CARSON — Tenacious defense fueled a furious first half outburst, and Humboldt State survived a less-than-impressive second half on the way to a 72-56 win over Cal State Dominugez Hills in California Collegiate Athletic Association women's basketball action Friday.

"The first half we defended, hit the boards, didn't allow second looks," Humboldt State head women's basketball coach Joddie Gleason said. "We were aggressive and physical. In the second half, they were very aggressive. I tip my hat to them for not giving up."

Katie Franci scored 21 points and Taylor Kilgore added 14, all in the first half during a run of 22 straight HSU points, to help the Jacks improve to 11-5 overall and 6-3 in the CCAA. Neka Mixon's game-high output of 25 points helped the Toros stay close, while also grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds.

From early on Franci was a power in the paint, battling for an offensive board and putback that gave the Jacks a 10-8 lead. Barbara Houston tied it with a pullup jumper on the other end, keeping the back-and-forth motion going.

Humboldt started its surge when Peterson drained a jumper as the shot clock expired, adding a point from the free throw line on the foul.  After a timeout, Kilgore nailed consecutive three-pointers between defensive stops, and Franci hit a jumper to keep the outburst alive.

In fact, it was several minutes before the Toros found any reason for hope, the surge continuing with Peterson's drive and layup before yet another Kilgore three-pointer at 32-15. A beautiful backdoor pass to Kilgore from Peterson made it 34-15 before Mixon finally hit a three to interrupt the run.

The second half was a different story, Cal State Dominguez Hills out-hustled the Jacks to the ball and earned the extra shots. The Toros managed to pull within 10 points before the Lumberjacks regained their footing.

HSU remains on the road for Saturday's game, taking on Cal State Los Angeles. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Newspaper Box Score
HSUWBB vs Cal State Dominguez Hills
01/23/09 5:30pm at Torodome (Carson, CA)
At Torodome (Carson, CA)
HSUWBB 72, CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS 56
HSUWBB (11-5, 6-3 CCAA)
FRANCI, Katie 8-14 6-8 24; KILGORE, Taylor 5-8 0-0 14; TAYLOR, Brittney 3-9
5-6 11; PETERSON, Paige 4-14 1-1 10; ALABA, Trisha 2-5 0-0 5; ENOS, Jennifer
1-3 0-0 3; HALSEY, Bree 0-2 2-2 2; BOBIC, Andrea 1-3 0-0 2; O'KEEFE,
Kristina 0-0 1-2 1; HOWARD, Whitney 0-1 0-0 0; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 24-60 15-19 72.
CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS (10-6, 5-4 CCAA)
MIXON, Neka 10-24 3-5 25; BLANKENSHIP, Brittne 4-12 3-4 11; HOUSTON, Barbara
3-7 0-0 6; BALDWIN, Aujanee 1-5 3-4 5; MATHIAS, MacKenzie 1-5 1-2 4; GANTT,
Whitney 1-5 0-0 3; JOHNSON, Ashley 0-4 2-6 2; HUCKABEE, Kayla 0-1 0-0 0;
LOFTIN, Teriana 0-0 0-0 0; HUGHES, Sherrie 0-0 0-0 0; CASCADDEN, Sarah 0-0
0-0 0; MONTALVO, Kayla 0-3 0-0 0; BOUTTE, Nikki 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-67
12-21 56.
HSUWBB........................   43   29  -   72
Cal State Dominguez Hills.....   18   38  -   56
3-point goals--HSUWBB 9-23 (KILGORE, Taylor 4-6; FRANCI, Katie 2-3;
PETERSON, Paige 1-4; ENOS, Jennifer 1-2; ALABA, Trisha 1-3; OSBORNE, Luiza
0-1; BOBIC, Andrea 0-2; TAYLOR, Brittney 0-2), Cal State Dominguez Hills
4-18 (MIXON, Neka 2-8; MATHIAS, MacKenzie 1-2; GANTT, Whitney 1-3; MONTALVO,
Kayla 0-2; BOUTTE, Nikki 0-1; BLANKENSHIP, Brittne 0-2). Fouled
out--HSUWBB-None, Cal State Dominguez Hills-None. Rebounds--HSUWBB 35
(FRANCI, Katie 10), Cal State Dominguez Hills 54 (MIXON, Neka 9).
Assists--HSUWBB 15 (FRANCI, Katie 5), Cal State Dominguez Hills 6
(BLANKENSHIP, Brittne 3). Total fouls--HSUWBB 18, Cal State Dominguez Hills
18. Technical fouls--HSUWBB-None, Cal State Dominguez Hills-None. A-218