ARCATA, Calif. -- Cal Poly Humboldt Women's Basketball picked up their first win on the season in exciting fashion on Saturday after overcoming a 19-point deficit and defeating Concordia University Irvine (CUI) with a final score of 72-63. Sara Ahmadpour led the team with 21 points, nine rebounds and two steals. Emilia Long impressed in her debut with 20 points of her own. 

Back-to-back baskets from Jadis Watson put the Jacks up 4-0 on the Golden Eagles early, but CUI's 75 percent shooting and 12 free-throw attempts in the first quarter gave them a 21-17 lead over Humboldt at the close. Despite the early foul trouble, Humboldt cleaned up defensively and only sent the Golden Eagles to the charity stripe twice in the second quarter. However, CUI continued to slowly add to their lead and found themselves up 37-27 on the Jacks at halftime. 

The first seven minutes of the third quarter was all CUI, as they extended their lead to 19 points and seemed to be in complete control. An 8-1 run led by Emilia Long to close out the third quarter cut the Golden Eagle lead down to 12 points, 54-42. With all of the momentum in their favor, the Jacks played nearly perfect in the fourth quater as they shot an impressive 75 percent from the field, 66.7 percent from beyond the arc, and 90 percent from the line. Humboldt outscored CUI 30-9 in the fourth quarter to not only overcome a 19-point deficit but come out on top with a final score of 72-63. 
 

🏀| Jacks SOAR past Golden Eagles to pick up their first win! @humboldtwbb erased a 19-point deficit and came out on top 72-63 over CUI!

Sara Ahmadpour: 21 PTS, 9 REB, 2 STL
Emilia Long: 20 PTS, 3 AST

Humboldt heads to SoCal for the APU Thanksgiving Classic next weekend! pic.twitter.com/FJugAq4lWA

— Cal Poly Humboldt Lumberjacks (@HumboldtJacks) November 19, 2023

Lumberjack Low-Down

• The duo of Sara Ahmadpour and Emilia Long combined for 22 points in the fourth quarter alone and tallied 41 of the 72 total points for the game
• Humboldt won the points off turnovers (21-19), second chance points (12-8), and bench points (24-16)
• Sara Ahmadpour's 21 points and nine rebounds makes it her career high in both categories at Cal Poly Humboldt 
• Fresh off being named the CCAA Newcomer of the Year for Women's Soccer, Emilia Long dropped 20 points in her season debut 
• The 30-point fourth quarter was the most points scored in a quarter since Feb. 4 of last season, when the Jacks scored 36 against Chico State in the first quarter

Next Up
The Lumberjacks will head to Southern California for the Azusa Pacific Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday. Humboldt will take on tournament host, Azusa Pacific, on Friday at 4 PM and Biola on Saturday at 2 PM from the Felix Events Center in Azusa. There will be no live stream for these games, but fans can follow the live stats by clicking here. 

For the latest information on Cal Poly Humboldt Women's Basketball, please visit humboldtathletics.com and follow us on all social media platforms.