SAN BERNARDINO — Outscoring their hosts 18-3 during a mid-second half run, Humboldt State bounced back from an early deficit to claim a 67-57 win over Cal State San Bernardino in the semifinals of the California Collegiate Athletic Association Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday.

The victory, Humboldt State's 10th straight, sends the Jacks into Saturday's championship game against Cal State Dominguez Hills, a 74-61 winner over Chico State in Friday's other semifinal. Tip-off in San Bernardino's Coussoulis Arena is scheduled for 5 p.m.

Friday's win didn't come easy for the Lumberjacks, the remaining top seed. But as usual, the victory resulted from key contributions from a variety of players. Junior guard Paige Peterson was one of the Jacks responsible for the turnaround, initiating the surge with a jumper and a steal while also adding a blocked shot and assist.

Also critical to the Jacks' success was junior guard Luiza Osborne, who sank six free throws in six attempts in the final two minutes to stave off a Coyote comeback attempt. And then of course, there were the Jacks' stalwarts throughout the season, Katie Franci and Brittney Taylor, whose work in the paint brought the Jacks back from what was once a 14-point deficit.

Taylor finished with 15 points to lead the Jacks offensively, while Peterson and Franci both added 13 points and Andrea Bobic contributed 10. Franci also grabbed 16 rebounds, equaling her career-high.

“We talked about at halftime how we wanted to get the ball inside,” HSU head coach Joddie Gleason said. “Paige did a great job of decision making in the second half, getting the ball to Brittney and Katie and making the big shots when we needed them. And then Lu (Osborne) comes in and saves the day.”

Also contributing not only on offense but also defensively was Bobic, who along with Peterson drew the tough assignment of guarding the Coyotes' leading scorer, Krystal Urzua. Together they held the senior guard to nine points and an 0-5 performance from three-point range only three days after she lit up No. 1 seed UC San Diego for 27 points in the Coyotes' upset quarterfinal win.

Morgan Pryor came off the bench to help CSUSB bid for another upset, scoring a game-high 20 points. Jacyln Rainville added nine points for the Coyotes, whose season ended with a 11-17 overall record.

Humboldt State claimed its first lead of the game at 9-6 on a Bobic three-pointer.  Peterson followed with a jumper to extend it, but the success was short-lived.

Pryor's jumper put CSUSB back ahead, 12-11, and the Coyotes stretched the lead to 14 points when Urzua scored on a back-door layup with seven minutes left in the first half.

Humboldt State finally collected itself offensively, initiating a seven-point run with Taylor Kilgore's three-pointer. Franci stole a pass and drove for a layup before two free throws by Taylor pulled the Jacks within five again at 32-27, where the score remained at the half.

“We didn't play with a sense of urgency on defense in the first half,” Gleason said. “Instead of dictating what would happen, we were waiting to react. We were tight and we weren't playing with our usual confidence.”

At the start of the second half, Humboldt looked determined to alter its course. The Jacks scored the first four points of the period, cutting the lead to one, but a jumper by the Coyotes' Brittany Groves and another by Pryor reestablished the lead.

Humboldt State finally tied the game at 38-38 when Bobic took a quick inbounds from Osborne and layed the ball in with 12:30 remaining to be played.  The Jacks didn't take the lead, however, until Peterson's jumper from the corner moved them up 42-40.

The pace accelerated on both ends of the floor, Humboldt State grabbing a two-point lead again on Peterson's explosive move to the hoop. On the next possession, Kristina O'Keefe kicked the ball out to Jennifer Enos, who drained a three-pointer to make the score 47-42, and the Jacks didn't trail again.

Humboldt State vs CSU San Bernardino
03-06-09 3 p.m. at Cal State San Bernardino
At Cal State San Bernardino
HUMBOLDT STATE 67, CSU SAN BERNARDINO 57
HUMBOLDT STATE (23-6)
TAYLOR, Brittney 5-11 5-7 15; PETERSON, Paige 5-12 2-2 13; FRANCI, Katie
4-11 5-10 13; BOBIC, Andrea 4-8 0-0 10; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-1 6-6 6; ENOS,
Jennifer 1-3 0-0 3; KILGORE, Taylor 1-1 0-0 3; ALABA, Trisha 1-1 0-0 2;
O'KEEFE, Kristina 1-2 0-1 2; HOWARD, Whitney 0-0 0-0 0; HALSEY, Bree 0-3 0-0
0. Totals 22-53 18-26 67.
CSU SAN BERNARDINO (11-17)
PRYOR, Morgan 8-13 2-3 20; RAINVILLE, Jaclyn 4-12 0-0 9; URZUA, Krystal 3-15
3-5 9; GHOLAR, Shannon 3-11 2-4 8; VORE, Emily 3-7 0-0 6; FORD, Ashlee 1-5
0-0 3; GROVES, Brittany 1-2 0-1 2; WATERS, Artaisha 0-2 0-0 0; DURAN, Aubrey
0-1 0-0 0; TAKATA, Lisa 0-3 0-0 0; JOHNSON, Rachel 0-0 0-0 0; BROWN, Koi 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 23-71 7-13 57.
Humboldt State................   27   40  -   67
CSU San Bernardino............   32   25  -   57
3-point goals--Humboldt State 5-14 (BOBIC, Andrea 2-5; PETERSON, Paige 1-2;
KILGORE, Taylor 1-1; ENOS, Jennifer 1-3; OSBORNE, Luiza 0-1; FRANCI, Katie
0-2), CSU San Bernardino 4-21 (PRYOR, Morgan 2-7; RAINVILLE, Jaclyn 1-3;
FORD, Ashlee 1-3; TAKATA, Lisa 0-1; GHOLAR, Shannon 0-2; URZUA, Krystal
0-5). Fouled out--Humboldt State-None, CSU San Bernardino-None.
Rebounds--Humboldt State 49 (FRANCI, Katie 16), CSU San Bernardino 40
(URZUA, Krystal 8). Assists--Humboldt State 12 (FRANCI, Katie 4), CSU San
Bernardino 13 (FORD, Ashlee 6). Total fouls--Humboldt State 17, CSU San
Bernardino 19. Technical fouls--Humboldt State-None, CSU San
Bernardino-None. A-240
CCAA women's semifinal no. 2