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Thursday vs. UC San Diego
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Saturday vs. Cal Poly Pomona
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ARCATA, Calif. -- With two games remaining in the regular season, the No. 15 Humboldt State women's basketball team looks to capture the regular season crown and top spot in the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament. HSU hosts UC San Diego Thursday and Cal Poly Pomona Saturday in Lumberjack Arena. Both games tip off at 5:30 p.m.
 
Following this weekend's sweep of Cal State Monterey Bay and Cal State East Bay, the Green and Gold return to the North Coast on top of the CCAA standings. HSU improved to 18-2 in the CCAA and 22-3 overall. The weekly USA Today Top 25 poll ranked the Lumberjacks at the No. 15 spot, seven positions higher than last week.
 
HSU faced one of its toughest road tests Saturday night at Cal State East Bay. The Pioneers had several chances to tie or win the game with under 30 seconds left on the clock, but the Jacks held off their rally.
 
"It was tight with a huge crowd. We were up by 13 with eight minutes to go. Cal State East Bay put on the pressure and started to harass with a full court press," said Head Coach Joddie Gleason. "I think we handled it very well, and we started hitting shots. The last thing you want is Stephanie Lopez to have the ball, and she had the ball in the final seconds. We did a nice job rotating, but the Pioneers got an offensive rebound and missed. Then they got another offensive rebound and missed. That miss ended the game. It was a long 6.9 seconds."
 
The Jacks return to the North Coast and play host to the Tritons Thursday. With a win Thursday, HSU can clinch a share of the CCAA regular season championship, but Gleason and her team are not looking past UC San Diego.
 
"This combination of UC San Diego and Cal Poly Pomona is the toughest weekend," said Gleason. "UC San Diego is playing very well, they have won five in the row and seven out of the last eight. They are long, athletic and they disrupt passing lanes very well with their length. We have to make sure that we come out very prepared and play extremely well."
 
The Tritons boast a pair of conference statistical leaders in Farrah Shokoor and McKennan Bertsch. Shokoor leads the CCAA with 12.2 rebounds per game, and she grabbed 18 in an upset of Cal State Dominguez Hills Friday. Bertsch leads the conference with a 69.2 field goal percentage and averages 10 points per game.
 
HSU beat UC San Diego in La Jolla, Calif., by three, 67-64, earlier this season. Despite shooting just 36.7 percent from the field, the Green and Gold outrebounded the Tritons and caused trouble for their offense. UC San Diego committed 18 turnovers in the loss.
 
Saturday's game against Cal Poly Pomona will feature a Senior Day celebration recognizing the accomplishments of HSU's five seniors. Jae Shin, Kersey Wilcox, Danielle Gaumer, Megan Shields and Nikki Powell will be honored before the game.
 
"Senior Night will be an emotional night. Our team is very tight and we, as coaches, are close to our team," said Gleason. "It is always a very emotional night, but this year hopefully not as much because we are continuing on into the postseason."
 
HSU will welcome Cal Poly Pomona to Lumberjack Arena Saturday. In their last meeting, the Broncos topped a short-handed Jacks team by 33, 85-52. The Green and Gold were without Shields in the loss.