Furious Second-Half Rally Falls Short For CSUN Against UC Riverside

Thursday, February 6

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

California State University at Northridge

9-13, 4-4BWC

UC Riverside

7-15, 3-5BWC

Team	1	2	3	4	F
UC Riverside	12	20	17	18	67
CSUN	9	13	19	21	62

Photo by: Paul Trafecanty

Furious Second-Half Rally Falls Short For CSUN Against UC Riverside

2/6/2020 9:18:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—A furious second-half rally fell short for CSUN as the Matadors dropped a 67-62 decision to UC Riverside in Big West Conference women's basketball action Thursday night in the Matadome.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing 7-6 with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter, the Highlanders' Jannon Otto made four consecutive field goals as she scored eight of the 12 points during a 12-2 spurt.
Shooting 48.1% (13-of-27), UCR led by as many at 14 in the first half. After holding CSUN to 8-of-33 from the field in the opening 20 minutes (24.2%), UC Riverside led 32-22 at halftime.
Otto (12) and Keilanei Cooper (11) combined for 23 of the 32 first-half points for the Highlanders. The Matadors forced 12 first-half UC Riverside turnovers, making seven steals, and scoring eight points.
After CSUN reduced the UCR lead to nine on two occasions early in the third quarter, Otto scored six consecutive points in an 8-2 outburst that extended the UCR advantage back into double digits.
After trailing by 14 again in the second half, the Matadors chipped away, cutting the UC Riverside lead to 53-49 midway through the fourth. UCR responded with five straight a 7-1 spurt. Down by double-digits again, the Matadors got to seven, 62-55 on a Deja Williams three-pointer with 2:16 to go. A Jordyn Jackson layup 30 seconds later made it 62-57.
Bryanna Brady made 1-of-2 free throws with 1:00 remaining created a 63-57 score. De'Jionae Calloway responded with a layup 24 seconds later. CSUN fouled Cooper who made two free throws on the ensuing possession.
After a Matador miss, Georgia Ohiaeri was fouled at the 19-second mark. She made 1-of-2 free throw attempts. CSUN again missed on offense was forced to foul. This time, the Matadors sent Skyler Lewis to the free-throw line with 11 ticks on the clock. Lewis made 1-of-2. Jackson's three-pointer with five seconds remaining was the final points of the night for either club.
Jackson scored a career-high 28 points as she went 10-of-21 from the field. Shed added three rebounds and two assists. Deja Williams added 16 points and five assists for the Matadors.
Otto paced UCR with 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting. She grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Cooper ended the night with 17 points.
The Matadors connected on 14-of-31 second-half field goal attempts (45.2%) and made 6-of-12 three-pointers in the final 20 minutes. UC Riverside (7-15, 3-5 Big West) made 12-of-24 field goal attempts in the second half, shooting 49% (25-of-51) for the game.
The Matadors made 14 steals and forced 25 turnovers, scoring 17 points off of UC Riverside mistakes. UCR outrebounded CSUN 42-31, but the Matadors held a 16-14 advantage on the offensive glass.

ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH JASON FLOWERS

"Credit to Otto, she got going early, taking advantage of the defensive breakdowns we committed. It was tough to derail her after that. Regardless of what defense we were in, we needed to take it upon ourselves to make plays, so she doesn't get hot like that. We will go back, take a look at the film and get ready for Hawai'i."

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