ARCATA — UC San Diego's prayers were answered Saturday when Chelsea Carlisle's two-handed heave-ho over-the-shoulder shot banked in at the buzzer, giving the Tritons a 86-84 overtime win over Humboldt State in California Collegiate Athletic Association play.

Their second straight overtime victory kept the Tritons unbeaten in league at 11-0 and on top of the CCAA women's basketball standings. They improved to 18-2 overall, while HSU dropped to 13-6 and 8-4 in conference.

The loss was a heartbreaker for the Lumberjacks, who led by 10 points with 1 minute, 32 seconds remaining in regulation. But six free throws down the stretch helped the Tritons pull within a bucket, and Alexis Gaskin sent the game into overtime with a jumper from the baseline.

Free throws played a pivotal role in the outcome, UCSD earning 31 chances, including four in overtime. Humboldt State had only 14 free throw chances, all coming in the second half and overtime.

Unable to get to the line, Humboldt State turned to its perimeter game. The Jacks' first free throw opportunity didn't come until 7 minutes, 41seconds remained to be played, but by that time Andrea Bobic had earned them a 58-49 lead by hitting consecutive three-pointers.

"We did a good job of connecting on some shots that were clutch," Humboldt State head women's basketball coach Joddie Gleason said. "We have good three-pointer shooter and they did a good job of taking the shots when they were open."

Bobic finished with 15 points, one of four HSU players in double figures. Brittney Taylor put up a double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds, while Katie Franci contributed 14 points and 18 rebounds. Jennifer Enos added 10 points for the Jacks.

Leading the Tritons in scoring was Carlisle with 30 points and Gaskin finished with 20. Michelle Osier scored 15 points, 11 of them from the free throw line, and Annette Ilg had 11 for UCSD.

Humboldt State grabbed control with an energized start, extending its lead to 10 points when Bobic hit a three-pointer with less than six minutes into the game. Twice HSU stretched its lead to 12 points, the first time on Taylor's layup and the second when Franci worked free for a layup of her own following a steal by Paige Peterson.

Undaunted, UCSD didn't panic, taking advantage of free throw opportunities to keep the game from getting further out of control. The Tritons hit seven of their 10 chances in the first half, including a 4-of-4 performance by Carlisle, while Humboldt State failed to get to the line at all.

As the period wound down, UC San Diego surged back into contention with a 13-2 run to end the first half, taking advantage of seven HSU turnovers and four missed shots in the final 4:08. Chelsea Carlisle finished the half with a three-pointer, sending UCSD into the break wtih a 34-32 lead.

"Obviously Carlisle's last shot won the game but ultimately UCSD forcing us into 28 turnovers and us not taking control of the ball is what cost us the game," Gleason said. "UCSD is not 12-0 in conference on a fluke. If we face them at the conference tournament we need to do a better job of coaching the team on good decisions."

The Lumberjacks hit the road next weekend traveling to Seaside and San Francisco to take on Cal State Monterey Bay on Friday and San Francisco State on Saturday.

Newspaper Box Score
UCSD vs Humboldt State University
1/31/09 5:30 p.m. at Arcata, Calif. (Lumberjack Arena)
At Arcata, Calif. (Lumberjack Arena)
UCSD 86, HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY 84
UCSD (19-2, 12-0 CCAA)
CARLISLE, Chelsea 9-20 9-9 30; GASKIN, Alexis 9-12 2-3 20; OSIER, Michelle
2-11 11-14 15; ILG, Annette 5-13 1-4 11; FREIDENBERG, Lauren 3-3 0-1 6;
CABRAL, Kristen 2-3 0-0 4; DREHER, Lindsey 0-0 0-0 0; MARTIN, Leilani 0-5
0-0 0. Totals 30-67 23-31 86.
HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY (13-6, 8-4 CCAA)
TAYLOR, Brittney 10-12 5-5 25; BOBIC, Andrea 4-10 4-4 15; FRANCI, Katie 5-18
2-4 14; ENOS, Jennifer 4-6 0-0 10; PETERSON, Paige 3-15 0-1 7; KILGORE,
Taylor 2-8 0-0 6; ALABA, Trisha 2-9 0-0 5; HALSEY, Bree 1-2 0-0 2; O'KEEFE,
Kristina 0-0 0-0 0; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-0 0-0 0; WILLIAMS, Kayla 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 31-80 11-14 84.
UCSD..........................   34   44    8  -   86
Humboldt State University.....   32   46    6  -   84
3-point goals--UCSD 3-10 (CARLISLE, Chelsea 3-9; MARTIN, Leilani 0-1),
Humboldt State University 11-31 (BOBIC, Andrea 3-7; ENOS, Jennifer 2-4;
FRANCI, Katie 2-2; KILGORE, Taylor 2-7; PETERSON, Paige 1-6; ALABA, Trisha
1-5). Fouled out--UCSD-None, Humboldt State University-PETERSON, Paige;
FRANCI, Katie. Rebounds--UCSD 34 (OSIER, Michelle 9), Humboldt State
University 57 (FRANCI, Katie 18). Assists--UCSD 9 (MARTIN, Leilani 3; ILG,
Annette 3), Humboldt State University 21 (PETERSON, Paige 8). Total
fouls--UCSD 14, Humboldt State University 23. Technical fouls--UCSD-None,
Humboldt State University-None. A-1207