ARCATA, Calif. — The Humboldt State women's basketball team relied on its stout defense, fantastic guard and another double-double performance from Alexia Thrower play as it defeated Cal State San Bernardino 69-66 Saturday night in Lumberjack Arena.

The Lumberjacks secured their fourth straight win and moved to 15-6 overall and 13-5 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.

"Obviously we are very happy that we grinded out a win," said HSU Head Coach Michelle Bento-Jackson. "As I just told the team, due to how the game had gone it would have been very easy for us to throw the game away down the stretch. It wasn't a pretty win, and we didn't play our best basketball tonight. But we did find a way to grind out the win and I am proud of them."

The Coyotes jumped out to a nine-point lead halfway through the first quarter, but a Thrower jumper got HSU going offensively as she sparked a 13-6 run. Despite only connecting on 2-of-10 attempts from beyond the arc, the Jacks went to the locker room with a 37-35 halftime lead.

"I just tried to keep up the intensity and the energy," said Thrower. "I just kept things moving on the court regardless of what the situation was. I think as a team we did a good job talking to each other and staying engaged. We didn't allow any easy buckets, and we made sure to lift each other up in the end."

The Green and Gold played with much more defensive intensity in the second half as they forced 18 Coyote turnovers while limiting San Bernardino to a 35.7 shooting percentage. The Jacks did a tremendous job closing out on opposing shooters as they held the visitors to two made 3-pointers on 12 attempts.

Thrower registered her 13th double-double of the season as she matched a season-best with 16 rebounds and finished with a team-high 24 points. Jovanah Arrington added 15 points of her own, and Isamar Conde finished with 13. Jasmine Sauser led the Coyotes with 22 points as she shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.

"Alexia was huge, and I didn't necessarily love our energy as a team tonight, but she was engaged and played with great energy all night," said Bento-Jackson. "She made big bucket after big bucket and put our team on her back tonight and willed us to win."

Next week the North Coast squad will travel to Carson to face Cal State Dominguez Hills with tipoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in the Torodome.