BAKERSFIELD, Calif. ? Sophomore Tiffany Belt and junior Kelley Tarver poured in 17 points apiece while a pair of Roadrunner freshmen had a career-high night as CSUB women's basketball team rolled over Utah Valley University 94-78 Thursday night in the Icardo Center.
The Roadrunners (9-10 overall) exploded out of the gates, building a 31-13 lead midway through the first half. Belt was the offensive catalyst in the surge, scoring 14 of her 17 points in the opening period. The Bakersfield native had a 4-for-4 performance from beyond the arc and finished the game with five triples.
The Wolverines (13-6 overall) were plagued by 11 first-half turnovers and a 0-9 performance from the three-point line, as CSUB took a 46-31 lead into the break.
A pair of layups by Rosemary Stribling to open the second half forced Utah Valley to call a quick timeout, but it was to no avail as CSUB continued to build its lead to 33 points at the 8:14 mark.
The first made three-pointer of the game for the Wolverines came with eight minutes on the clock, a long ball by Rebekah Peterson to trim the ?Runner lead to 78-48. Sandy Marvin then hit a triple of her own a minute later, cutting the difference to 27 points, but by then the game was long out of reach.
Normally a 41 percent three-point shooting team, Utah Valley hit just 4-of-17 from beyond the arc for a 23.5 percent effort.
Led by Fairbanks' game-high 20 points, the Wolverines shot 46 percent from the field. Julie McMurray and Peterson had 14 points apiece whole Marvin chipped in 11.
With four players in double-figures, the ?Runners spread the wealth in their second highest scoring output. Freshman Nikki Leon broke out of a three-game scoreless slump to pour down a career-high 16 points while fellow rookie Ke'Airra Jones tied her career-high of 12 points.
Stribling was a perfect 4-for-4 for nine points, while junior point guard Krista Arase dished out eight assists, surpassing the century mark for single-season assists for a third consecutive season.
CSUB's four-game homestand continues Saturday against Cal State Fullerton. Tip-off is 7 p.m. in the Icardo Center.
CSU Bakersfield 94, Utah Valley 78
UTAH VALLEY (13-6) ? FAIRBANKS 7-14 6-8 20; McMURRAY 4-9 6-6 14; PETERSON 6-8 0-0 14; MARVIN 5-15 0-0 11; SMITH 4-4 0-0 8; NAKAYAMA 2-7 0-0 5; REYNOLDS 2-2 0-1 4; CORNEJO 0-5 2-2 2; BOWEN 0-1 0-0 0; BEAMAN 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-65 14-17 78.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (9-10) ? TARVER 7-14 2-2 17; BELT 6-14 0-0 17; LEON 4-7 7-8 16; JONES 5-7 1-3 12; STRIBLING 4-4 1-2 9; ARASE 4-5 0-0 9; JOHNSON 3-8 1-1 7; CARTER 1-3 2-2 4; KEPENEKIAN 1-6 0-0 3; WEST 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-68 14-18 94.
Halftime: CSUB 46-31. 3-point goals--UVU 4-17 (MARVIN 1-6; NAKAYAMA 1-4; PETERSON 2-2), CSUB 10-17 (BELT 5-6; KEPENEKIAN 1-2; TARVER 2-2; JOHNSON 1-1; JONES 1-3; LEON 1-2). Fouled out--UVU-McMURRAY. CSUB-none. Rebounds--UVU 36 (FAIRBANKS 9), CSUB 36 (WEST 7). Assists?UVU 15 (MARVIN 4), CSUB 18 (ARASE 8). Total fouls--UVU 16, CSUB 13. Technical fouls--UVU-none, CSUB-none. A-512
