SAN BERNARDINO – Trailing by three at halftime, Humboldt State rallied together to grab a 71-65 comeback victory over Cal State San Bernardino Friday night. Whitney Howard and Lisa Petty each grabbed double-doubles on the night to help lift the Jacks over the Coyotes.

The Jacks improve to 12-3 on the season, 8-3 in California Collegiate Athletic Association action, while the Coyotes drop to 5-10 overall and 4-7 in conference play.

"It was an exciting game," said head coach Joddie Gleason. "We had a total team effort tonight. We had to withstand some adversity during the game when we weren't playing as well, but we rebounded and came back to win it in the end."

Howard posted her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds, along with two blocked shots and a steal, to lead the attack for the Jacks. Petty grabbed her second double-double with an even 11 points and 11 rebounds, matching her season-best effort off the boards. Kayla Williams and Caitie Richards also scored in double figures for the Jacks, with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Despite handling the ball well and only turning it over twice in the first half, the Coyotes saw the eight-point lead they had grabbed slip away as the Jacks picked up momentum. Kayla Williams hit a perfectly arched three-pointer just before half to put the Jacks within three points heading into the lockers. 

Humboldt State came out firing and took advantage of the Coyotes' sluggish second-half start, going on a five-point run to put the score back in favor of the Jacks. HSU continued to keep the offensive effort on strong, shooting 52-percent in the second half from the field.

"We got the ball to the posts a little bit more and got more high-percentage shots," said Gleason. "It was good for us just being patient to make sure we're getting good looks, either getting inside or attacking the basket to get those high-percentage shots. Getting rebounds and getting out on two-on-ones or three-on-twos in transition also helped us boost our percentage."

The Jacks also took control of the boards, out-rebounding the Coyotes 43-to-29, a statistic Gleason was very proud of.

"Rebounding was something we had talked about," said Gleason. "We got the big rebounds down the stretch and did a great job on the boards to not give them easy points."

Even with HSU dominating the rebounding game, Angela Streets had a huge night for the Coyotes—scoring more than half of her team's points with a game-high 34 points—and was one three-pointer shy of breaking a CSUSB record. Eliza Dy also picked up high points for CSUSB with 17, but the two couldn't put the momentum back in favor of the Coyotes.

Both teams put up a fight with neither team stealing more than an eight-point cushion. With just over four minutes left to play, Dy brought the game within one point, breathing hope back into the CSUSB squad, but HSU held on tightly to its lead down the stretch.

Humboldt State looks to take down top-ranked UC San Diego Saturday night and give the Tritons their first loss of the season—a feat the Jacks did last year on the road in La Jolla.