Big First Half Propels UC Irvine To 82-65 Victory Over Cal State Northridge
Feb. 27, 2010
Northridge, Calif. -- UC Irvine scored a season-high 46 points in the first half and went onto a 82-65 victory over Cal State Northridge at the Matadome Saturday.
The Anteaters out-scored the Matadors 46-27 in the first half as Cal State Northridge could get no closer than 15 points in the second half. The 17-point margin of victory is the largest of the year and the 82 points is the second most scored by UCI this season.
With the win, the Anteaters clinch a spot in the Big West Tournament March 10-13 at the Anaheim Convention Center. UCI improves to 9-18 overall and 6-8 in the Big West. It is the first time since the 2005-06 season (9-19) that an Anteater team has notched nine wins. Cal State Northridge falls to 4-22overall and 2-12 in the Big West.
UCI had a balanced attack and was led by Mikah Maly-Karros with 20 points in 22 minutes of action, going 10-12 from the free throw line. Rebecca Maessen recorded 14 points followed by Jade Smith-Williams with 13 points and Keyonna Johnson with 11 points. Lauren Spinazze added eight points off the bench, while Jazmyne White recorded seven points and a team-high seven rebounds. Raquel Theus totaled five points in five minutes.
The Anteaters had a season-high 17 assists and tied their season-high with seven three-pointers.
Cal State Northridge was led by Janelle Nomura with 15 points off the bench. Katrina Thompson recorded 14 points and nine rebounds, while Amanda Thompson totaled 13 points. Violet Alama had a game-high 10 rebounds.
Keyonna Johnson opened the game draining two three-pointers as UCI started the contest with an 11-1 lead. Lauren Spinazee would hit a jumper in the lane with four seconds to give the Anteaters the 46-27 lead at the half. UCI shot a blistering 55.2 percent (16-29) from the floor in the first half, knocking down five three-pointers. Seven different UCI players scored with five of the Anteaters scoring six or more points in the first 20 minutes of action.
With the Anteaters leading by 23, the Matadors out-scored UCI 12-4, which included six points from the free throw line to pull within 57-42 with 12:05 remaining. UCI responded going on a 12-2 spurt to open the lead back to 69-44 on a pair of Mikah Maly-Karros free throws with 8:40 left. The Matadors would get no closer than the final margin of 17.
UCI will host the final two regular season games next week, entertaining UC Santa Barbara Wednesday (Mar. 3) at 7:00 p.m. and Cal Poly Saturday (Feb. 6) at 4:00 p.m.
