BAKERSFIELD, Calif.—CSU Bakersfield held Chicago State to seven second half field goals as the Roadrunners ran past the Cougars 83-58 Saturday afternoon.

Chicago State made seven of its first 11 field goal attempts as the Cougars leaped out to their largest lead of the half, 17-12, with 12:38 to play. The Roadrunners switched to a full-court defensive set to speed the game up and the tactic worked as the 'Runners mounted a 13-2 run to earn the lead. Although Chicago State outshot CSUB in the first half 57.1-33.3%, the Roadrunners turned 13 Cougar turnovers into 13 points and held a 35-31 lead at half.

“The first half was a little rocky,” said CSU Bakersfield head coach Greg McCall. “I thought it took us a while to get going. The press sped the game up to where we like it, but we didn't execute very well.”

CSUB (14-6, 3-2 WAC) opened the second half on a 12-3 run and never looked back. As the Roadrunners limited the Cougars on the defensive end, CSUB heated up the offensive front. The 'Runners shot 56.7% in the second half (17-of-30). CSU Bakersfield forced 11 Chicago State second half turnovers, resulting in 17 points.

“We started playing our style of basketball in the second half,” McCall said. “We were able to use our pressure to create turnovers and get easy baskets. We are trying to get the ball inside and use our post players such as Brittany, Batabe, and Erika and we ended up with 29 points in the paint.”

Alyssa Shannon (Jr., Bakersfield, Calif., Stockdale HS) led five Roadrunners in double figures with 19 points. The 5-2 point guard added five assists and four steals. Tyonna Outland (R-Sr., Compton, Calif., Lynwood HS) scored 15 points and had six assists. Erika Williams (R-So., Fresno, Calif., Diamond Ranch HS) posted 12 and Brooklynn Hinkens (Sr., Lake Tapps, Wash., Auburn-Riverside HS) tallied 11 off the bench for CSUB. The Roadrunner bench outscored Chicago State 30-6. Brittany Sims (So., Fresno, Calif., Edison HS) charted 10 points and led CSUB with eight rebounds.

Batabe Zempare (Jr., Accra, Ghana, Scottsdale Chapparal HS), grabbed four rebounds to build on the all-time CSUB rebounding record she set last week on the road. Zempare's career-rebounding total now stands at 703; she was honored in a pregame ceremony.

The victory marked the 18th in a row in the Icardo Center dating back to last season. CSUB is 12-0 on the Blue Floor in 2014-15.

The Cougars (2-15, 0-4 WAC) were led by Layne Murphy who had a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds. Konner Harris scored all 13 of her points in the first half. Chicago State would shoot 41.6% (19-of-46) for the game. The 19 Cougar field goals are the fewest allowed in game by the Roadrunner defense this season.

“Getting 30 points off the bench is huge for us,” McCall said. “This is a good win for us. We did what we were supposed to do and we did that to win the game.”

CSUB travels to Seattle U next Saturday to begin a three-game road trip. Tip in the Emerald City is set for a 4 p.m. The Roadrunners return home Feb 12 for a 7 p.m. game against Texas-Pan American. Tickets are available at vallitix.com.

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