ARCATA, Calif. – Utilizing a defense that turned the visiting Coyotes over 22 times and generated 27 points off their miscues, the Humboldt State women's basketball team returned to its winning ways with a 71-53 win over Cal State San Bernardino Saturday night in Lumberjack Arena.

The result improved HSU to 9-8 overall and 8-4 in CCAA play, while San Bernardino moved to 6-10 overall, 4-8 in conference.

Tyla Turner led four Jacks in double figures with 15 points and was also HSU's co-leader with five rebounds. Jovanah Arrington finished with 14 points, while Tyra Turner chipped in 12 and Kindall Murie added 10.

"Their two leading scorers were scoreless at halftime, so we felt like we did a pretty darn good job on the defensive end," said Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "We never really got into a great flow offensively early on. Which I'm sure was pretty boring for the fans – nobody was scoring for a while. We were a little sloppy in the first half, we had 12 turnovers, but only had two in the entire second half, and we just got into a much better flow."

Both teams started off slow on the offensive end. HSU led 12-9 at the end of a low-scoring first period, as Riann Thayer hit a jumper with one second remaining to provide the margin. In the second quarter, HSU expanded its lead to as many as 27-14 with 3:01 left before the Coyotes climbed back into it, scoring the final seven points of the period.

The visitors continued their momentum into the third, actually evening the score at 27 before the Jacks got on the scoreboard. But the home squad established control late in the period, with a 47-38 advantage heading into the final quarter. A Mikaela Shannon jumper got the Jacks off on the right foot in the fourth at the 9:46 mark, and they established a 63-41 lead with 2:58 left before cruising home.

HSU shot 7-of-16 from distance in the game (43.8 percent), and outrebounded the Coyotes 35-29.

"I thought our team did a great job of showing some resiliency tonight and weathering the storm," said Bento-Jackson. "San Bernardino went into halftime with the momentum and continued it to begin the third quarter, however, we responded well. The second half we settled in and took much better care of the ball."

The Jacks will now settle in for a week of practice before hitting the road to take on Chico State Saturday, Jan. 20 with a 5:30 p.m. tip time.