ARCATA, Calif. – Finishing up a perfect December with its seventh straight victory, the Humboldt State women's basketball team started strong and bested visiting Cal State Los Angeles 83-73 in Lumberjack Arena on Sunday afternoon.

The Jacks jumped on the Golden Eagles early, accumulating a 24-12 lead after just one quarter and never trailing in the contest. Tyla Turner led HSU with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field while her sister Tyra chipped in 18 on 5-of-8 shooting and knocked down all six of her free throw opportunities.

"We definitely started off the game with a lot of intensity, which I did not think we did Friday night against Dominguez Hills," said Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "I was pleased with our start, and the energy and intensity definitely stemmed from our defensive effort. As we go into every game, there are certain things we focus on as far as taking our opponents out of their comfort zone, as we say, and I thought we did a great job of that to start the game off."

The Jacks were bolstered by their stellar shooting as a unit, as they made 55 percent of their field goals and went 9-of-17 from downtown, putting four players in double figures scoring.

"I think it's very telling in our last two ball games when we have the balance in our scoring and our assists are high (the Jacks had 20 assists on Sunday)," said Bento-Jackson. "What that means is that we're doing a good job sharing the ball and really looking for great shot selection as compared to doing a lot of one-on-one basketball, which at times we've been guilty of."

Bento-Jackson said she was especially pleased with how her squad was finding each other for open looks in transition, as the Jacks had 19 points off turnovers while limiting themselves to six miscues.

The result pushes the Jacks' overall record to 8-5, 7-1 in CCAA play, in advance of their big showdown at UC San Diego on Friday at 5:30 p.m. The Tritons bring an 11-2 overall mark and are unblemished at 7-0 in the CCAA.

"San Diego is a very efficient basketball team," said Bento-Jackson. "They're a disciplined team, with a great player in the post and 3-point shooters, so they present a lot of challenges for us. As I was just talking to our team, we know we have to have really great practices this week."

To finish up their Southern California road swing, the Jacks will take on Cal State San Marcos on Saturday, also with a 5:30 p.m. tip.