CSUB Host UCSB, Second Game Against Gauchos in 10 Days

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team finally found its groove again, conquering Cal State Fullerton in a 64-58 home win on Monday. Three Roadrunner women scored in the double-digits, with Julia Riley and Morgan Edwards both setting new career high point totals. With their second game against UCSB in just the last ten days, the `Runners will be looking to use their victory over Fullerton as inspiration to try and pay the Gauchos back for the 63-62 last-second loss.

Upcoming Schedule

vs UC Santa Barbara, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2 p.m.

Quotes from Head Coach Greg McCall

"With such a strong defense, I think the girls are just a few shots away from being one of the more competitive teams in the Big West."
"We want to encourage shooting the ball as much as possible while still playing lockdown-defense. It's just a matter of continuing with time, and I stand by what I said at the beginning of the season that we have the potential to be one of the better three-point shooting teams."
"The other thing we've been focusing on is rebounding. We are still getting out-rebounded lately but have been focusing on hammering the offensive boards more, trying to get more offensive opportunities, second and third chances."

`Runner Notes

The `Runners displayed, far and away, one of their finest offensive efforts this season against UC Santa Barbara last time out. Were it not for two fouls in the final four seconds of the game that ended with a Gaucho win on free throws, Bakersfield would have returned home with a well-fought victory over one of the Big West's best teams. With home court advantage, CSUB will be hoping to enjoy similar success but this time nab the win.
Kayla Morris is enjoying a breakout evolution to her game as a redshirt freshman this year. Before exploding on offense, she was already consistently ranked in the top-20 for blocks-per-game in Division I. Now, she has recorded three double-digit games in her last four while still helping lead CSUB's defensive effort that is ranked No. 27 for team blocks-per-game and No. 25 for field goal percentage defense.
In the absence of key scorers on the offensive side, and aside from Morris herself, Bakersfield's freshman women have been stepping up in the face of adversity. On Monday, in the massive win against Cal State Fullerton, three freshmen put up double-digit point efforts, with Morgan Edwards leading the effort at 13 points, while Sophia Tougas contributed alongside her. Julia Riley also broke out for a new career high point total in her most time on the court in a single game thus far.

Scouting the Gauchos

UC Santa Barbara (11-5, 4-2 BW) is led by 8th-year head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
In their most recent game, UCSB dropped a ten-point result to UC Irvine on home court with a 70-60 loss on Jan. 14.
Ila Lane recorded her seventh double-double of the season against Irvine. The `Runners will have their work cut out for them, as Lane put up 20 points and 16 boards last time these two teams played a few days ago.
Alexis Whitfield and Alyssa Marin also present threats for an electric Santa Barbara offense that has scored less than 60 points only twice this season. However, with that said, UCSB's defense has also given up 60+ points in three straight games, one of those being to CSUB.
With just a narrow 3-5 record to the Gauchos during McCall's stay at CSUB, the `Runners will be looking to use their experience in this matchup to move forward from their recent losing history against UC Santa Barbara.

How to Follow the `Runners

All Big West conference games are available on ESPN+.
Links for video, live stats, and tickets are available at GoRunners.com/Live.
Live updates will be shared during games on Twitter @CSUB_WBB.

~GoRunners.com~

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Players Mentioned

#15 Kayla Morris: F; 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

#5 Sophia Tougas: G; 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman

#2 Morgan Edwards: G; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#33 Julia Riley: F; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#15 Kayla Morris
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman
: F

#5 Sophia Tougas
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#2 Morgan Edwards
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: G

#33 Julia Riley
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: F

California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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CSUB Host UCSB, Second Game Against Gauchos in 10 Days

Players Mentioned

#15 Kayla Morris

#5 Sophia Tougas

#2 Morgan Edwards

#33 Julia Riley

Players Mentioned

#15 Kayla Morris

#5 Sophia Tougas

#2 Morgan Edwards

#33 Julia Riley