ARCATA — Humboldt State's kept its eye on the prize, holding off every Cal State San Bernardino attempt to grab the lead in a 66-56 Lumberjack women's basketball victory Saturday.

The victory improves the Jacks' record to 10-5 overall, and they kept pace in the California Collegiate Athletic Association standings with a 5-3 mark. Cal State San Bernardino slipped to 7-7 overall and 5-3 in league games.

Katie Franci registered her ninth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds to lead HSU. Paige Peterson also put up double digits twice, scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, while Brittney Taylor topped the Jacks with 16 points.

Jaclyn Rainville scored 15 points and Krystal Urzua had 10 for Cal State San Bernardino. Rainville also paced her team in rebounding with eight boards.

"I knew coming into tonight's game that San Bernardino is a three-point shooting team, so our focus was to stay out on the shooters and force them to make plays," Humboldt State head women's basketball coach Joddie Gleason said. "Different people for San Bernardino were hitting threes at the beginning of the game so it was hard to pay attention to them when they had other people than their usually threats."

Humboldt State clung to a narrow lead through most of the second half, Franci and Taylor doing most of the scoring. A variety of contributors finished off the win at the free throw line, making seven of eight in the final minute.

"Down the stretch we did a nice job of playing winning basketball. We didn't turn the ball over, took smart shots and used the clock to our advantage," Gleason said.

In its first visit to Lumberjack Arena, Cal State San Bernardino found the three-point line a welcome spot throughout the first half. By the break the Coyotes had made 7-of-13 from long range, accounting for 21 of their 37 points, but they missed all nine of their chances in the second period.

On the other end, Humboldt State went to work inside the paint, growing the lead to as many as nine points when Peterson drove for a layup that made the score 32-23. CSUSB took the opposite approach, continuing its perimeter assault with Emily Vore's three-pointer before a pair of free throws trimmed the margin to four points.

Urzua gave the Coyotes a measure of momentum as halftime approached, nailing another three-pointer to chisel the lead to one. Humboldt State failed to connect on its final possession of the period, and headed to the locker room with a 38-37 lead.

Humboldt State goes on the road next week, traveling to face Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday and Cal State Los Angeles on Saturday.

Newspaper Box Score
CSU San Bernardino vs Humboldt State University
1/17/09 5:30 p.m. at Arcata, Calif. (Lumberjack Arena)
At Arcata, Calif. (Lumberjack Arena)
HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY 66, CSU SAN BERNARDINO 56
CSU SAN BERNARDINO (7-7, 5-3 CCAA)
RAINVILLE, Jaclyn 6-18 1-3 15; URZUA, Krystal 4-16 0-0 10; VORE, Emily 3-7
2-4 9; TAKATA, Lisa 3-6 2-2 8; GHOLAR, Shannon 1-3 2-2 5; DURAN, Aubrey 2-4
0-0 4; FORD, Ashlee 1-3 0-0 3; BROWN, Koi 1-3 0-0 2; GROVES, Brittany 0-1
0-0 0; PRYOR, Morgan 0-5 0-0 0; BAKER, Mindy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-66 7-11
56.
HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY (10-5, 5-3 CCAA)
TAYLOR, Brittney 5-10 6-6 16; FRANCI, Katie 5-17 5-6 15; PETERSON, Paige 4-9
3-4 11; BOBIC, Andrea 3-5 0-0 7; ALABA, Trisha 1-1 2-2 4; HALSEY, Bree 1-3
2-2 4; KILGORE, Taylor 1-6 0-0 3; ENOS, Jennifer 1-3 0-0 2; O'KEEFE,
Kristina 1-1 0-2 2; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-1 2-2 2; WILLIAMS, Kayla 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 22-57 20-24 66.
CSU San Bernardino............   37   19  -   56
Humboldt State University.....   38   28  -   66
3-point goals--CSU San Bernardino 7-22 (RAINVILLE, Jaclyn 2-8; URZUA,
Krystal 2-7; GHOLAR, Shannon 1-2; VORE, Emily 1-1; FORD, Ashlee 1-2; PRYOR,
Morgan 0-2), Humboldt State University 2-12 (BOBIC, Andrea 1-1; KILGORE,
Taylor 1-6; PETERSON, Paige 0-1; ENOS, Jennifer 0-1; WILLIAMS, Kayla 0-1;
FRANCI, Katie 0-2). Fouled out--CSU San Bernardino-None, Humboldt State
University-None. Rebounds--CSU San Bernardino 37 (RAINVILLE, Jaclyn 8),
Humboldt State University 48 (FRANCI, Katie 15). Assists--CSU San Bernardino
18 (GHOLAR, Shannon 6), Humboldt State University 13 (FRANCI, Katie 5).
Total fouls--CSU San Bernardino 18, Humboldt State University 13. Technical
fouls--CSU San Bernardino-None, Humboldt State University-None. A-871