Kepenekian 11); CSDH 36 (Iglehart 9). ASSISTS: CSUB 15 (3 with 3); CSDH 14 (Iglehart 4). TURNOVERS: CSUB 10, CSDH 12. BLOCKS: CSUB 5 (Naff 2); CSDH 0. STEALS: CSUB 5 (Siaosi 2); CSDH 6 (Iglehart, Bailey 2). TECHNICALS: None. FOULED OUT: None. OFFICIALS: Tentor, Nelson, Edmonds. ATTN: 402.
