BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—After trailing by 18 points in the second half, Tyonna Outland's (R-Sr., Compton, Calif., Lynwood HS) three-point play with 5.2 seconds remaining capped off CSU Bakersfield's comeback and gave the Roadrunners a 66-65 victory over UC Riverside in women's basketball action Saturday afternoon.

“We fought hard,” said CSU Bakersfield head coach Greg McCall. “We switched to a press to try and speed the game up and get the tempo we wanted. I am very proud of how hard we played and how well we played together.”

The Roadrunners missed their first eight field goal attempts as UC Riverside took an early 6-0 lead. Bakersfield was called for seven fouls in the first 4:34 of the first half, giving the Highlanders the bonus. UC Riverside took advantage, going to the free throw line 11 times (making seven).  Both of the CSU Bakersfield point guards, Alyssa Shannon (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) and Shaquita Smith (Sr., Buffalo, N.Y., ASA College) picked up three fouls in the opening frame. UCR held CSUB to seven (7-of-38) field goals in the first half. The 'Runner defense kept CSUB in the game as the Roadrunners held the Highlanders to 31.3% (10-of-32) shooting with UC Riverside taking a 29-17 lead into the break.  

CSUB trailed by 18 with 17:46 to play in the second half when the Roadrunners mounted a 19-6 run that cut the lead to five, 44-39 with 10:51 to go. UC Riverside's Akliah Martin connected on a three-pointer that keyed an 11-5 spurt that pushed the Highlanders' lead back into double digits.

Back-to-back three pointers from Erika Williams and Alyssa Shannon brought the Roadrunners to within three, 57-54 at the 4:38 mark.  Outland's free throws with made it a 57-56 game.  Martin's layup the next time down returned a three-point advantage to UCR. Batabe Zempare (Jr., Accra, Ghana, Scottsdale Chapparal HS) connected on a basket on the ensuing CSUB possession. The 6-2 forward was fouled, and she completed the three point play to tie the score.

The Roadrunners got a stop on the defensive end which led to a Zempare layup that gave CSUB its first lead of the game with 2:28 remaining.  Brittany Crain put UC Riverside back into the lead with a three-pointer at the 1:50 mark. The teams exchanged turnovers which led to UCR's Annesse Ito to foul Outland as she went to the basket. Outland sank both to put CSUB up 63-62. Crain's layup put the Highlanders back up by one. The Roadrunners went to Outland who missed a layup. Zempare got the rebound, but was called for a turnover with 32.6 seconds on the clock.

CSUB fouled Simone DeCoud with 21 seconds on the clock. She made the front end of the 1-n-1, but missed the second. The Roadrunners called a set play for Outland. Outland drove to the basket, missing the shot. The 5-9 wing got her own rebound and put it back in to tie it. Crain fouled (fouling out with a game high 28 points) Outland on the shot, sending Outland to the charity stripe.  

UC Riverside called timeout to try and ice Outland. Outland would make the game winning free throw, her seventh in seven attempts. CSUB called timeout to set their defense. Hali Ford (Jr., St. Louis, Mo., Moberly Area CC) deflected the UCR inbounds pass. The Highlanders inbounded the ball to DeCoud who dribbled to half court where her heave was short, dropping UCR to 5-2 on the season.

“It was a tough one,” Outland said. “Coach McCall tells us every day in practice to keep fighting. I wanted to keep taking the same shots we take in every game, some nights the ball doesn't go in. Eventually we knew it would fall.”

Zempare led the Roadrunners (6-1) with 16 points and 16 rebounds in only 24 minutes of action. Outland's game winning field goal was the only attempt she made in 19 tries on the day. She grabbed eight rebounds, had five assists, four steals, and one block.

In addition to her 28 points, Crain posted nine rebounds. Ito charted 12 points and 10 rebounds while DeCoud had 10 points. Both teams shot under 35% for the game with UCR ending up at 34.4 (21-of-61) while CSUB was at 31.5% (23-of-73). CSU Bakersfield made 16-of-35 attempts in the second half. The Highlanders would go to the free throw line eight more times than the 'Runners, 23-15. CSUB connected on 14-of-15 tries while UCR was 18-of-23 from the line. The Roadrunner bench outscored their UC Riverside counterparts 33-10.

CSU Bakersfield begins a two-game swing through the state of Nebraska Thursday when the Roadrunners are at Omaha. Tip is set for 7 p.m. (CST). CSUB travels to No. 15 Nebraska next Saturday at 2 p.m. (CDT). The Roadrunners return home Dec. 21 when CSUB hosts UNLV at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at vallitix.com.

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