ARCATA — (Jan. 4) UC San Diego shot 57.9 percent from the field, including a 65.5 percent effort in the second half, to claim a 77-65 win over Humboldt State in California Collegiate Athletic Association women's basketball Thursday in Arcata.

The Lumberjacks fall to 7-3 overall and 2-3 in the CCAA while the Tritons improve to 7-2 overall and 3-1 in league play.

“That is a really good US San Diego team,” said HSU head coach Joddie Gleason. “I believe that they should be nationally ranked.”

Biava Arganda opened the game with a three-pointer and the Jacks held a 5-4 lead before Leora Juster scored on a layup to give the Tritons the lead that they would never relinquish.

While UCSD seemed to find its 34 first-half points with ease, the Lumberjacks struggled against the Triton's zone defense, committing 12 turnovers in the period while scoring 27 points.

UCSD's hot shooting continued in the second half as the visitor quickly built a 16-point lead by the 15:15 mark. Humboldt cut the deficit to nine on two occasions, but would get no closer.

Juster, the Triton's leading scorer on the season, finished the game with 24 points while Michelle Osier and Hillary Hansen added 16 points each.

“We executed our defensive game plan very well,” said Gleason. “But every time we shut down Juster, someone else would hit a shot.”

Mia Spasowska finished with 16 points to lead Humboldt's scoring, while Katie Wilder and Arganda reached double figures, tallying 15 and 11 points, respectively.

The Lumberjacks return to the court Saturday, hosting Cal State Dominguez Hills in a 5:30 p.m. start. The Toros were 56-51 winners over Sonoma State on Thursday.
   
UC San Diego vs Humboldt State
1/4/07 5:30 p.m. at Arcata, Calif.
UC SAN DIEGO 77, HUMBOLDT STATE 65
UC SAN DIEGO (7-2, 3-1 CCAA)
JUSTER, Leora 10-14 2-4 24; OSIER, Michelle 7-10 2-2 16; HANSEN, Hillary 7-13 2-4 16; KOSTLAN, Kacie 5-9 0-0 11; NOUD, Meaghan 4-7 0-0 9; RICKS, Jillian 0-4 1-4 1; NOONAN, Erin 0-0 0-0 0; MEZZETTA, Alexis 0-0 0-0 0; GASKIN, Alexis 0-0 0-0 0; BULL, Kaycie 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-57 7-14 77.
HUMBOLDT STATE (7-3, 2-3 CCAA)
SPASOWSKA, Mia 6-14 3-6 16; WILDER, Katie 3-6 9-9 15; ARGANDA, Biava 3-6 3-4 11; ENOS, Jennifer 3-10 0-0 7; KILGORE, Taylor 2-6 0-0 5; ANDREWS, Haley 2-5 0-0 4; NELSON, Claudia 1-1 0-0 2; HAAYER, Jessica 1-2 0-0 2; PETERSON, Paige 1-2 0-0 2; O'KEEFE, Kristina 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 22-53 16-21 65.
UC San Diego..................   34   43  -   77
Humboldt State................   27   38  -   65
3-point goals-UC San Diego 4-10 (JUSTER, Leora 2-2; NOUD, Meaghan 1-3; KOSTLAN, Kacie 1-4; RICKS, Jillian 0-1), Humboldt State 5-19 (ARGANDA, Biava 2-4; ENOS, Jennifer 1-6; SPASOWSKA, Mia 1-3; KILGORE, Taylor 1-4; ANDREWS, Haley 0-1; WILDER, Katie 0-1). Fouled out--UC San Diego-None, Humboldt State-None. Rebounds-UC San Diego 29 (OSIER, Michelle 10), Humboldt State 32 (WILDER, Katie 7). Assists-UC San Diego 14 (OSIER, Michelle 5), Humboldt State 15 (WILDER, Katie 5). Total fouls-UC San Diego 15, Humboldt State 13. A-901

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