ARCATA, Calif. – Fresh off a home sweep, the Humboldt State women's basketball team will hit the road this weekend, first taking on California Collegiate Athletic Association leader UC San Diego on Friday night before tangling with Cal State San Marcos Saturday. Both games tip off at 5:30 p.m.

The Tritons bring in a perfect 7-0 mark in conference play and the Jacks, hot on their heels, stand at 7-1 in the CCAA with an active seven-game winning streak.

Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson has repeatedly emphasized that she likes being the road squad. She believes it allows her team to focus on the task at hand without distractions and it's an opportunity to spend a lot of time together in a regimented environment.

"A large part of the success that we've had thus far has been reliant on the defensive end of the floor," said Bento-Jackson. "The last couple games we've gotten our offense going a little bit more where we've had some balance in our scoring attack with multiple players in double-digits scoring. That's obviously going to make it much more difficult for our opponents."

Tyla Turner has been the Lumberjacks' scoring leader to this point with 17.1 points per game and also paces the team in rebounds per game with 6.9. Isamar Conde is averaging 10.8 points per game and has made her presence felt especially as of late, tallying double-digits in each of the HSU's last four games.

Asked if she could have predicted the exceptional success the Jacks have experienced lately, Bento-Jackson said, "As far as the streak, I never foresaw something like that, but I really did see from last year to this year, and even at the end of last year, a lot of growth in the team in many different ways."

"Our biggest thing, I would say, is to be consistent with our work ethic," said Jovannah Arrington. "We always come ready to practice and take everything seriously. We always study our opponents very hard so we know what to expect." She added that the team's chemistry has seen improvement from where it was at the beginning of the season.

Arrington had 14 points off the bench in a breakout performance against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday, a 78-70 Lumberjack victory, and said, "I think it's important to come in and bring a spark, or a lot of energy. My focus was just to play good defense and let the offense come to me."

Looking forward to Friday's high-stakes matchup, Bento-Jackson said, "As I was telling our team, San Diego is one of the most disciplined and efficient teams in our conference, and we know that going in. We just have to be extremely efficient ourselves and limit our defensive mistakes."

Bento-Jackson said that in preparation for UC San Diego, she recognizes that the Tritons run a very good offense, with a lot of movement and balance between their inside game and the three-point shooters they possess.

"We just have to try to take them out of what they want to do and take them out of their comfort zone," said Bento-Jackson.