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Women's Basketball CSU Bakersfield Athletic Communications

Roadrunners Pull Comeback; Upend Anteaters in Overtime


IRVINE, Calif. — Keeping with the recent tradition of nail biting finishes the CSUB women's basketball team has become accustom to over the past two weeks, Saturday's contest against the UC Irvine Anteaters proved to be no exception. Trailing by as many as 13 points, the Roadrunners battled back to force overtime and eventually came away with a hard–fought 78–72 victory at the Bren Center.

The game was the first overtime game for the Roadrunners since the double–overtime thriller at Loyola Marymount back on Dec. 28, 2007. All–time, CSUB is now 6–3 all–time in overtime contests.

Senior Katie Williams (Las Vegas/Reedley College) had 21 points and 13 rebounds for her sixth double–double of the year. Classmate Phynique Allen (San Diego/Eastern Washington) scored 17 points including a perfect 10–for–10 stat line from the charity stripe. Uncharacteristically, however, she turned the ball over seven times while recording a game–high six assists. Despite not playing well early, freshman Amber Williams (Fontana, Calif./Etiwanda HS) redeemed herself and was key late in the second half and during the overtime period. She scored six of the team's 13 overtime points and did not commit a turnover. She finished with 11 points. Junior Tamiko Davis (Sacramento, Calif./San Jose State) picked up her fifth double–double with a strong 15–rebound, 15–point performance. She also tied a career–high with four blocked shots.

CSUB fell behind early in the first half as Irvine went on a 15–2 run during the first five minutes of the contest after CSUB had previously tied it at 5–5. The Roadrunners would battle back, scoring the game's next nine points to pull back to within four, 20–16. But another Anteater run pushed the lead back out to double–digits, 33–21, with 5:55 remaining. Irvine would lead by 12 with 2:46 left to play but the 'Runners would close the half out strong, scoring the final four points to cut the deficit to eight, 35–27. Katie Williams had 10 points at the break while Allen added nine but committed five turnovers.

The Roadrunners battled throughout the second half to stay with the Anteaters and eventually would pull back to within double digits late in the half. With the deficit cut to just two with just under a minute left to play, Amber Williams stepped up and hit her first three pointer of the game from the right baseline, tying the game for the first time since early in the first half, 65–65. Williams then responded on the defensive end, locking down on Irvine's Smith–Williams with just 11 seconds left to give CSUB a chance to win on the final possession. But an Allen layup hit the backboard and fell to the side, sending the game to overtime.

Katie Williams tallied two steals setting the program's single–season steals mark with 93. The previous mark was held by Audrie Magdaleno who had 91 during the inaugural 2000–01 season. Senior Kelley Tarver (Valencia HS) made her 116th career appearance Saturday, setting the program's all–time record for appearances. She is also currently one start away from tying Krista Arase's career mark for games started in a Roadrunner uniform of 115.

UCI was led by Mikah Marly–Karros, a transfer from Loyola Marymount, who finished with game–highs in points (24) and rebounds (17). She battled foul trouble through most of the second half and eventually fouled out late.

CSUB (15–9 overall) takes the season series from the Anteaters (8–15 overall), 2–0, after beating UCI 77–75 back on Nov. 23.

The Roadrunners will take their longest break of the season with an 11–day layoff between games. CSUB returns to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 17, for the Pink Zone game against Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. The 'Runners will be wearing pink jerseys in support of breast cancer awareness.
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Players Mentioned

Krista Arase

#25 Krista Arase

G
5' 6"
Senior
Phynique Allen

#24 Phynique Allen

G
5' 7"
Senior
Tamiko Davis

#33 Tamiko Davis

F
6' 1"
Junior
Kelley Tarver

#13 Kelley Tarver

G
5' 8"
Senior
Amber Williams

#3 Amber Williams

G
5' 7"
Freshman
Katie Williams

#22 Katie Williams

G
5' 9"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Krista Arase

#25 Krista Arase

5' 6"
Senior
G
Phynique Allen

#24 Phynique Allen

5' 7"
Senior
G
Tamiko Davis

#33 Tamiko Davis

6' 1"
Junior
F
Kelley Tarver

#13 Kelley Tarver

5' 8"
Senior
G
Amber Williams

#3 Amber Williams

5' 7"
Freshman
G
Katie Williams

#22 Katie Williams

5' 9"
Senior
G
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