ARCATA, Calif. – Trailing by as many as 15 points early in the second half, the Humboldt State women's basketball team turned up the defense and put together a furious comeback to overtake Cal State Los Angeles, 81-67, Saturday night in Lumberjack Arena.
 
Behind 54-43 with 14:23 remaining, the Lumberjacks went on a 21-6 run to race past the Golden Eagles and into the lead, 64-60, in under 10 minutes of play. After a Cal State Los Angeles basket, HSU ran off the next 14 points over 3:19 to lead 78-62 with 1:41 left.
 
"Our defense (spurred the comeback). We were aggressive and forced them to be uncomfortable down the stretch," said HSU Head Coach Joddie Gleason. "It shows a lot of character to come back the way we did. The coaching staff was worried, but I don't think the team was. They did a great job of executing the last half of the game."
 
The Jacks' defense turned up the pressure and forced 14 second-half turnovers and turned the tables on the rebounding, 20-16.
 
With the victory, HSU remained a perfect 6-0 in California Collegiate Athletic Association action. The Jacks win is also their best start under Gleason in her 11 seasons at the helm. Cal State Los Angeles fell to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the CCAA.
 
Inside players, A'Jaee Foster and Megan Shields combined for 34 points and 19 rebounds to lead the home effort. Foster posted her fourth double-double of the season with 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, her second 20-point effort of the week, and 10 rebounds. The junior also handed out two assists and stole a pass.
 
Shields connected on 4-of-6 shots including her lone trey and all four foul shots for 13 points. The center pulled down nine rebounds, swiped three balls and blocked a shot.
 
Off the bench, Amanda Kunst and Neika Puryear added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kunst made 5-of-6 foul shots and Puryear had two second-half 3-pointers.
 
In her best game of the season, Kelci Haueter contributed eight points on 3-for-5 shooting and downed both of her free throws. She grabbed two rebounds, handed out two assists and stole two passes.
 
"Kelci is a great player. Unfortunately for her, there are a lot of other talented players on the team," said Gleason. "With Nikki Powell out tonight, she was the first post in and she showed what she can do."
 
Kersey Wilcox chipped in seven points, six assists, three steals and two boards.
 
The Golden Eagles came out to play to start the contest. Cal State Los Angeles built an early nine-point lead, 13-4, in the opening five minutes. The visitors' advantage grew to as many as 14 points twice, 29-15 and 31-17, midway through the first half, before a 45-33 halftime tally.
 
"Defensively, we didn't come out very strong. (Cal State) Los Angeles came ready to play," said Gleason. "It was typical of coming out flat for us after a big win over Cal State Dominguez Hills Thursday night. We have to be ready to bring it every night. Our defense allowed Cal State Los Angeles to do what they wanted to do over more than the first 10 minutes of the game."
 
The Cal State Los Angeles lead was its largest of 15 points, 50-35, in the opening two minutes of the second period.
 
Behind by 11 points with 14:23 left, Kunst and Puryear made both ends of two foul shots apiece to cut the difference to seven points, 54-47. From that point, HSU scored 13 of the next 17 points to tie the game, 60-60, on a Puryear 3-pointer. Foster and Wilcox made back-to-back buckets for HSU's first leads of the game, 62-60 and 64-60, at 4:29.
 
Following one Golden Eagle basket, the Jacks put the exclamation point on the furious comeback with a 14-0 run over the next three minutes for a 78-62 lead.
 
Cal State Los Angeles put four players in double digits. Aiwekho Okungbowa led with 15 points, while both Kiara Harewood and Chiara DiMarco each added 14 points.
 
HSU travels for a pair of CCAA road games next weekend. The Jacks face the rival Wildcats of Chico State Friday night, before they play the Warriors of Cal State Stanislaus Saturday. Both games are 5:30 p.m. starts.